ThinkGeek's "Officially Licensed" Indiana Jones Fedora

[Torpedo]

A bit more to them than that; however, yes, the Akubras and Christys have rabbit felts. Akubra has a tougher grade felt and the Christys' is the softer, city felt. Both wear, fit, and move completely differently; though, yes, they are both often generalized conveniently under the same rabbit felt heading.

It is because of this that the Christy's have an edge over the Akubras; for the hardcore Indy fans, the nuances of rabbit felt over hare make it the hat of choice.

 

[JohnnyB53]

It is because of this that the Christy's have an edge over the Akubras; for the hardcore Indy fans, the nuances of rabbit felt over hare make it the hat of choice.

Akubra Imperial felt is rabbit only. Their Heritage felt has some hare mixed in.

The original Raiders hat(s) were sourced from Herbert Johnson, who sourced the felt from somewhere in South America. Can we really know the complete fur content of the first ones? Given that South America and Australia share the same latitude, might not the specific qualities of the rabbit fur be closer than in rabbits from other latitudes and climates?

 

[JohnnyB53]

Here's what I found on the Gray Adventurebilt hat used in the film:
"Taller than the brown hats, having a 5 3/4" crown. They wanted it to have a different look than the brown hat. The brim is also larger at 2 7/8" by 2 5/8", but the creases are the same as on the brown."

Here's what I've found on the Brown Indy Adventurbuilt:
Crown height: 5,5" (13.97 cm)
Brim width: 2 3/4" x 2 1/2"

http://www.indygear.com/igfedora.html
http://www.indygear.com/igABstory.html
http://www.hallituskatu14.com/fedora/fedora.html

So the brim width on the Fed IV is closer to the Adventurbuilt Indy Fedora than it is to the Hero fedora, while the crown is still 1/8" larger (a pretty small difference, i'd say)

I still think you're comparing apples and oranges. Adventurebilt sells their hats pre-creased, so that's the final, creased crown height. HatsDirect sells the Federation IV open crown, so their figure is the open crown height. Creased height would be whatever crease you put in it, but it would be *at least* 1/2" and more like 1" shorter. I put a simple center crease in my Fed IV Deluxe, giving it a creased crown height of 4-7/8" at its highest point.

 

[Tone]

I wonder what an open crowned Dorfman, in its current specs, would look like as an Indy hat instead of that pressed teardrop thing they put in it.

Does the Dorfman come that tall, too?

 

[Torpedo]

I wonder what an open crowned Dorfman, in its current specs, would look like as an Indy hat instead of that pressed teardrop thing they put in it.

Does the Dorfman come that tall, too?

By what one can read in forums like COW, the Dorfman can not be creased into a "proper" Indy hat. At most it can be improved, from its present form, to one more or less resembling an Indy hat - but not, by a long way, an acceptably "accurate" Indy hat.

 

[Tone]

No, no. Sorry, let me clarify. I was wondering what the specs of the Dorfman measure out to uncreased; not whether it can or cannot be recreased from how it is now.

Do they have that information? Really it's a curiosity more than anything else (I'm not buying a Dorfman anytime soon just to verify that it's actually shorter.)

 

[Tone]

Does anyone know if there is an Akubra model that is equivalent - or very similar - to a shorter crowned version of the old Fed III's shape, including the brim?

 

[Torpedo]

Does anyone know if there is an Akubra model that is equivalent - or very similar - to a shorter crowned version of the old Fed III's shape, including the brim?

That would be the Fed IV. It is a little shorter, and the brim is a little narrower.

 

[Tone]

Thank goodness! Can you post a comparison between your Fed III and your Fed IV, Torpedo? I thought they had actually changed the block completely to one that hadn't been used for over 40 years.

So, with the block being identical - only a slight difference of an 1/8th of an inch as you've confirmed for us - why did they change the Fed again?

 

[JohnnyB53]

Thank goodness! Can you post a comparison between your Fed III and your Fed IV, Torpedo? I thought they had actually changed the block completely to one that hadn't been used for over 40 years.

So, with the block being identical - only a slight difference of an 1/8th of an inch as you've confirmed for us - why did they change the Fed again?

We've been shooting so many hat specs around here it's getting confusing. Here are the crown height and brim width dimensions of the Federation III, Federation IV, and the David Morgan Adventurer:

Federation III:
Open crown height -- 6"
Brim Width Front/back -- 73mm=2-7/8"
Brim Width Sides -- 70mm=2-3/4"

Federation IV:
Open crown height -- 5-5/8"
Brim Width Front/back -- 70mm=2-3/4"
Brim Width Sides -- 63mm=2-1/2"

David Morgan Adventurer:
Open crown height -- 5-1/2"
Brim Width Front/back -- 3-1/8"
Brim Width Sides -- 2-3/4"

 

[Ordinary Guy]

So is this a Fed III or a Fed IV ??

http://www.hatsdirect.com/cgi-bin/products.cgi?view=38&returncat=Federation&returnpage=0

 

[MattJH]

So is this a Fed III or a Fed IV ??

http://www.hatsdirect.com/cgi-bin/products.cgi?view=38&returncat=Federation&returnpage=0

That is the leftover stock of the Federation III Deluxe in black.

