Post your Adventurebilts here!

Bogie1943 · Post by **Bogie1943** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 9:32 pm

I no longer have the paperwork on it but I'm pretty sure I received it in 2006.

WConly · Post by **WConly** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:36 pm

Bogie1943 wrote:I no longer have the paperwork on it but I'm pretty sure I received it in 2006.

Well Bogie: You know what this means...you must submit your hat for 'carbon dating

!' Sorry, couldn't resist this one

! W>

Post by **Michaelson** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 1:25 pm

Josh, check under your sweat band. Steve wrote the date, style, and number of hat made in sequence on all his hat sweats at that time in ball point pen. I guess he still does.

I'm wearing my Ford felt AB today that is dated 07/25/2006, as a matter of fact.

Regards! Michaelson

micsteam · Post by **micsteam** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 1:41 pm

Mine's 10/8/08 signed by Steve with my name on it (I never bothered to check before), he makes an exceptional fedora !!!

IndyJames · Post by **IndyJames** » Sat Mar 08, 2014 1:49 pm

Has anyone received an AB recently?

didier · Post by **didier** » Sun Mar 09, 2014 4:32 pm

My Adventurebilt, secondhand bought, with Raiders turn...Very nice hat

Inside:

Outside:

BendingOak · Post by **BendingOak** » Fri Jun 13, 2014 3:35 pm

Today I finished the AB Legacy Indy 4 hat. Winner of thee William Shatner's 24th. annual HCHS online Auction. This will give you a sneak peak of what every person will receive ordering a hat from the AB legacy collection. Hat, hat box, hat brush, lapel pin and letter from Steve Delk and myself.

http://tinypic.com/r/15nnfau/8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Duck9000 · Post by **Duck9000** » Fri Jun 13, 2014 4:17 pm

BendingOak wrote:Today I finished the AB Legacy Indy 4 hat. Winner of thee William Shatner's 24th. annual HCHS online Auction. This will give you a sneak peak of what every person will receive ordering a hat from the AB legacy collection. Hat, hat box, hat brush, lapel pin and letter from Steve Delk and myself.

http://tinypic.com/r/15nnfau/8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It looks terrific, John. Impressive job, as always. And I love the box too

Kim Hoffman · Post by **Kim Hoffman** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 4:40 pm

IndyJames wrote:Has anyone received an AB recently?

Still waiting.

lantzn · Post by **lantzn** » Mon Jun 23, 2014 3:11 pm

Nope. Even after the encouraging email from Steve back in January I've been unable to reach him.

Duck · Post by **Duck** » Tue Jun 24, 2014 9:55 pm

Nope

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

IndianaGear Hunter · Post by **IndianaGear Hunter** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:21 am

IndyJames wrote:Has anyone received an AB recently?

Nothing yet..... just turned 6 years this past May.
I have wrote to Steve a couple of times but no response.

Kustomkid · Post by **Kustomkid** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:52 am

Nope, 5 years this past April. But we all should receive our hats before John takes over. So he got to be getting close.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

lantzn · Post by **lantzn** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 12:18 pm

I've only seen bits and pieces of this John taking over and Steve retiring subject. Where is this announcement from Steve and where it says he will fill all orders before that happens? I've send a few emails to Steve after his February reply to my email and he has not replied.

BendingOak · Post by **BendingOak** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 1:24 pm

There is no time frame when Steve will hang up his hat so to speak. He has battled several illnesses. Just because the cancer is in remission doesn't mean there isn't a after effect or health concerns he has to deal with. He is working but not at the pase he used so it's hard to say how long.

As for me and AB. I must have done a poor job explaining what AB legacy is. I'll give it a shot once again. AB legacy will be a select few Indy style hats made by me under the AB name. That's all. In the begining there will ony be Hats that dont conflick with Steve. I will also be re-blocking AB as I will have all the parts for refurbishing.

How things broke down:

Steve came to me and asked if He could send his customers who needed re-furbishing/re-blocks done. He wanted his AB customers to have a place to send their hats to have them worked on as he can't do it anymore. I was more then happy to help out. To do this I would need his parts (sweatband and liners). To buy the parts needed, it was going to be a investment. To offshoot the cost he gave me the green light on AB. I didnt want to compete with him directly so I cam up with the idea of the AB legacy collection(a line of Indy hats). First up would be a Raiders hat with my light weight rabbit felt and for now that's it. Since this felt is specially made for me and me only it doesn't conflict/duplicate anything Steve is doing. I have all the blocks and secrets to clone what steve has done but won't offer them (ie: CS hero, CS travel,etc,etc.) until he retires.

