A decision to make!

[The real Henry]

I have got a brown 1940s Mallory 15 that is a bit too small and also needs a reblock from Marc Kitter. This one is my favourite fedora, though there is one style love best which is the Indy-hat.

Here is a picture of my Mallory:

At the moment it has a teardrop crown and the khaki ribbon. Well, I thought it would be great to combine my favourite two hats. I know I'll give it a center dent when it's blocked, but I'm not sure about the rest.
So should I:

A) ... replace the ribbon with an Indy-style ribbon and give the hat a 30s bash?

B) ... give the hat an Indy-bash?

 

[Dinerman]

keep it the way it is!

 

[The real Henry]

If it would still look like that, I'd do, but it tapered quite a bit. I also prefer center dents as I'm more a 30s man, so I came to the two options above. I'm not the kind of Indy-fan that would cut of a bound brim, Cav edge or replace a unique vintage lining, because it's not screen-accurate.:eusa_doh: [huh]



Regards,
Henrik

 

[Dinerman]

Bash it different then, but I'd definately leave the ribbon. It's unique.

 

[The real Henry]

I know, I know. But what's most unique about this hat is the lining:

I simply love it.


Thanks anyway, I'll just give it the Raiders bash then.

Regards,
Henrik

 

[jake_fink]

I would leave the block as it is too. That's a classic 1940s sillhouette and it would be a shame to change it. You don't want all your hats to look the same do you?

 

[The real Henry]

Actually that would be that only Indy-looking hat I'd have and as I said before it just doesn't look that way anymore and is a bit to small. May I say that Marc's block is very close to what we see on most 30s hats, so I'll defenetly let him do the blocking job.

Regards,
Henrik

 

[Joel Tunnah]

Don't do the "Indy". It's ugly.

 

[The real Henry]

But shorter!

Regards,
Henrik

 

[DOUGLAS]

Let Marc reblock it but leave the shape alone. The hat looks great. You are right that is a terrific liner. I am sure Marc can work wonders and still keep the original style.

 

[ideaguy]

Henrik: Seems the consensus is to leave the lines of the hat the way they are-let a master hatter have at it-you'll save the liner, maybe the ribbon (if not, have him duplicate it) and it can be stretched so that the taper is not pronounced-; I know, you want a 30's style- fine. Use another hat to really go to town on with the 30's look-or better yet, be patient and one will definitely come your way. The hat you show is just terrific-these babies are pieces of an artform going by very quickly, and I'm of the opinion we should honor the hat first-read some of Douglas' comments on the prize hats he's acquired, and not stretched,re-ribboned,etc., because he has a real commitment to the signifigance of the hat as it is - in the Latin- res ipso loqitor- enough of my windy palaver-that's a great lid, and at 7 3/8, I'd LOVE to have it on my head...

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Let Marc reblock it but leave the shape alone. The hat looks great. You are right that is a terrific liner. I am sure Marc can work wonders and still keep the original style.

Like Douglas & Ideaguy said,.......keep it as close to original as practical.

 

[astaire]

Henry, please keep it as is.

Don't let Tony in Tarzana read this...lol

 

[ledsled]

Choice: A or B..... but maybe C or D too

A. It is your hat, do what you want with it. You like the other style, so do it.

B. Original is only original once. If you change it, then say good-bye to original.


I've ridden that fence many times in my various possessions. If you want to know what I would do with that hat? It's such a nice original, I would keep it as-is.

Look for another one (not as nice as this one) to change. Better yet, look for the one you really want. The money you would have paid a hatter could go towards the hat you really seek. (No offense to the resident hatters)!

 

[The real Henry]

You all are right. I shouldn't change anything. It'll just be block to get it a bit bigger, but that's it!




(Man, I really have to delete my COW-account!lol )



Regards,
Henrik

 

[John in Covina]

Henrik: Seems the consensus is to leave the lines of the hat the way they are-let a master hatter have at it-you'll save the liner, maybe the ribbon (if not, have him duplicate it) and it can be stretched so that the taper is not pronounced-; I know, you want a 30's style- fine. Use another hat to really go to town on with the 30's look-or better yet, be patient and one will definitely come your way. The hat you show is just terrific-these babies are pieces of an artform going by very quickly, and I'm of the opinion we should honor the hat first-read some of Douglas' comments on the prize hats he's acquired, and not stretched,re-ribboned,etc., because he has a real commitment to the signifigance of the hat as it is - in the Latin- res ipso loqitor- enough of my windy palaver-that's a great lid..

****
Wisdom!

 

[DOUGLAS]

You won't be sorry. You have made the right decision and the folks over at COW I'm sure will understand. Look at it another way, What would they say if you wanted to reblock an Adventurebilt Indy in to a western style or a C crown? The hat you have is beautiful as is.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Fellow COW Member opinion

I'm on COW as well, Real Henry, and I love a good Indy hat (which can be hard to come by, in my opinion). But I have to agree with your choice to not turn the Mallory into something it's not. Not such a nice specimen, anyway. I would encourage you to consider convering a less precious hat into an Indy, or just get a Federation. Every fan should have at least one good Indy-style hat. :fedora:

NB

 

[The real Henry]

@Not-Bogart13: I already had a Federation and it looked great, but after one year I simply got rid of the felt.[huh]

@DOUGLAS: I actually don't really care about what the folks at COW think about vintage hats and clothing in general, but(as silly as it may sound) collecting Indygear and not having an everyday Indiana Jones fedora, can sometimes drive you crazy!lol


Regards,
Henrik