The Allan Quatermain Hat Thread - Where oh where

[MDFrench]

Guys! This is awesome! I am so glad that there is so much enthusiasm for this one! I thought I'd never find it!

Votes for a name? Well, considering this really is the alternative Indy for those who don't wanna jump on the brown felt bandwagon, there are a series of names that would be cool!

"The Quatermain," "The Granger," "The Great White Hunter," all seem like the best options to me.

Oh, by the way Art - what do you think that has IS made out of? I know you're going with rabbit for the hat due to the dual-layer thing to keep costs down - do you think that's the actual material in your professional opinion???

Also, here's an option for you to keep costs down further. Do a single-layer version as a budget version! Just a thought.

Man this makes me excited!

And yeah BT - It's actually spelled "QUATERMAIN" without the "r" - For years I thought it was Quartermain, but it isn't. Just read the original Haggard book to confirm, which is a copy of the first edition.

Mike

 

[K.D. Lightner]

My favorite is the Quatermain (I and II), and I also like Jungle Safari. Granger is OK, too.

I don't care for the Great White Hunter as it might put some people off. We certainly want everyone to feel good about buying this hat, not just white folks.

Go for it, Art!!!

karol

 

[Biltmore Bob]

My vote for Quatermain.

Great White Hunter second, I rather hate being politically correct...

 

[fedoralover]

This would be the ideal maintenance free hat. You would never have to have it reblocked because the crown tapered and of course the dirtier the better as it is a safari hat. It would be difficult for me to get used to that crown being so tapered, but I have to admit it does have a lot of character.

fedoralover

 

[MDFrench]

That's what's so great - the crown starts out a little tapered anyway even though the hat isn't seen "new" until he returns from the first hunting expedition. Then in other scenes in the film the hat is totally blasted, tapered, and whatnot and it STILL looks cool and that means that if you had one and it tapered and got all wavy in the brim, it'd STILL look "screen accurate"!

Boy, Indy's hats have to be perfectly untapered all the time for fedora owners wanting that Raiders accurate look. The Quatermain hat doesn't subscribe to such luxuries of filmmaking - it takes a beating and keeps on marching!

Cannot wait to see Art's prototype!

Mike

 

[MDFrench]

Oh, and one more name possibility -

"The Bwana"

The classic name in film for the safari hunter as he is often called by the bearers and such, and as Granger is known by Khiva and his bearers in King Solomon's Mines, "Bwana Allani."

Mike

 

[K.D. Lightner]

I like Bwana Allani even better than the Quatermain.

karol

 

[BellyTank]

Yes Kemo Sabe, Bwana good!

BTonto.

 

[MDFrench]

Is anyone else just rubbing their palms in anticipation??? Man, this is gonna be a long wait even if it's only a week.

Art, if you're reading this, the picture I posted in response to Sharpe's question about what we should ask for color and brimwise is the best photo collage of the hat in a new-looking form.

The hat appears to be quite floppy as far as the underbrim goes, as it is often seen undulating in the wind and the forward brim blowing down in Granger's eyes a little while the upper brim remains more firm.

Just a few little details. Back to your regularly scheduled forum.

Mike

 

[Matt Deckard]

Sounds good to me... Can't wait to see a "Bwana".

Longtime fan of the Indy hat, though the Indy hat is truly a dress hat worn in terrible conditions. A true outdoors hat that is not a cowboy hat is something I have always liked. You should also check out The Ghost and the Darkness with Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas.

This movie made me buy an Akubra slouch hat.

 

[MDFrench]

Ghost and the Darkness! There's a dang good film!

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Is anyone else just rubbing their palms in anticipation??? Man, this is gonna be a long wait even if it's only a week.

Art, if you're reading this, the picture I posted in response to Sharpe's question about what we should ask for color and brimwise is the best photo collage of the hat in a new-looking form.

The hat appears to be quite floppy as far as the underbrim goes, as it is often seen undulating in the wind and the forward brim blowing down in Granger's eyes a little while the upper brim remains more firm.

Just a few little details. Back to your regularly scheduled forum.

Mike

I would like to see the price in a blend and pure beaver. Lets have a few choices.

 

[BellyTank]

Check this one, an Australian Slouch Hat-
not the right shape anyway but a nice hat all the same...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=6518831288&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

...reverse-taper even.
Shame about the side-clip and the small size, otherwise I'd have had it.

BT.

 

[MDFrench]

A dual-layered pure beaver?! Sharpe, do you have any idea how much that would cost??? Hope you're prepared to take out a second mortgage on your home! LOL

 

[Art Fawcett]

Bwana is it!!!

Hi Guys,
Sorry for the delay, another trip north for me just ended. I'll answer all the questions I can remember

First, the pugaree is not pleated so I will have to get some made. I can do the prototype in pleated but it wont be right.

MD, it's pretty hard to tell from a pic the content of a hat but this seems to be pretty rough so my best guess is that it is rabbit. I don't have any "natural" rabbit bodies on hand so the prototype is going to be (gulp) pure beaver. My best guess as to cost on the beaver will be about $350 with rabbit being in the $250 range.

Observation.....this looks like about a 3" brim on this hat. Any opinions?

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Scale

http://www.geocities.com/indyfrench/1950ksm1.JPG
Is there any way to lay a scale/ruler to this picture ?

 

[BellyTank]

Brim size...

Open the above pic in your picture viewer and zoom in 'til Granger's head is life size. Brim could be 3 1/2" or more...
As a guide, you can measure the distance between your outside eye corners and zoom the pic to approximate this gauge to the size of Stewart- approximation of course...

BT.

 

[BellyTank]

Good thinking Mr. Sharpetoys...
you can gauge off yer head/face landmarks as mentioned above.

BT.

 

[gandydancer]

Interpupillary distance is usually from 2.5 to 2.75 inchs. Based upon that I would say the brim is 3.5 inchs or larger.

 

[BellyTank]

Yep- and the bottom right of the above Granger pics is pretty much a square on shot.

BT.