Most of the confusion is my fault. I told a customer while on the phone and it got put up on a thread here way early then it should have. It was a big mistake. It has caused people to think that Steve was going to be done in a few days and to put pressure on me to have the AB legacy hat done and out for order before I was ready.

I hope this clears some things up and I do apologize for all the headaches I have caused.

John

serrecuir · Post by **serrecuir** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 7:17 am

Still awaiting my 2 AB hat orders as well - ordered on March 13, 2008 and May 6, 2008, along with an order of extra hat ribbon. I've emailed Steve just twice over the last 2 years (so as not to inundate him even further), after he had responded to say my orders had been misplaced and he was going to get them sent out to me ASAP. That e-mail came back in August of 2011. Nothing has arrived to date...

I keep checking the forum here for some glimmer of hope that people are receiving their hats and that, one day, mine may show up. But I'm far from hopeful at this point.

youngjedi71 · Post by **youngjedi71** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 12:27 am

serrecuir wrote:Still awaiting my 2 AB hat orders as well - ordered on March 13, 2008 and May 6, 2008, along with an order of extra hat ribbon. I've emailed Steve just twice over the last 2 years (so as not to inundate him even further), after he had responded to say my orders had been misplaced and he was going to get them sent out to me ASAP. That e-mail came back in August of 2011. Nothing has arrived to date...

I keep checking the forum here for some glimmer of hope that people are receiving their hats and that, one day, mine may show up. But I'm far from hopeful at this point.

If you have proof of purchase maybe the AB overseas or Mr Penman will make and send out
Your order?? Just a thought

BendingOak · Post by **BendingOak** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 9:14 am

youngjedi71 wrote:
serrecuir wrote:Still awaiting my 2 AB hat orders as well - ordered on March 13, 2008 and May 6, 2008, along with an order of extra hat ribbon. I've emailed Steve just twice over the last 2 years (so as not to inundate him even further), after he had responded to say my orders had been misplaced and he was going to get them sent out to me ASAP. That e-mail came back in August of 2011. Nothing has arrived to date...

I keep checking the forum here for some glimmer of hope that people are receiving their hats and that, one day, mine may show up. But I'm far from hopeful at this point.

If you have proof of purchase maybe the AB overseas or Mr Penman will make and send out
Your order?? Just a thought[/

we are not Steve. Please read my post just a couple post above.

youngjedi71 · Post by **youngjedi71** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 11:01 am

BendingOak wrote:
youngjedi71 wrote:
serrecuir wrote:Still awaiting my 2 AB hat orders as well - ordered on March 13, 2008 and May 6, 2008, along with an order of extra hat ribbon. I've emailed Steve just twice over the last 2 years (so as not to inundate him even further), after he had responded to say my orders had been misplaced and he was going to get them sent out to me ASAP. That e-mail came back in August of 2011. Nothing has arrived to date...

I keep checking the forum here for some glimmer of hope that people are receiving their hats and that, one day, mine may show up. But I'm far from hopeful at this point.
If you have proof of purchase maybe the AB overseas or Mr Penman will make and send out
Your order?? Just a thought[/

we are not Steve. Please read my post just a couple post above.

I know. But his old partner over seas was or is i thought? And you are doing some work for Steve and taking over one day. Was just thinking it would be of great help to Steve and the customers if something could be done. Just a good deed of sorts.i feel bad for all the people still waiting I guess.

Post by **Michaelson** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 11:30 am

They're 3 different firms using the same name with the permission of Steve Delk who owns the AB name. They are 3 different businesses and accounts. They do not share funds or records.

One can not just assume the accounts of the other without explicit permission/knowledge of both parties and a LOT of paperwork exchange.

It's not that simple, though it would be nice if it were.

Ok, let's push this back to the subject title again. If anyone has received a new AB recently, please post pics.

Regards! Michaelson

youngjedi71 · Post by **youngjedi71** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 12:40 pm

Michaelson wrote:They're 3 different firms using the same name with the permission of Steve Delk who owns the AB name. They are 3 different businesses and accounts. They do not share funds or records.

One can not just assume the accounts of the other without explicit permission/knowledge of both parties and a LOT of paperwork exchange.

