My Newest Akubra and a call for opinions

[winstonwolf359]

Hello everyone!

I just got my second Akubra Federation, a deluxe this time. My first fedora after getting back into Indy was a Federation regular, so I figured I'd try something a little different. I've always preferred the Raiders bash (as well as all things Raiders, for that matter) but since this was my second hat and I've seen a lot of other good LC bashes lately I decided to bash my hat LC style as well.

So, I took it out of the box, and started tweaking, and I ended up with this:





This was my first attempt at an LC bash, and that was only about 10 or 15 minutes effort, so I don't think I got it especially close.

But that's when I really noticed something else. The sides on this hat are pretty straight, and there's almost a bit of reverse taper, so I started wondering if this hat really wanted to be a Raiders hat after all. So I went back at it, and I came up with this:





So here's my dilemma: Put it back to the LC bash (and try a little harder to get it right) or leave it as a Raiders.

Thoughts? Feelings? Suggestions?

[pitfallharry]

Hey, great to see you here......Man, this place is growing.

That reminds me of my hat when it was right out of the box. My personal opinion is that the hat works best as a Raiders hat. I think it was even supposed to be modeled after the Raiders hat when it was created.

[Ragingblues]

Good to see you around Winstonwolf... and that's a very nice color on the new Fed Deluxe as well.

I would have to say that it wants to be a Raider's hat, but... that's just my 2 1/2 cents. Tone and others have done some amazing work with Fed's, so I know what the potential of your new fedora can be.

Congrats on getting a nice one, and thanks for posting!

Ken

[Deleted]

Winstonwolf, welcome to The Indy Lounge!

What a beautiful hat! Absolutely stunning!

[jweaver]

That great looking Akubra you've got there! You were very lucky to get one with such straight sides. I'm a fan of both the Raiders and LC hats, but since you got lucky with the block shape I say go Raiders. Also, what size is it? I've noticed that the larger sizes seem to have a better block shape.

[winstonwolf359]

Thanks guys!

It won't take much convincing to make me keep this hat as a Raiders, which is why I wanted a second opinion, to make sure I wasn't avoiding the LC bash on purpose.

I'm really happy with this hat, just like my first Akubra. And I REALLY can't fault HatsDirect customer service or shipping, since I ordered it this weekend and it arrived four days later. And, it's just a great hat too.

Since I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep this one a Raiders too, I guess I need to do something more...extreme with my other Akubra. Streets of Cairo, maybe?!?

[winstonwolf359]

Thanks for the kind words!

I wear a 59, so I'm pretty sure the bigger sizes must have a block with straighter sides, since both of mine have pretty straight sides.
Here's my Fed Regular from a few months back, also sporting the straight sides and my "not bad for a newbie" Raiders bash.

[Deleted]

winstonwolf359


Dang that is one NICE Akubra. Well done man.
I say go RAIDERS with that hat.
Cheers,
G-MANN

[winstonwolf359]

I'm going to get some shots of me in my (finally complete!) gear tomorrow, but I decided to take some head shots tonight for a better look at the hat.

[Alabama Jones]

Winston,

Thats a fine lookin hat. You can't go wrong with an Akubra IMO.

Congrats.

[Marc]

The two Akubra are among the four hats that I honestly consider worth more money than is charged for them. They are great hats and a true bargain.

In my personal opinion, the blocks from Akubra are best if used for a LC styled Fedora, but being a Raiders fan I like it Raiders style as well.

Regards,

Marc

[Deleted]

Hey Marc,
I'll bet I know what the other 2 are

Cheers,
G-MANN

[indianatone]

Great looking Akubra, WinstonWolf! Glad you went with the Raiders version. Seems like it'd be a waste to put an LC bash into a block like that one. I'm slowly coming to grips with the slight taper the Akurbras have. Yours, is VERY minimal. That is a great fedora!

[winstonwolf359]

Hello again!

I finally had a chance to get some pictures taken so here's a couple more shots of my new Federation Deluxe.









Comments or suggestions welcome!

[Ragingblues]

Hey Man... Tha gear is looking good!

The Fed Deluxe is a nice dark brown color, and your's seems to fit your face well too.

Nice job!

Ken

[winstonwolf359]

Thanks Ken!

I really lucked out on this hat. I spent a lot of time working the brim on this one so it's really soft, and it didn't take much work after that to really get it into the Raiders look. I haven't touched the crown since the first day I got it because it practically bashed itself.

I'm really looking forward to taking this one on some adventures.

[Nicht Storen]

Thats a seriously nice Akubra. Congrats on such a good-lookin hat.

[jweaver]

Yes sir, that is one nic looking Akubra! It suits you very well.

[indianatone]

Are you looking to get a Raiders bash or leave the one you have in it as is? Personally, the bash you have works and still looks great but if you want a Raiders type bash, the crown does require some more (minute) tweaking.

I say it's an adventurer's fedora and that's the Winstonwolf bash which is good enough.

[bendingoak]

winstonwolf, your hat ooks great and it does have very straight sides. I hink if you go with the Raiders look, you need to turn the hat. I think the hat is just not the same without. the brim just doesnt look right without it. One last thing. I always wanted to ask. Looking at you first fed. pic ( the top center bash) it's seem a lot of people put in a wide center bash, when ( to me ) it looks like the top center bash should be narrow. Look what the wide center bash does to the Camel humps and the oval all look of the hat.

[winstonwolf359]

Thanks for the advice, guys!

The federation regular up near the top of this thread was my first attempt at doing a Raiders bash, and it looks pretty bad to me now, especially since that's a picture from the first day I had it. It's come a long way since then, but I was never totally happy with how the bash looked on it. I agree completely the top dent looks especially bad!

My new deluxe came out a lot better, and since I was wanting more of the Raven Bar look I'm pretty happy with it as-is, but I may continue to play with my Fed Regular to go more extreme.

And I must be doing something wrong, because both hats ARE turned, but not very far.