The main Raiders mod - is never made.

[facade]

I would have thought arguing about a religion would be forbidden...

 

[TheManInTheHat]

Not sure this is the most appropriate location for this post. However:
I've visited both Lock Hatters and Swaine Adeney Brigg in London (also Bates and Christys', who sell great Poet Fedoras). Lock makes no claim of supplying hats for the IJ movies. (They claim many other things but never this). Swaine Adeney Brigg, who acquired the Herbert Johnson brand, claim it was all HJ hats in Raiders and I believe Richard Swales is well-known to Forum members. Other sources have further persuaded me that HJ hats were used exclusively for the first 3 movies until Adventurebilt took over. There's been a lot of argument about the relative quality and sourcing of HJ hats from 1980 vs now but, to be honest, my new 2016 white liner HJ is beautiful and the best rabbit felt hat I own. On purchase, it was hard as cardboard but is responding well to rain, sweat, steam and a lot of pouncing. It will never be a Beaver or Antelope hat but, when the wind blows, the brim moves, which is all I really wanted in terms of screen accurate softness. There is, so far, no sign of taper and I remain optimistic on that score. I have no current plans to dress the hat with olive oil. I own a few other Indi hats and some classic vintage high crown Fedoras from Stetson, Dobbs, Resistol and others which look the part. However, the HJ is currently the Indi hat which makes me happiest.

 

[TheManInTheHat]

I've Instagrammed some photographs of my off-the-shelf Herbert Johnson with added asymmetric Raiders turn and pinch: I knocked it out of shape, sanded, steamed, rotated and reshaped it. No cutting or modifications to the ribbon or headband though.

 

[3thoubucks]

ManInTheHat, now get one 2 1/2 or 4 sizes bigger, & cinch 'er up!

So, I got a Miller "Harrison", 2 1/2 sizes too big for me, also a new Borsalino Alessandria, and it seems along with the Akubra Federation and Campdraft, and Stetson Open Road, all these hats have the same block. I'm ordering another Miller, 3 1/2 sizes too big this time.
But here's what I got out of the first Miller. (bottom of page) http://brokenheartsfixedhere.homestead.com/DUCTTAPEFEDORACO.html This cinched up hat was sitting there, and a bulge formed on the side of the crown behind the front dent with the grove. I poked it in a couple times, but it came back, so I grabbed the front pinch with my right hand, put my left hand in the hat, and started pinching the front bash grove tighter. I realized I was probably doing what Ford was doing to it in the Waco plane in Hawaii. It used to be on You Tube, but it's on the bonus material disc with the Triology boxed set. It looks like he's pinching something but it's clearly not the top bash.
The cinching makes the brim curl and now it snaps down in back, never had a hat do that before. The crown got taller and the top grove got deeper with steeper sides, first Raiders hat my head doesn't pop out the top bash..
I'm getting another Miller because the color is delicious. There was actually a hole where the sweatband was overstitched, so that's not good. The felt shrinks like crazy when is gets wet and dries. I had to shrink the base of the crown with a big rubber band and wetness in the ribbon area. I'll do it more carefully and slowly next one.

 

[TheManInTheHat]

Interesting! I shall probably keep my hat as it is though

 

[RJR]

Interesting! I shall probably keep my hat as it is though

+1

 

[3thoubucks]

Well, I got the 3 1/2 sizes too big Miller "Harrison", and it was too big, couldn't work with it. I'm going to guess the hat you need is 2 1/2 to 3 sizes too big. - How to Make a Raiders Of The Lost Ark Hat - 2 1/2 to 3 sizes too big, cinched up, smaller sweat, 1/4 inch of crown becomes brim front and back, turned, temporary telescope bash at 3 1/2 inches above original brim break.

 

[Edward]

I imagine the best way to gauge how much bigger the starting hat should be is to do as the man himself: grow yer hair long like Han Solo, get a hat that fits properly, then go out and get yerself a serious 1930s haircut, and cinch in to account for the difference. (FWIW..... I reckon I went down a hat size, one exactly, when I shaved my head, but I was always fairly fine-haired).

 

[3thoubucks]

I'm back - with a spot-on Herbert Johnson Poet. Found it on Ebay, the ad showed a Dorfman Pacific with an Indy pin on the bow, so I didn't check it- oddly, it was still there the next day, and I found it was a Swaine Adeney Brigg HJ poet from 2005-2008, with a lighter color ribbon than what they sell now, and 6 inch crown.
It's a size 61, same size as that last too-big Miller I couldn't cinch down or shrink up the base enough. But the felt is completely floppy- no stiffener at all, I don't think. I thought this would let me cinch it up with the ribbon, but it was still too big. - So, I folded the sweat band, something I thought the Raiders hat had all along.
I reblocked it to a Akubra Fereration type shape, but couldn't get the look, so I went total stovepipe block, like I used to make my Raiders hats with. The crown height went down to just under 5 1/2 inches.
I got the "standard block shape" angle wrong. The Raiders block was a stovepipe in my opinion.