It's not that simple, though it would be nice if it were.

Ok, let's push this back to the subject title again. If anyone has received a new AB recently, please post pics.

Regards! Michaelson

I guess..just thinking out loud..i would say to those waiting since 07 up till 2013 they should stop hoping and move on..i know I've lost like 150$ from an online purchase and its rough.

BendingOak · Post by **BendingOak** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 4:15 pm

BendingOak wrote:There is no time frame when Steve will hang up his hat so to speak. He has battled several illnesses. Just because the cancer is in remission doesn't mean there isn't a after effect or health concerns he has to deal with. He is working but not at the pase he used so it's hard to say how long.

As for me and AB. I must have done a poor job explaining what AB legacy is. I'll give it a shot once again. AB legacy will be a select few Indy style hats made by me under the AB name. That's all. In the begining there will ony be Hats that dont conflick with Steve. I will also be re-blocking AB as I will have all the parts for refurbishing.

How things broke down:

Steve came to me and asked if He could send his customers who needed re-furbishing/re-blocks done. He wanted his AB customers to have a place to send their hats to have them worked on as he can't do it anymore. I was more then happy to help out. To do this I would need his parts (sweatband and liners). To buy the parts needed, it was going to be a investment. To offshoot the cost he gave me the green light on AB. I didnt want to compete with him directly so I cam up with the idea of the AB legacy collection(a line of Indy hats). First up would be a Raiders hat with my light weight rabbit felt and for now that's it. Since this felt is specially made for me and me only it doesn't conflict/duplicate anything Steve is doing. I have all the blocks and secrets to clone what steve has done but won't offer them (ie: CS hero, CS travel,etc,etc.) until he retires.

Most of the confusion is my fault. I told a customer while on the phone and it got put up on a thread here way early then it should have. It was a big mistake. It has caused people to think that Steve was going to be done in a few days and to put pressure on me to have the AB legacy hat done and out for order before I was ready.

I hope this clears some things up and I do apologize for all the headaches I have caused.

John

rogera · Post by **rogera** » Mon Aug 04, 2014 8:29 pm

I put in an order Middle of May, was promised eight week delivery and eight weeks later my Indy IV was on the doorstep.

WConly · Post by **WConly** » Mon Aug 04, 2014 9:23 pm

rogera wrote:I put in an order Middle of May, was promised eight week delivery and eight weeks later my Indy IV was on the doorstep.

Beautiful Hat! Truly

! W>

Ridgerunner58 · Post by **Ridgerunner58** » Tue Aug 05, 2014 10:19 am

rogera wrote:I put in an order Middle of May, was promised eight week delivery and eight weeks later my Indy IV was on the doorstep.

Very nice. And nice to see he's still plugging along

I've picked up 4 from him over the years and never did get one with that liner. Was that a special request or just good fortune?

Duck9000 · Post by **Duck9000** » Tue Aug 05, 2014 10:30 am

Beautiful hat, rogera. Thanks for the great pics!

rogera · Post by **rogera** » Tue Aug 05, 2014 10:52 am

Thanks guys!

I guess I lucked into that liner which is great because that's the one I wanted but thought he couldn't use anymore.

micsteam · Post by **micsteam** » Tue Aug 05, 2014 11:00 pm

Great hat !!! You look great in that fedora, it fits you well, very nice !! Is it KOTCS or Raiders ??

rogera · Post by **rogera** » Tue Aug 05, 2014 11:35 pm

Thank you micsteam!! It is a KotCS.

Kim Hoffman · Post by **Kim Hoffman** » Sat Aug 09, 2014 7:28 am

IndianaGear Hunter wrote:
IndyJames wrote:Has anyone received an AB recently?
Nothing yet..... just turned 6 years this past May.
I have wrote to Steve a couple of times but no response.

Me too.

stones · Post by **stones** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 11:47 am

Hey Rogera, Beautiful hat! I have a Ford felt beaver from the time of KOTCS and it looks identical and has this liner! Looks great.

stones

Post by **Michaelson** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 1:34 pm

Hi Stones!

I'm a bit puzzled by your remark of having a 'Ford felt' AB from the time of CS, considering the only AB's Steve made and called 'Ford felts' were 12 hats he made back in 2006 from a single run of felt cones he had specially ordered for what he thought was a run of hats FOR Harrison Ford himself....and then it turned out they were not, so he quietly sold them separately in 2006 to folks he knew.