 

[jpbales]

I still think you're comparing apples and oranges. Adventurebilt sells their hats pre-creased, so that's the final, creased crown height. HatsDirect sells the Federation IV open crown, so their figure is the open crown height. Creased height would be whatever crease you put in it, but it would be *at least* 1/2" and more like 1" shorter. I put a simple center crease in my Fed IV Deluxe, giving it a creased crown height of 4-7/8" at its highest point.

I honestly can't say for sure, but I would doubt that they would determine the crown height by the bashed height, it's simply not logical- especially for a guy who was so obsessed with the Indy hat that he made his own and eventually ended up making them for the new movie. It seems like he would try to put those crown heights in terms of a universal standard- the open crown- as opposed to making a measurement that varies from hat to hat- the bashed crown. Not to mention, his hat just plain doesn't look that tall anyway.

 

[jpbales]

Indeed, there are various hats in the market in the middle price range (rabbit or hare felt), some of which are very popular with fans: Both Christy's and Akubra fell here. In a way, the Christy's are more accurate for the earlier films than the Ab, because the hats in those films were rabbit.

Regards!

although the original fur felt was rabbit, it was much different than the modern felts that are used today, which is why Adventurbilt went with beaver. Today's beaver is yesterday's rabbit. I remember reading about it; Delk said that he wanted a fur felt that was thin and flexible like the raiders hat was, which was rabbit, and beaver was the closest they could get these days.

 

[jpbales]

http://www.hallituskatu14.com/fedora/fedora.html
"ADVENTUREBILT

This is THE hat that was made for the latest Indy film (Crystal Skull). Handmade by Steve Delk and it is 100% beaver. If you have enough dough, buy this nevertheless it can take up to 1 year to receive one...

Felt: Beaver
Open crown: Yes
Crown height: 5,5" (13.97 cm)
Dimensionally cut brim: Yes
Factory/Handmade: Handmade
Ribbon: ?"

open crown height
I wish Adventurbilt had just posted it on their site, then I wouldn't have had to search all over for it!

 

[DerMann]

Think you guys may be over reacting.

Those fedoras are labeled as official, they're just going by the product info supplied to them.

And really, who would make a serious hat purchase on that site any way? The people who patronise it would know to do a quick google search before committing $100 to a hat.

That aside, ThinkGeek is one of my favourite websites. I do hope to eventually get their titanium spork.

 

[JohnnyB53]

Yes, this "NEW" merchandising scheme they're pulling on the Indiana Jones fans is unheard of. I mean... what happened to the days when they slapped a name on it and you KNEW you were getting the real deal?

I mean, when they slapped the name Star Wars "LIGHTSABER" on that red flashlight handle in the 70's, you could count on the fact that that plastic tubing matched the film props without question.

They really cheat the fans nowadays. :eusa_doh:

Yeah, I remember what a hassle it was mix the black powder for my official Walt Disney's Davy Crockett "Betsy" rifle. Also had to melt down the family pewter to make the bullets.

When the coffee pot went missing, my folks weren't too happy.

 

[MattJH]

I wanted to post this, but didn't think we really needed another Indiana Jones inaccurate hat thread, so this was the closest I could find to bump. Check it out - eleven different Indiana Jones hats, none of which even slightly resemble the Indiana Jones hat. Heh. We're officially in the minority; nobody knows the difference. I was wearing my Natural Art Fawcett last Saturday when I took shelter in a Chinese restaurant during the latest Philadelphia flash mob, and the girl behind the counter called me Indiana.

 

[The Good]

I wanted to post this, but didn't think we really needed another Indiana Jones inaccurate hat thread, so this was the closest I could find to bump. Check it out - eleven different Indiana Jones hats, none of which even slightly resemble the Indiana Jones hat. Heh. We're officially in the minority; nobody knows the difference. I was wearing my Natural Art Fawcett last Saturday when I took shelter in a Chinese restaurant during the latest Philadelphia flash mob, and the girl behind the counter called me Indiana.

Yeah, you're right, they hardly resemble what Harrison Ford wore in any of the films. I would have to say that the brown fur felt one is the "most" accurate, even though it is no particularly so. The least accurate ones though, look to be the Australian outback hats, and the cotton ones.

 

[Nebraska Schulte]

I thought they had actually changed the block completely to one that hadn't been used for over 40 years.

So, with the block being identical - only a slight difference of an 1/8th of an inch as you've confirmed for us - why did they change the Fed again?

According to the website of Hatsdirect.com, the Fed IV is made on a different block than the Fed III:

Hatsdirect and Akubra Hats, together set about creating a new hat, selecting an older hat block set from that era. Advice from Mark Cross (Indygear.com) and Steve Delk (the hat maker for the latest Indiana Jones movie, Adventurebuilt) have assisted with advice and specifications for the new hat.

http://www.hatsdirect.com/federation/index.html

Best wishes,
NS