How does Lee Keppler's fedora rank?

RobbyT43 · Post by **RobbyT43** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:33 pm

It looks like a great hat at a really good price (don't everybody order at once now

) I was just wondering from any owners how it holds up and if it was a good investment.

Thanks!!!

Robby

Ripper · Post by **Ripper** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 11:19 pm

When I had mine(owned it for over two years before selling it) It held up great! I wore it in rain and snow with very minimal taper. I know some here, I think it might have been Strider, had bad luck with taper. All and all not a bad lid !

Strider · Post by **Strider** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 1:31 am

Ripper wrote:When I had mine(owned it for over two years before selling it) It held up great! I wore it in rain and snow with very minimal taper. I know some here, I think it might have been Strider, had bad luck with taper. All and all not a bad lid !

Yeah, that was me, but to be fair to the hat, it was my fault that the hat tapered as bad as it did. I got caught in a frog strangler one night, and still being a newbie to the gear world and hats in general, I didn't know how to store it after it being so wet that the water soaked through the felt. I stored it on the brim (

), and afterward tried to apply hair spray in lieu of felt stiffener to try and fight the taper that I saw in the hat (yes, seriously). Then I let it dry on a lampshade.

So it's not like I took that great of care of the hat to begin with. Before that, I liked it!

Indiana Texas-girl · Post by **Indiana Texas-girl** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 1:41 am

It's a great hat with a great color to it! I still have my Keppler and have no plans of ever selling it, even though the AB is my hat of choice these days.

Strider · Post by **Strider** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:21 am

Wasn't it your Keppler I remember seeing with the Pooh bear liner, ITG?

Indiana Croft · Post by **Indiana Croft** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:09 am

The Keppler was one of my first steps in the right direction so to speak. Had a Stetson before that. But I only wore it a little and once I gat an AB, well lets just say I was done looking. These days my Keppler is my display hat in my den, along w/whip, idol and the like.

Don't get me wrong, if it wasn't for the crown being a tad short it's a beautiful fedora and worth of a "first"

Croft

Dr._J · Post by **Dr._J** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:05 am

Personally, I don't think anyone's nailed the color like Keppler.

Texas Raider · Post by **Texas Raider** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 11:06 am

I love my Keppler, too! Won't ever sell that one! Thinnest felt of all my lids.

TR

Post by **Michaelson** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 11:21 am

That's interesting, TR. The one I owned was one of the thickest. Ranked right up there with my first custom bullet proof PB!

HIGH regards! Michaelson

Dr._J · Post by **Dr._J** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:32 pm

I agree Michaelson, I would compare the felt to a PB or Cowboy hat felt. It's softened over the years but definately isn't thin.

Mark Brody · Post by **Mark Brody** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:38 pm

Strider wrote:Yeah, that was me, but to be fair to the hat, it was my fault that the hat tapered as bad as it did. I got caught in a frog strangler one night, and still being a newbie to the gear world and hats in general, I didn't know how to store it after it being so wet that the water soaked through the felt. I stored it on the brim ( ), and afterward tried to apply hair spray in lieu of felt stiffener to try and fight the taper that I saw in the hat (yes, seriously). Then I let it dry on a lampshade. So it's not like I took that great of care of the hat to begin with. Before that, I liked it!

So what is the proper procedure for taking care of a wet hat?

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:48 pm

The biggest thing with a wet hat is to keep it away from heat; don't put it on a lampshade (with the lamp on, anyway) or try to use a hair dryer. There are differences of opinion on the rest of it, though.

When I get a hat soaked, I usually toy with the shape a bit (like the brim) since there will be a bit of memory when it dries. Some folks let it dry by resting the crown on the table, leaving the brim in the air. I've actually let hats dry on the brim -- but not flat on the brim -- by letting it hang over the table or off a stack of books. The big key is to let it dry naturally. If you leave it alone until it dries, the hat won't get acidentally reshaped a little, unless you like to toy with your hats like I do.

It's true that all hats will taper in time, and soaking a hat may aid in that process. The quality and make-up of the felt plays a big role in that, too. For instance, a wool hat will shrink and taper rapidly once soaked, whereas a pure beaver will resist taper much longer. There are always exceptions to the rule, as folks have different experiences.

Post by **Michaelson** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 1:03 pm

Yep, there's no single 'best way' to dry a hat properly. Every one has a different characteristic, and even like hats made of the same materials by the same hat maker will do different things.

You just have to determine what works with YOUR hat, and use that experience as a 'guide' rather than a 'benchmark'.

That would be a good post/question for the gear care section. This one is going to get lost in this thread.

Regards! Michaelson

Indiana Texas-girl · Post by **Indiana Texas-girl** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 11:42 pm

Strider wrote:Wasn't it your Keppler I remember seeing with the Pooh bear liner, ITG?

Yup! Here it is:

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 12:45 am

That's one big pooh!

Indiana Texas-girl · Post by **Indiana Texas-girl** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 1:07 am

All the more Pooh to cuddle with.

Just watch where you step so you don't get any Pooh on your shoe.

Minnesota Jones · Post by **Minnesota Jones** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:02 am

The Keppler was the first "real" Indy Fedora I purchased back in 2002. I still use it today. It's my "costume" hat used when I go all out in the gear (gunbelt, whip, etc.) - it's coated in Fuller's Earth now, and it's a great Indy hat.

A shot of the fedora from Marscon - a local Sci Fi con this past March...

And a couple photos from CONvergence - our local Sci-Fi con in town from this past July

Texas Raider · Post by **Texas Raider** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 5:11 pm

Here's my Keppler-

[img][img]http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/125/0000982tt0.th.jpg[/img][/img]

TR

Texas Raider · Post by **Texas Raider** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 4:20 am

Here's a shot of the felt thickness. -

Top is Keppler(thinnest), middle is AB, and bottom is Akubra(thickest)-

[img][img]http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/2177/0000977rl7.th.jpg[/img][/img]

TR

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 11:33 am

TR, that's a great comparison shot! I always wondered how the thickness of various hats compared, and sometimes you can only really know that by seeing them together.

Dr._J · Post by **Dr._J** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 2:51 pm

Would'ja lookit that? Hmmmm....

Maybe the Keppler just FEELS thicker because of the stiffner?