Ribbon / Adventurebilt Changes

[crazylegsmurphy]

Hey everyone,

A while ago I got some vintage ribbon from Fedora to replace the ribbon on my LC Adventurebilt. The thing is, I need some advice on how to actually make the bow, and apply the ribbon.

Does anyone have any idea where I can find this information?

******

Second Question,

I have two Adventurebit hats that I ordered about two and a half years ago. I am considering getting another one, but I was wondering if anyone had any info on what has evolved in the hats since? I once read something about how the crown is shorter now, and the cost is higher...can anyone confirm all the changes?

Also, what is the current wait time for one?

Thanks,

Jeff

[Ripper]

http://dalexs.whitvani.net/hat/hatpage.html

IMHO the best tutorial on how to replace a ribbon !

[crazylegsmurphy]

Awesome, thanks Ripper!

[Indiana G]

clm,

crown height and brim dims are unchanged and are both up to the customer to provide if they want to break away from the standard measurements..... just the block shape has been slightly tweeked. it is very very subtle as i have an ab from steve's old block and an ab from steve's new block. i can't really explain it well so hopefully fedora can chime in here......as far as my experience goes....the old block looks more "squarish" than the new one. again, the difference is extremely slight but thats how i can explain it when i compare the 2. the newer block is more fluid and has a better side profile.

the current wait is about 6 to 7 months for an ab (from what i hear on the board).

[Chewbacca Jones]

yeah, Indiana G sounds about right on the wait time. The price will be going up in the future, I believe, so now's the time to order (I did). The block won't be much different, and the size differences you mention on the crown and brim are more a change of general concensus for proper dimensions among gearheads.

The main difference in the new batch is a slightly better felt (though I can't imagine in what way). That's about all I know.

[Dr.Seuss]

crown height and brim dims are unchanged and are both up to the customer to provide if they want to break away from the standard measurements..... just the block shape has been slightly tweeked. it is very very subtle as i have an ab from steve's old block and an ab from steve's new block.

This may help:

Here is the revised blockshape. Pardon the pics. The first run were too dark and blurry, and this run has too much flash. But, you can see the outline of the hat and that is good. The guy who ordered this hat just wanted a generic Raiders fedora, if you were wondering about which scene it was to emulate. So, this is just my generic Raiders crease job. The hat was only turned slightly, and he wanted the ribbon centered more than being towards the front of the hat. It is a size 7, 5 1/2 tall in the open crown state. Now, it probably looks like any other AB, but there are some nuances going on here, that you may not catch.










I will try and get some outside in better lighting in a few to show it better.

and:

The nuances are no secret at all. If you are bored with technical hat stuff, stop reading now!!

The Raiders fedora has a particular radius or curvature where the sides form the crown. This is created by the several things, which I won't go into. Suffice to say, just more than one facet is involved. That area has been tweaked.

Another area is the front and back taper, or lack of it. Overtime, I had changed this area of the block to give reverse taper, that is, a blocked in reverse taper, while this was never present in the film hat. This is one of the caricatures that I had revised into my Raiders blockshape, and for the sake of true accuracy, I must get rid of it. When an original Raiders HJ was creased, in the new state, the back was perfectly straight, and that is what I had to move back to. A blocked in reverse taper creates a hat where the length of the crown on top is longer than the crown at the sweatband. Totally inaccurate, although many fans have insisted upon this in their hats. The film hats bulges, which gives the illusion of a block that had reverse taper.

And finally, the shape of the arc on the creased Raiders fedora when seen from the sides. Many other hats look flattish on the top, when creased the correct depth on the front and back. So, the arc has been tweaked, and like the radius I mentioned earlier, a couple of things are involved in this arc. It is odd how another part of a hat block affects another area, and this presents problems to anyone trying to reverse engineer a block.

What is so funny about this whole deal, at least to me, is after David sent me this latest block from Lamode to block a hat on, a lightbulb came on and I looked and found some pics I had taken of one of my vintage HJ Poets, one made from a stiffer felt, and one that due to this fact, really kept the original blockshape intact. It seems his(our) fresh look at the original Raiders block, and the work that he has had done by Lamode took us right back to the vintage Poet. Sometimes in the heat of the quest, you forget that you used to have a 3 D representation of the block. And in a stiff felt so you can tell better what the hat started out as.

Of course, getting from what you see in that HJ block, to a wood block that you can use is quite a chore, and very time consuming and it ain't cheap which explains why only a few of us have even attempted this. But, it is one of the most important parts that is essential in offering these hats for sale. A good hat stylist, can take a fairly straight sided hat and make it look very similiar to the Raiders fedora, due to his or her ability at molding the felt, but if you are a hatter, the nuances that are missing kicks you in the face. Those are the nuances that I am obsessed with. Fedora

Perhaps this will save Fedora some rewriting time. (BTW: At times, I deplore searching Threads).

Sincerely,

[Marc]

I have two Adventurebit hats that I ordered about two and a half years ago. I am considering getting another one, but I was wondering if anyone had any info on what has evolved in the hats since?

We introduced the pre-aging, which is a special technique that makes the hat less prone to taper in September 2006. So that would be new to you. The craftmanship has also evolved over the years on both versions of the AB hats - hardly noticeable perhaps, but it's there nontheless.

Regards,

Marc

[Indiana G]

wasn't a special waterproofing technique also introduced about a year ago.....relayed from a senior hatter i believe.

[Marc]

Not really. I've talked to several "oldtimers" about developing a pre-aging technique ("killing" the felt) and their experience helped me to develop and improve it, as they could tell me what made sense in their mind and what not. But it has nothing to do with waterproofing.

Regards,

Marc

[crazylegsmurphy]

Thanks guys,

So there have been slight changes. I am seriously considering getting another AB. The wait time is pretty long though...understandably....hmm.

What is the wait time for a re-block?

[McFly]

I'm almost at 3 months! Reminds me of a song by The Carpenters.

"We've only just beguuuuuuuun!"

In Christ,
Shane

[Bufflehead Jones]

We introduced the pre-aging, which is a special technique that makes the hat less prone to taper in September 2006.

Regards,

Marc

It must have been a really bad month for hats! Whew, I'm just glad my hats survived it.

[Indiana G]

White lace and promises A kiss for luck and we're on our way......

er....ehem....was that out loud????......uhm....carpenters...who are those guys?!!?!

[Texas Raider]

Pick up the tempo,,,,,!! Sharin' horizons that are new to us,,,,,,Watchin' the signs along the way,,,,,,AHHHHHH,AHHHHHHH,,,,talkin' it over just the two of us,,,(ahhhh,,,ahhhh,,,ahhhh,ahhhhh) Workin' together day to day,,,

TR