Adventurebilt Henry - Any one got one?

[jlee562]

Well, of hatters I know who do Indy hats, Penman comes in at the lowest, $375 for 100% beaver. Peter Bros is $405, Baron is $498.

The Henry is really designed for someone looking specifically for an Indy hat. The block is thought to be "the" block from the Raiders hat, and the felt is a special blend and color made for the Henry. There's any number of other details that Marc/Steve put into the hat (sweat sewn in above the brim break, "flying V" bow work, etc)

 

[fenris]

I think the rabbit/beaver blend of the henry makes it floppy (just the way an indy hat should be) and have finish comparable to a full beaver felt hat. I think you really need to be into Indy to appreciate the hat.

 

[FurFeltFedora]

Several of you have hit on the points I was thinking about...

I'm sure the Henry is better made than an Akubra (I own over a dozen Akubras so I'm not knocking Akubra), but is it 3 times better (based on costing approximately 3 times more than a standard Federation IV)?

I'm sure that a full beaver custom hat from Penman (Bending Oak) would be superior to any factory made hat, but I'm not sure I want to wait 6 months (although as a former craftsman - not hats - I understand the time it takes to make it right and appreciate it).

I guess I'm hoping that the Henry bridges the gap somewhat between a good factory made (Akubra Fed IV) and a great custom (Penman or Fawcett). I'm still not sure if I've found the answer. I don't mind paying for quality, but the increase in quality needs to match the increase in price and since I've never had the opportunity to see a Henry in person I have to rely on the good will of those on the Lounge to help me see all the pros and cons.

As an important side note, I sincerely hope John doesn't think I'm trying to undervalue his product. From what I've see he produces and sells a great product - it's just that I've a lot of questions and can't compare for myself.

 

[Tone]

Who does the work on the Magnoli Herbert Johnson?

I'd still be interested to know if the redesign of Akubra Fed came before or after the Henry.

 

[fenris]

Who does the work on the Magnoli Herbert Johnson?

I'd still be interested to know if the redesign of Akubra Fed came before or after the Henry.

As far as I know, it's Steve Delk...

 

[jlee562]

Steve Delk used to do the Magnoli HJs, but he recently quit, not sure who is working on them now.

The Henry was in planning stages and was released right around the time of the premiere of the movie, slightly afterwards perhaps. I'm not sure of the chronology and how that fits with when the Fed IV was introduced. But the Fed IV was a vintage block, not a redesign per se.

 

[Ian]

Did you order it from AB Deluxe [Europe] or Penman?

My only complaint about them finish wise [from what I've seen in pictures] is the plain white liner. I mean, for THAT kind of price on a factory hat, couldn't they have went ahead and given them an Adventurebilt liner, most likely a special one signifying you own the Henry.

Otherwise, I know folks who own them generally swear by how nice they are. I don't think you can go wrong with one.

Randy

Hi Randy,

I ordered mine from Stefan at AB Deluxe, it just made more sense because of the distance and also I won't have to pay customs.
I quite like the idea of a plain white liner, but I know where you're coming from.
should turn up any day now.

Ian

 

[FurFeltFedora]

Alright Ian, looks like all eyes are to you. Please let us know your thoughts (and pictures) about your Henry when it arrives.

 

[bendingoak]

There wasn't a big design change in the akubra fed. Steve helped them with a better block shape.


I don't think you did undervalue my product but I'm a bit confused with a craftsmen who isn't patient. It doesn't take me five months to make a hat. I have a list of customers that will take me five months to get though.

The only way you are going to be able to get a accurate judgement from anyone is if that person has all the hats you are talking about in their hands or you yourself can have the hat in your hands.

Far as I know Steve is still re-working the MAG/HJ

 

[jlee562]

I guess I should correct myself, Steve did say at one point that he was going to give up the Mag HJ business, but I did a quick search on COW which shows that Steve was still working on them recently (1/10/10 to be exact).

BTW, here's the COW thread following all the stages of development on the Henry, which may answer some more of your questions....IO actually read through the majority of the thread last night and learned things that I didn't know about the Henry.

 

[FurFeltFedora]

An accurate point Bending Oak - I understand about the time it takes to craft something. Perhaps I should have been more specific in that it was the wait list rather than the time to craft the hat which I was trying to avoid. As well as the fact that in about 6 months from now I'll only have a decent month or so to wear a fedora before it gets too miserable in my neck of the woods

 

[chum]

As I would like a hat custom made and 100% Beaver, I think the wait list would be worth it, mainly because of hat size. I am assuming a custom made could be made to fit my slightly mis-shapen size 56 and 1/2 head!

Just wish I could send them my head for the best accuracy!

 

[bendingoak]

Yes, thats is the benefit of a custom hat over a a pre-made hat.

 

[Wolfwood]

BTW, here's the COW thread following all the stages of development on the Henry, which may answer some more of your questions....IO actually read through the majority of the thread last night and learned things that I didn't know about the Henry.

I also waded through that extremely long thread - though I mainly read only the makers' comments. Actually made me want to try the Henry out to see if it actually is worth 2x the price of FedIV. I especially like the fact that they started with a real vintage block, rather than making a new one trying to recreate the Indy hat.

So, waiting for a comment from someone owning both of them as well!

 

[FurFeltFedora]

While waiting for Ian to get his hat, a few questions formed in my head. I checked the net first, but I still can't get these answers - maybe someone here can help (more)?

1. What are the dimensions of the Henry's brim and crown?

2. I know the body is machine made but the ribbon is stitched manually, what about the liner and sweatband? Are they factory sewn?

3. On the regular Adventurebilts the sweatband is kangaroo leather, what's on the Henry?

Hope no one thinks I'm beating the horse here, but I really can't find this info on the web. Thanks.

 

[Ian]

Any moment now........

 

[FurFeltFedora]

You're killin' me...

 

[jlee562]

The Kangaroo sweats are only used on the Adventurebilt deluxe. The Henry has a leather sweat.

I'm pretty sure the open crown height is 5 1/2", like the CS film hats. Can't help on the brim widths....maybe Mr. Penman can chime in?

 

[FurFeltFedora]

Thanks for the info!

So liner is leather not roo.

Height is 5 1/2".

Still looking for brim dimension and status of liner and sweatband in regards to factory sewn or not.

 

[Ian]

From what I've read, the brim and the open crown height change in relation to the hat size, to maintain the proportions. Read Marc's post on the link below from COW.

http://www.indygear.com/cow/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=34575

Ian