What, exactly, are you calling a 'Ford felt beaver' from the time of KOTCS, which was 2 years after those 12 were made and sold?

Just curious, and yes, I own one of the 2006 Ford felts myself.

Regard! Michaelson

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 9:54 pm

Ordered a Raiders AB beaver fedora 11 days ago. It is in the post and will be here Thursday.
I will post pics soon. Very excited and can not believe the turn around time.

Here is a pic Steve sent before he finished it.

ChrisMD · Post by **ChrisMD** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 11:41 pm

All are great looking hats. I need to stop looking before I spend money I dont really have.

knibs7 · Post by **knibs7** » Wed Sep 03, 2014 1:57 am

ChrisMD wrote: I need to stop looking before I spend money I dont really have.

Take it from me... "Keep your eyes SHUT!!!"

Kyle

NJIndy · Post by **NJIndy** » Wed Sep 03, 2014 2:27 pm

Jeremiah wrote:Ordered a Raiders AB beaver fedora 11 days ago. It is in the post and will be here Thursday.
I will post pics soon. Very excited and can not believe the turn around time.

Here is a pic Steve sent before he finished it.
<pic removed>]

Quick question...
How did you reach Steve?
The phone number on his webpage has been disconnected...
Does he have a new one?
Was it only through email?

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Wed Sep 03, 2014 2:59 pm

Email

prairiejones · Post by **prairiejones** » Thu Sep 04, 2014 1:52 pm

My AB turns 9 years old right about now. I remember waiting an entire 10 days to receive it. From what I understand, wait times are slightly longer now. I'll try to post a recent picture, but honestly, it looks the same. No re-block. No nothin'. Same Raven Bar bash that I put on it 9 years ago.

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Thu Sep 04, 2014 2:14 pm

Well, they may be longer. I waited 11 days till mine shipped. Currently doing some window watching. Soon as postman drives up I plan to use my whip to snatch the hat box out of his hands.

Well, was not in todays post like the tracking said. Weird. Called post office and said it must have experienced some delay. Could be tomorrow or Saturday.

rogera · Post by **rogera** » Thu Sep 04, 2014 5:01 pm

NJIndy wrote:
Jeremiah wrote:Ordered a Raiders AB beaver fedora 11 days ago. It is in the post and will be here Thursday.
I will post pics soon. Very excited and can not believe the turn around time.

Here is a pic Steve sent before he finished it.
<pic removed>]
Quick question...
How did you reach Steve?
The phone number on his webpage has been disconnected...
Does he have a new one?
Was it only through email?

My wait was eight weeks and all communication was via email.

jnicktem · Post by **jnicktem** » Thu Sep 04, 2014 6:23 pm

I'm going on 6 years for one of mine.

Only 5 years for the other.

lantzn · Post by **lantzn** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:06 pm

jnicktem wrote:I'm going on 6 years for one of mine.

Only 5 years for the other.

Mine is 6 years also. It's hard to see others waiting days, not years to get their hats. When I get the emails to these posts I keep hoping they will be from guys like us. A few of those a month would at least be encouraging. It's just hard to get excited for others. Sorry for the rant, I guess my chronic pain is getting me down today.

youngjedi71 · Post by **youngjedi71** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:15 pm

lantzn wrote:
jnicktem wrote:I'm going on 6 years for one of mine.

Only 5 years for the other.
Mine is 6 years also. It's hard to see others waiting days, not years to get their hats. When I get the emails to these posts I keep hoping they will be from guys like us. A few of those a month would at least be encouraging. It's just hard to get excited for others. Sorry for the rant, I guess my chronic pain is getting me down today.

I feel sorry for all of you people still waiting..ive had my say about the whole thing with some agreeing and some not with my opinions..it is what it is.. Good luck and I hope one day you guys will get something delivered..

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:26 pm

No, I totally understand. I have read through the countless threads here and on fedoralounge after placing my order with Steve and if I were in the shoes of those waiting that long, I do not want to guess how I would feel.

