Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Indiana_Nate »

Just as an FYI to everyone, this is the current response email to those trying to contact HJ via workshop@herbert-johnson.co.uk :

"Thank you for contacting us at the Herbert Johnson Hatters Workshop.
We are experiencing a high volume of enquiries so please bear with us.

If you are inquiring about our 40th Anniversary Raiders Special
Edition Streets of Cairo hat then it will be available to buy on our
website as of Saturday 12th June.
Please do order online as soon as it is live. Here is the website address:
https://herbertjohnson.co.uk/pages/the- ... rs-package" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For more information and enquiries please contact
enquiries-hj@herbert-johnson.co.uk"

Best wishes from us all here at Team HJ!
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Chose Poorly »

I keep almost pulling the trigger but I just can’t bring myself to actually do it. It just doesn’t feel right. I feel like I might wait until I kill my S&J Explorador (which I wear literally every day) and then just get a normal Beaver HJ… especially with the price point being the same as this special offering (minus the fancy bits).
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Hedji »

I’m having a tough time with this too.

Does beaver felt have a different floppyness than rabbit?
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Chose Poorly »

Hedji wrote:I’m having a tough time with this too.

Does beaver felt have a different floppyness than rabbit?
I leave it to others who have owned both to answer specifically about HJ felts, as I have never owned a HJ hat, but in my experience with rabbit and beaver felt they can be made to be as floppy or stiff as any felt producer or hatter desires. A lot of if comes down to what HJ’s goals were when sourcing felts. If they wanted the beaver and rabbit to look and feel the same they could accomplish that.

Personally, I’m only interested in beaver for the durability and weather resistance. But I will say, I have beaten my S&J rabbit Explorador into the ground and it’s as plucky as ever. So unless you’re planning on swimming in a rabbit hat you probably can’t go wrong.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Hedji »

Hedji wrote:I’m having a tough time with this too.

Does beaver felt have a different floppyness than rabbit?
I imagine my question pairs nicely with my avatar. :lol:

Yeah, I keep telling myself I work hard and have been saving for months for this.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Illinois_Jones »

Hedji wrote:
Hedji wrote:I’m having a tough time with this too.

Does beaver felt have a different floppyness than rabbit?
I imagine my question pairs nicely with my avatar. :lol:

Yeah, I keep telling myself I work hard and have been saving for months for this.
Rabbit is floppier, so long as it doesn't have a ton of shellac in it. Beaver is denser and has more body, so it holds the shape you give it more. It's not a matter of softness or malleability -- there are plenty of very soft and pliable rabbit or beaver -- it's that rabbit has more air in the fibers and so it has a "bouncier" quality.

I think it was Art Fawcett who once said rabbit is a more "active" felt where the fibers are both attracting and repelling one another, whereas beaver fibers are relaxed and settled once they get set. That active feature of rabbit makes it ideal for things like shaping, but also means it's far more reactive.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Indiana_Nate »

HJ’s rabbit has a great deal of floppiness to it, but it also maintains its shape.


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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by jlee562 »

The HJ beaver is slightly stiffer than I generally prefer, but I think this is more in line with what contemporary hat wearers expect from their hats.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Illinois_Jones »

Chose Poorly wrote:I keep almost pulling the trigger but I just can’t bring myself to actually do it. It just doesn’t feel right. I feel like I might wait until I kill my S&J Explorador (which I wear literally every day) and then just get a normal Beaver HJ… especially with the price point being the same as this special offering (minus the fancy bits).
Yeah, I just can't bring myself to spend $700 on a rabbit felt. I'm also curious why they chose deep sable; usually when people are trying for an SOC look they do everything they can to get the felt lighter, including wearing it in a tanning booth (yes, I know somebody who tried it).
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by IJJTM »

Tanning booth, seriously? That’s dedication. As for color, HJ claim that deep sable is the actual color used on screen. A la Han Solo’s ESB jacket looks blue, but was really black.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Chose Poorly »

Illinois_Jones wrote:
Chose Poorly wrote:I keep almost pulling the trigger but I just can’t bring myself to actually do it. It just doesn’t feel right. I feel like I might wait until I kill my S&J Explorador (which I wear literally every day) and then just get a normal Beaver HJ… especially with the price point being the same as this special offering (minus the fancy bits).
Yeah, I just can't bring myself to spend $700 on a rabbit felt. I'm also curious why they chose deep sable; usually when people are trying for an SOC look they do everything they can to get the felt lighter, including wearing it in a tanning booth (yes, I know somebody who tried it).
I think it’s just because it’s HJ’s more recent, more “accurate” color. Between the fact that Michelle did a lot of research to track down and produce it, and the time and effort they put into promoting it as an updated felt inspired by screen worn hats, it would almost be contradictory to turn around and offer an anniversary hat in the original sable color.