Here's a video
http://tinyurl.com/jxysdwu

 

[moontheloon]

I'm back - with a spot-on Herbert Johnson Poet. Found it on Ebay, the ad showed a Dorfman Pacific with an Indy pin on the bow, so I didn't check it- oddly, it was still there the next day, and I found it was a Swaine Adeney Brigg HJ poet from 2005-2008, with a lighter color ribbon than what they sell now, and 6 inch crown.
It's a size 61, same size as that last too-big Miller I couldn't cinch down or shrink up the base enough. But the felt is completely floppy- no stiffener at all, I don't think. I thought this would let me cinch it up with the ribbon, but it was still too big. - So, I folded the sweat band, something I thought the Raiders hat had all along.
I reblocked it to a Akubra Fereration type shape, but couldn't get the look, so I went total stovepipe block, like I used to make my Raiders hats with. The crown height went down to just under 5 1/2 inches.
I got the "standard block shape" angle wrong. The Raiders block was a stovepipe in my opinion.

Here's a video
http://tinyurl.com/jxysdwu

is that Lily behind you ?

.... always loved her ... yum

 

[FedOregon]

I started wearing fedoras as a senior in highschool when my uncle gave me 2 hats. That was fall of 1977. So I don't think I was influenced by ROTLA. I believe the ROTLA movie came out about the time I came home from Niue Island in the South Pacific. Living in a less modern society, then coming home to a movie date with Sandy Kearns was a bit of re-entry culture shock to say the least. I was still afraid to get into a car and travel at 55 - 70 mph. Without using my google-fu, or duckduckgo-fu, I'm thinking this was around June 1981.

At the time, I thought ROTLA was the best movie I'd ever seen (Star Wars be d@m...) but to say it is the best movie that ever will be made??? I can't even begin to say how inaccurate that is.

I love my Penman factory produced Everyman Indy hat. It resembles the CS movie hat a little but I had John crease it to my liking, not as an exact replica. The front pinch is wider and the front brim doesn't take such a straight-down dive. I'm looking forward to a custom Penman in pure beaver felt, the steel blue-ish grey color, and a loud ribbon. Not very Indy-esque at all. John is the first hatter I ever did business with, mostly because his shop is about 30 miles down the road from me.

I'm into about two Baker's Dozen hats now and the Indy is in the rotation but certainly not the only hat and look I aspire to. Please, no olive oil here. I'll keep that for cooking and vinaigrette dressing.

All that said, and taking into account my less than professional life's work in researching all things ROTLA, I disagree with the idea that grabbing an overly large hat and scrunching it by means of a tiny hatband ribbon is the true path to Indy Hat Enlightenment.

Now, you give me the modern Chicken Little movie and I'm all in. You just gotta love a fasionista like Runt of the Litter and his killer, memorable lines under life threatening stress:

Just leave me some ammo, a little water, some chips if you have 'em.

Words to live by, right there.

 

[3thoubucks]

is that Lily behind you ?

.... always loved her ... yum

Do you know what I did to her? To her life? Note the 3 broken hearts up the front of her dress. Actually, that happened to me. ... but, I knew what I was doin' or, now I do.

 

[3thoubucks]

That was fall of 1977.

I got my first fedora in the mid 70's as well. A vintage Stetson Steamship, or Oceanliner ? had a picture of a ship on the liner.

 

[moontheloon]

Do you know what I did to her? To her life? Note the 3 broken hearts up the front of her dress. Actually, that happened to me. ... but, I knew what I was doin' or, now I do.

I have no idea what this means ... and not sure I want to

 

[Bob Roberts]

...not sure that I care.

 

[3thoubucks]

I have no idea what this means ... and not sure I want to

Those are pretty much 4 quotes from the Raven Bar scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" I was 8 years into being totally obsessed with an ex girlfriend when Raiders came out, Marion was 10 years in. - I made this video on Halloween night, I got that decoration at the dollar store. Yeah, looks like Lilly on the Munsters!

 

[andrew_AU]

But you could make a "too big" hat fit by cutting the painting into strips and putting them under the sweatband. Problem solved!

I'm late to this thread...mostly because my attention was drawn to the interesting ones first.

But DJH, that would have to be the BEST POST EVER. I literally laughed out loud when I read it

 

[scottyrocks]

I'm not sure why this thread popped up in my New Posts list given that the previous post is dated 4 years ago, but regarding an earlier post, it is true that Indiana Jones is not responsible for us all wearing hats now, but it sure did reignite general interest in them when the RotLA was released.

 

[Edward]

I'm not sure why this thread popped up in my New Posts list given that the previous post is dated 4 years ago, but regarding an earlier post, it is true that Indiana Jones is not responsible for us all wearing hats now, but it sure did reignite general interest in them when the RotLA was released.

Clearly not every one round here, no (though perhaps ironically TFL started off as a spin off from an Indy board, in effect). It can't have been the first thing I ever saw a fedora in, though in an era when you would never have seen a fedora worn where I grew up, it definitely was the first thing where I really noticed the hat. My brown Fed Deluxe is still one of my most worn fedoras, though I've never gone for the olive oil route.... (what's that for, aging? staining?) My favourite Indy looks were, in the main, his classroom suits. No doubt that was a big subconscious influence when I started wearing bow ties other than black or white tie events.

 

[jlee562]

Well, 3thou was vindicated on the folded sweat when Prop Store sold the original.

But that is also a sweat that looks to be otherwise installed correctly.

I'm still not sold on any "cinched" ribbons or extensive mods.