Here is what I know.
I ordered a rabbit fur fedora on a friday night. Recieved an email the next day from Steve. Sunday, I was curious so asked Steve what the wait time would be for a beaver fur hat. Steve told me that since he would have to order more rabbit fur, he was out, it would be awhile, but he did have some extra Beaver fur and could get that hat to me middle of September. He said, He would send an invoice for the balance. I knew with John, that I would be waiting till 1st of the year for a hat, and there is something about the staff of ra headliner I liked so I went ahead with the AB beaver. I got an email from Steve last Friday and an invoice with news that my hat was blocked and he would shape it on Sunday before the Holiday. He said, pay when I can, no rush and he would send after recieving payment. I payed that night. He shipped Tuesday.

Perhaps I was extremely lucky. I can say that he dealt with me in a kindly fashion and professional. I don't know him personally. So I can not speak for the rest of you still waiting. It is not my intention to dig up old wounds with my post about my new hat though. There has to be more to the stories though of people still waiting 6 years and more for their hats. As my father always said, always two sides to every argument, so that is the lay of it from my perspective.

Will post pics once I get around to it.

youngjedi71 · Post by **youngjedi71** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:53 pm

Jeremiah wrote:No, I totally understand. I have read through the countless threads here and on fedoralounge after placing my order with Steve and if I were in the shoes of those waiting that long, I do not want to guess how I would feel.

Here is what I know.
I ordered a rabbit fur fedora on a friday night. Recieved an email the next day from Steve. Sunday, I was curious so asked Steve what the wait time would be for a beaver fur hat. Steve told me that since he would have to order more rabbit fur, he was out, it would be awhile, but he did have some extra Beaver fur and could get that hat to me middle of September. He said, He would send an invoice for the balance. I knew with John, that I would be waiting till 1st of the year for a hat, and there is something about the staff of ra headliner I liked so I went ahead with the AB beaver. I got an email from Steve last Friday and an invoice with news that my hat was blocked and he would shape it on Sunday before the Holiday. He said, pay when I can, no rush and he would send after recieving payment. I payed that night. He shipped Tuesday.

Perhaps I was extremely lucky. I can say that he dealt with me in a kindly fashion and professional. I don't know him personally. So I can not speak for the rest of you still waiting. It is not my intention to dig up old wounds with my post about my new hat though. There has to be more to the stories though of people still waiting 6 years and more for their hats. As my father always said, always two sides to every argument, so that is the lay of it from my perspective.

Will post pics once I get around to it.

I know you are happy..that is a quick turn around for your order..WOW..

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 2:45 pm

Ok. Hat arrived. Box was smashed on one side, but I knew this was an AB so not worried. Opened and it did have some dents from the box being crushed and a small crease in ribbon. No worries, popped right out. Looks beautiful.

So on it goes and

Its too loose for my tastes. If I ran just a few paces, she would fly right off. I measure 21 3/4 according to the paper tape measure John sent back when I was going to go with him. I measured 21 1/2" then, but after getting tape, that was a bit too tight so I kept measuring and saw that 211/2 was when I was pulling the tape, so I made one up at 21 3/4 and it fit just right. Now Steve did tell me that he adds 1/8" to the sweatband.

So, I cut a length of wool felt my wife had for crafts and folded it then placed it around half the sweatband behind it. It fits how I like it, but man, I hate doing that. Are there better options than the felt behind the sweatband? Will that hurt it. Guess I am glad it is too loose rather than too tight. Anyway to shrink the leather just a tad so I don't have to add the material behind the band?

Here are the pics though.

Post by **Indiana Jeff** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 3:06 pm

I usually fold some paper towels to tuck behind the band when I get a new hat. That extra 1/8" feels huge at first, but really is helpful. With regular wear the sweatband will shrink down and eventually you'll be able to remove the felt you put in.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Post by **Michaelson** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 3:09 pm

You may want to get confirmation directly from Steve too, since he's the maker.

I, too, have found that sweats shrink with wear in warm weather, but I'm not sure how far down they go. Steve will.

Regard! Michaelson

lantzn · Post by **lantzn** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 3:27 pm

One other thing to keep in mind also is your hair length. It's amazing how much hair adds. I wear my hair short and when I first got my Penman it fit very snug and my hair was at its longest. Then it got it cut and it was a bit loose. So that raises the question, how long was my hair when i took my measurement? I don't know because I hadn't thought about it. As mentioned the band does shrink with regular use. Now that hat is just slightly loose when my hair is just cut.

I wear my Garrison everyday and it's gotten much tighter.

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 4:01 pm

Thanks for the tips. I sent Steve an email. Just wanted to know that placing something like a hat size reduction object will not hurt the hat. This hat.