So many questions....

[Matt Deckard]

How about sending it back with one of my 1940's Borsalinos.

The one thing I have not seen from optimo yet is a good 1930's style block. very straight up on the sides and no taper front or back when blocked.

I sent my LaSalle grey back in with a diagram showing them the difference between their indy block and a true 30's block. They said they would copy my borsalino crown. we'll see what happens.

Sorry to hear about your new hat having a tapered almost 60's style crown.

Here are the borsys if you want to borrow one to send to optimo please give me a call. I am sure they will remake the hat.
I have teardropped them both before and they look just like the bogey hat when shaped

 

[Matt Deckard]

Hate to burst any bubble, but I think that ebay hat looks just like a grey blues brothers hat. You'll see what I mean when you get it.
Cavenaugh from the 60's cannot compete with cavenaugh from the 30's in felt or design, at least from what I have seen.

 

[MK]

Perhaps.....but for $16 I am willing to take a look.

That is less than the shipping on my Optimo.

 

[Rundquist]

The shape of the block in this case has not much to do with the look of the finished hat. MK got the hat in a heavyweight felt. That has everything to do with the end result. Heavyweight felts are good for some styles and not so good for others. It's vise versa with lightweight felts. In this case, I would doubt that a different block would make much difference. The only way to recreate the Bogey hat is in a thinner more pliable type of felt. I had my doubts as to whether it would be possible to pull off an exact copy of a Bogey style in a heavyweight felt. On the other hand, I just got my first Optimo heavy weight fedora and I must say that it's a beauty. I'm extremely happy with it. I'll post pics as soon as I can. Cheers

PS- Dan (Captain Yosarian) had his vintage Borsalino restyled by Optimo and it looks exactly like a Bogey. He should take some pics and put them up.

 

[Andykev]

So sorry

Your take on the hat is confusing. IF the hat is a "stingy brim" you are stuck with it, not matter what the weight of the felt is.
A Bogart style hat is very close to the 1940 's Borsalino which is believe was his hat in "the Big Sleep"

A 40's hat will have at least a 2 1/2 brim with a bound or welted edge. The crown will be slightly tapered...and the felt will be very soft.....

 

[MK]

UPDATE:

I spoke with Kevin. They got my hat back and sold it Christmas eve to another guy. He said when Graham gets back from Austrailia he is going to make me a new hat the way I want. Surprisingly he is going to use another heavyweight pewter.....but he is going to start with a larger size.

I want to talk with him before he starts it though. I would hate for him to waste a felt body if he can't make the crown I want.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Hope you get the hat you want this time, MK.

Why are they so set on using a heavyweight felt? I'd like to see more hatmakers using the lighter weight felts. I have a Stetson I bought before the Paramount licensing, and the felt is thin and beautiful, best hat I own. Sadly, it's a 7 1/4, and mine head is now a 7 1/2. Nothing I've bought since then has matched up in quality, even other Stetsons.

Brad Bowers

 

[MK]

Before I wasn't as interested in the lightweights because the Indy style they make is too floppy for my liking, so I thought a heavyweight might be more to my taste.

Now I have rethought this choice and am considering a lightweight. The Indy brim is about three inches, but the hat I want then to make is more like two and a half. Also it is a welted brim which gives it strength.

I plan on speaking to Graham.........and I am willing to try the lightweight.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I have seen plenty of hats with the Bogey untapered crown style in heavyweight felts and do not believe that you "need" a light weight to recreate the look.

MK, you saw my 20,s Borsalino a week or so ago, that is a heavyweight.

I had a long discussion with Graham before he left and he explained that they can make the stovepipe style crown using their 30's block with little to no taper and a larger felt body (as you said) and the hat will look right. CONJECTURE--I think the problem lies with Optimo getting in felt bodies that are smaller than the ones companies used in the 30's, this is why they have to use a bigger head sized felt body and shrink it down to look right for a heavyweight.

Heavy or lightweight, I think they can make it look right.

 

[Michael Mallory]

Well...the band looks right. Maybe we should all pool our resources and remake "The Maltese Falcon," only call it "The Maltese Fedora," and instead of a jewel encrusted bird, everyone's hunting for Bogie's hat. (Maybe Lauren Bacall's home phone number is etched on the sweatband.)

