It mentions Indiana Jones in the synopsis, and lists a whole chapter about Herbert Johnson. I'd love to read it, but $72 + shipping from England is a tad pricey for my budget (even as I scheme and save for a new item of Gear). I'm sure we'd all be grateful if one of our British compatriots could kindly obtain a scan of the relevant text for the benefit of the Indy Gear community at large.
Texan Scott wrote:Don't they believe in paperback anymore?
I doubt this one will go to paperback. Looks more like a coffee table style book and I would guess picture heavy. Doesn't translate well to a smaller paperback version.
CRB wrote:I like them, but I'm no expert. I have an Adventurbilt that I'll sell once the Poets stock comes in.
Unless the AB doesn't fit... Don't sell it! The AB is a much better hat, and once the Poet falls apart, which it will, you won't have any other hats to go back to. On second thought... Don't buy the Poet, it won't work out that well...
CRB wrote:I like them, but I'm no expert. I have an Adventurbilt that I'll sell once the Poets stock comes in.
Unless the AB doesn't fit... Don't sell it! The AB is a much better hat, and once the Poet falls apart, which it will, you won't have any other hats to go back to. On second thought... Don't buy the Poet, it won't work out that well...
One of them is a Steve Delk reblock back when Magnoli was selling them. The other was just a stock HJ Poet.
Even though it's never been near any rain, the stock hat has tapered to the point it's almost unreconizable. I've been told no-one can guarantee they won't destroy it trying to reblock it.
I keep the other one in a box.
Swaine-Adeney's webiste has the following instruction on their Poet:
PLEASE NOTE THIS HAT MUST NOT BE WORN IN HEAVY RAIN, IT IS IS MADE OF NATURAL FIBRES AND IF IT GETS TOO WET IT MAY SHRINK, LEAVE TO AIR DRY IF DAMP AND HAND MOULD BACK TO SHAPE IF NEEDED
John and Steve have no such disclaimers.
I wear my Penman and Adventurebilt hats daily in whatever weather mother nature conjures up. Never had a problem.
Well my AB is a size too small, so don't wear it. The appeal with the Poet is that I can try on before buying. If I prefer another AB then I can't refund can I? Plus shipping cost (big box), and not to mention very high UK customs charges (30%) on top of price of hat. Plus the AB is much more expensive. I don't know what felt my AB is either. Bit of a dilemma.
Texan Scott wrote:Don't they believe in paperback anymore?
I doubt this one will go to paperback. Looks more like a coffee table style book and I would guess picture heavy. Doesn't translate well to a smaller paperback version.
Regards,
Indiana Jeff
Shame its not a coffee table book on coffee tables.
Well my AB is a size too small, so don't wear it. The appeal with the Poet is that I can try on before buying. If I prefer another AB then I can't refund can I? Plus shipping cost (big box), and not to mention very high UK customs charges (30%) on top of price of hat. Plus the AB is much more expensive. I don't know what felt my AB is either. Bit of a dilemma.
Consider having it reblocked to the correct size. Most good hats can be sized up or down. Any of the good hatters on here could probably do that if they had time. Steve Delk would be the best bet if you can get ahold of him and don't mind the wait.
As far as the type of felt, beaver is very soft and extremely dense. The individual fibers are so fine you almost can't tell them apart. Rabbit is a lot coarser by comparison and doesn't feel as dense.
Well my AB is a size too small, so don't wear it. The appeal with the Poet is that I can try on before buying. If I prefer another AB then I can't refund can I? Plus shipping cost (big box), and not to mention very high UK customs charges (30%) on top of price of hat. Plus the AB is much more expensive. I don't know what felt my AB is either. Bit of a dilemma.
Consider having it reblocked to the correct size. Most good hats can be sized up or down. Any of the good hatters on here could probably do that if they had time. Steve Delk would be the best bet if you can get ahold of him and don't mind the wait.
As far as the type of felt, beaver is very soft and extremely dense. The individual fibers are so fine you almost can't tell them apart. Rabbit is a lot coarser by comparison and doesn't feel as dense.
The only thing to note about the reblocking the size up is that it would take away felt from the brim. So if you were to reblock, I would ask the hatter's advice and show pictures, and share measurements as well. If you are in the UK, I do suggest Marc as the reblocker; he is over in Germany, so that will make the shipping not as bad.
If you worried about cost effective. Think of it this way. In a year or so you will have to spend more money to replace the HJ. Where as the AB will last a life time.
Since the Poet is rabbit felt and AB uses the best rabbit felts available in the US, I'd say "yes" the AB is definitely better.
Bummer with the added taxes and customs fees. Does it matter if the hat is sent to you 'from a friend' vs. a vendor? You could see about the reblock going from Steve to another member and have them forward it on. Just thinking outloud.
CRB wrote:I don't mind spending much more on the hat, it's paying taxes and duties that makes my blood boil. Is the rabbit AB better than the Poet still ?
For what it's worth, I've not come across a better rabbit felt hat than my Adventurbilt rabbit felt Raiders. I cannot imagine the factory-made modern-day Poet being in the same league, IMHO.
HJ's aren't what they used to be and on top of that the hat is only as good as the felt/material. The reason why the Raiders fedora and the material they used at the time is so sought after is the fact that Herbert Johnson had a special Brazilian flet they used to make the hats for the movie and not long after could not or did not want to acquire more. If you watch all four movies Temple and Crusade hats just don't do it ( sorry guys that like those hats, I like them too but don't have the character or take shape as well as Raiders) and the closest is Crystal Skull and that's our guy Steve with AB !! I'd still like a peek at this book though !!
whipwarrior wrote:If the library does have it, could you kindly scan the Herbert Johnson chapter for all of us here at COW?
Actually, you could probably contact your local library and ask them to do an inter-library loan request of just that chapter--if you get a full citation and the correct page range. Many inter-library loan departments will now send PDF versions of articles or even up to a chapter of a book. Worth checking out...
How do the current Poets look?
