Post by GCR on Dec 23, 2011 1:21:55 GMT -5
As some of you know, I am the proud owner of not 1 but 2 Ab Deluxes. Both were made for me by Marc back in 2007. My main ABD, my "go-to" hat, was actually the second hat Marc made for me. I got it open crowned and bashed it myself into a standard, turned Raiders style. I posted pics of it in another thread (4 year old ABD thread). That hat started as a Raiders fedora and has always been a Raiders fedora.
My other ABD, however, my original ABD, actually began life as a Raiders fedora and then was converted to a more loose-pinch, un-turned, Last Crusade / Crystal Skull hybrid style. More of a traditional fedora style, with a slightly lower, looser pinch, symmetrical brim, etc. The main reason being that I quite simply didn't need 2 Raiders fedoras...
or so I thought.
Having found my way back into this hobby once again, and having sat down to watch the trilogy again after a couple years of it sitting up on the shelf, I really realized just how much I missed having a real CAIRO style fedora. A Raiders fedora is one thing, and for me my 2nd ABD is all I could want out of a Raiders style fedora. But while my "go-to" hat may get dirty once in a while, it doesn't stay that way. (after all I do own a hat brush and I like to wear the hat with a suit every once in a while ;D )
Some may recall I used to have a regular AB in rabbit felt that I turned into a decent Cairo fedora, but it was a bit too small for me and the brim was cut just a bit short, so I had to let it go. There's been a Cairo fedora void in me ever since that day ;D ...but not anymore.
I decided to take my "other" older ABD and rebash it into a Raiders fedora once again, but not just any Raiders fedora, a CAIRO fedora. Granted, the hat is high-grade beaver felt, not soft and floppy rabbit, but this batch of ABD felt is so nice to work with, so responsive yet still sturdy, that I was confident it could still pull off the look even if the felt didn't exactly "act" like the real Raiders fedora. The transition from LC/CS style to Cairo Raiders was not very difficult, and I was pleased to see that the hat had not experienced much, if any, shrinkage even after 4 years of moderate wear (ABD#2 might be my go-to hat, but I still wore my older ABD off and on). I just popped out all of the dents, dampened the crown a bit with some cold fresh water and went to work. Once I had the bash in and looking the way I wanted it, I let it dry overnight and then the next night I pulled up so Cairo screenshots and added the sweat marks and Cairo dust.
Just to give you an idea, here is a shot of the hat from a few years ago, after the original transition to the looser pinch style:
And here she is now...(My apologies for the poor quality pics. I don't exactly make the best photographer.
Also, keep in mind this is a still a work in progress. I still need to work the felt in a few key areas to get some of the slight bulging / mushrooming that occurs when you view the hat from certain angles)
Once I have finalized the bash and get a few key areas tweaked, I will post some updated (and better quality) pics. Perhaps even a video if I can figure out how the hell to do that. ;D
My other ABD, however, my original ABD, actually began life as a Raiders fedora and then was converted to a more loose-pinch, un-turned, Last Crusade / Crystal Skull hybrid style. More of a traditional fedora style, with a slightly lower, looser pinch, symmetrical brim, etc. The main reason being that I quite simply didn't need 2 Raiders fedoras...
or so I thought.
Having found my way back into this hobby once again, and having sat down to watch the trilogy again after a couple years of it sitting up on the shelf, I really realized just how much I missed having a real CAIRO style fedora. A Raiders fedora is one thing, and for me my 2nd ABD is all I could want out of a Raiders style fedora. But while my "go-to" hat may get dirty once in a while, it doesn't stay that way. (after all I do own a hat brush and I like to wear the hat with a suit every once in a while ;D )
Some may recall I used to have a regular AB in rabbit felt that I turned into a decent Cairo fedora, but it was a bit too small for me and the brim was cut just a bit short, so I had to let it go. There's been a Cairo fedora void in me ever since that day ;D ...but not anymore.
I decided to take my "other" older ABD and rebash it into a Raiders fedora once again, but not just any Raiders fedora, a CAIRO fedora. Granted, the hat is high-grade beaver felt, not soft and floppy rabbit, but this batch of ABD felt is so nice to work with, so responsive yet still sturdy, that I was confident it could still pull off the look even if the felt didn't exactly "act" like the real Raiders fedora. The transition from LC/CS style to Cairo Raiders was not very difficult, and I was pleased to see that the hat had not experienced much, if any, shrinkage even after 4 years of moderate wear (ABD#2 might be my go-to hat, but I still wore my older ABD off and on). I just popped out all of the dents, dampened the crown a bit with some cold fresh water and went to work. Once I had the bash in and looking the way I wanted it, I let it dry overnight and then the next night I pulled up so Cairo screenshots and added the sweat marks and Cairo dust.
Just to give you an idea, here is a shot of the hat from a few years ago, after the original transition to the looser pinch style:
And here she is now...(My apologies for the poor quality pics. I don't exactly make the best photographer.
Also, keep in mind this is a still a work in progress. I still need to work the felt in a few key areas to get some of the slight bulging / mushrooming that occurs when you view the hat from certain angles)Once I have finalized the bash and get a few key areas tweaked, I will post some updated (and better quality) pics. Perhaps even a video if I can figure out how the hell to do that. ;D