 

[Nathan Flowers]

I may be wrong, but I think this is a picture of Dan's vintage Borsalino styled by Optimo. I think it looks very Bogie.

 

[Andykev]

Hummmm

It kinda looks like an Optimo to me! I assume not a vintage Borsalino? Or did Optimo bind the edge as well as reblock? Most of the modern Borsalino's that I have seen are raw edged.

 

[Brad Bowers]

I did order one of Lee's new Bogie hats, in the darker gray. It will have the larger ribbon, a stitched underwelt, and come open crown, to which Lee will apply a "Falcon" hand bash.

Since others will probably want to see it, I will post photos when I receive it. It may be months from now. At least, with Lee's hats, we have another option.

Brad Bowers

 

[Matt Deckard]

It kinda looks like an Optimo to me! I assume not a vintage Borsalino? Or did Optimo bind the edge as well as reblock? Most of the modern Borsalino's that I have seen are raw edged.

I believe the hat was a bound edge vintage Borsalino that was sent in to be reblocked. The brim was cut and rebound as well per Dan's request..

I have seen a few vintage Borsalinos with bound edges.

 

[Andykev]

Yes

I have a 40's vintage Borsalino with a beautiful bound edge. But being an "optimo" frequent flyer (hahahha) I recognized the binding as Marlene's. (from Optimo)

 

[Michael Mallory]

I have a non-vintage Barbisio (by way of Cervo) that has a whip-stiched edge. Does Borsalino also do this?

 

[fedoralover]

That is a nice hat, but to be honest comparing it with MKs pics it looks too tapered to me. Or am I looking at it cross-eyed.

fedoralover

 

[Rundquist]

That picture doesn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t do the hat justice. I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll probably see Dan next week. I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll try to get a shot of the hat on his head. Cheers

 

[Bogie1943]

. . . MK was right, this hat was a little fishy, not quit right in some little way. Maybe his quest will never end, not like others have in the past. Having found "the stuff that dreams are made of" and that certain golden statuette, a new quest has began. He will search and wonder far beyond what he knows of right and wrong, maybe to a satisfying conclusion. We the spectators in this quest for the one true possession he seeks, must wait another day. For one day MK will find what his soul has been wondering in the search of. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life . . .the quest continues . . .:cool2:

 

[MK]

Today it arrived.

The box just sat there on my desk......waiting.

It couldn't be ignored.....but that was excatly what I felt like doing....but there it sat starring at me.

I didn't want to open it and see what I knew would be inside. A hat.....even a good hat. A brand new, well made hat....that wasn't going to be what I wanted.

It couldn't be.

I had spoken to Graham......and he wasn't very reassuring:

Well, I made the hat. It looks pretty close. If this is not close enough, then I probably can't make it.

The last time he said it was perfect....and it was off by a mile. What was it going to look like when he says it is "pretty close"?

I was going to be stuck with it. The best thing to do is just not open it.

It was a battle of the wills between the box and me.

The box won.

After using my ATF approved box cutter to open the outer white postal service box, I found the black box. I carefully lifted the lid. It was like opening the Ark. You hoped it was wonderful....but you feared that something dreadful was inside.

After all the dry ice fog cleared......there was my hat. I gently removed it from it's snug cave........


,,,,and it looked great! How can this be? I looked at it from all sides. Sure it didn't have that front & back reverse taper....but I didn't expect them to achieve that. Never the less it was very cool.

The felt seemed so much softer than the previous one. what did he do to get it so much softer? Hmmmm.......

I rang Graham up and told heim what a great job he did on the hat. I also asked hin about the felt. It was graphite....which IS a light weight.

I had called Kevin before I left for England and told him that they could make it in a light weight if that is what it took to get it right. He said that wouldn't make a difference and that Graham had already started on another pewter body.

Graham and Kevin definately have different opinions regarding this matter.

Graham said that to make the kind of crowns that I like he needs to use a light weight....and that now that he has made this one, he can reproduce it with no problem.

So here it is:

I love the color. It looks great. Who knows? It might end up being my favorite.

I have my Bogart hat.