Going back to some earlier posts about Mason & Sons as a newer retailer option for US-based customers, they only seem to offer the poets in what they refer to as “Raiders Sable” which I assume is HJ’s Sable. There is no mention of “Deep Sable” as an option. I emailed to see if they ever order Deep Sable hats for customers or if they only offer Sable, mostly out of curiosity. Personally, I prefer the look of Deep Sable, but I’m also curious how a Deep Sable HJ looks next to my S&J Explorador ‘36. Oh how I wish I could just see and touch all the hats in person.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Hedji »

So... silly question. If you order this, all that’s needed is to provide head size in cm?

There’s no other options or need to communicate other preferences?

Sometimes I’m not sure I quite understand the meaning of “bespoke” in the HJ language.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by thecoolmiester »

Thunderspy wrote:
thecoolmiester wrote:I also bought the hat cuz YOLO


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Didn't you already just buy one? :lol: I like your style!
I did yes hahaha but my justification is that the one I got was regular sable and in size 57cm and this one is deep sable, limited edition and in size 58cm.. WAY different lol


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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by IJJTM »

Hedji wrote:So... silly question. If you order this, all that’s needed is to provide head size in cm?

There’s no other options or need to communicate other preferences?

Sometimes I’m not sure I quite understand the meaning of “bespoke” in the HJ language.
If you have any other preferences then you could most likely convey that to HJ, like if you want the ribbon on the other side or something.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Hedji »

But other than something crazy, this is pretty much here's my measurement, here's my money... boom.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by The Aviator »

Whenever I get back to the office I was planning to go in to the shop in London. I was looking a beaver seaplane, but this would be a cool fair weather hat. That’ll be late July now with lockdown likely being extended for office workers but I’m sure it’ll still be on offer.

I was on the fence, but the box looks great and so does the hat. I think I had built it up in my head quite a bit. It is really nice to see HJ engage with fans and embrace their history with this. They had been a bit up themselves when I visited the shop in 08 and I left a little sheepish - without buying anything…

I ordered an Optimo foldable Panama from them last year and I couldn’t fault them for their service or the hat, wearing it right now in fact!

I’ll make sure to take some photos, although with the mask I’m likely to look more like Michael Jackson than Indiana Jones :P

Best

Gerry
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by IJJTM »

What’re you talking about? Indy in a face mask is now part of loose canon. :lol:
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by The Aviator »

IJJTM wrote:What’re you talking about? Indy in a face mask is now part of loose canon. :lol:

I think Harrison Ford can pull it off better than me :rolling:
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Indiana Croft »

Well this will be a pass for me. Anxious to see actual pic’s.
I have a HJ that Steve reblocked to SoC and my ABL SoC from Penman, but ther both rabbit so i will take the advance on a Advintage in beaver.

Looks nice, but 700. Price tag for rabbit, to high. They’d gotten more business if they’d been more reasonable.

Croft :mrgreen:
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Forrest For the Trees »

The price is just too high for a rabbit felt hat, IMO. I was hoping it would be the same price as their standard rabbit offering, but limited run, limited quantities, first come, first served. I think there would have been more of frenzy among us if that were the case. It does look beautiful, though.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Indiana_Nate »

Hedji wrote:But other than something crazy, this is pretty much here's my measurement, here's my money... boom.
I thought the same thing when I ordered my first poet, but Michelle and I spoke a bit about sizes, what had worked and not worked for me in the past, she made the recommendation, I trusted her judgement and she was right. Hat fits like a glove. All my HJ’s do. I’ve had great experiences with them.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Illinois_Jones »

Chose Poorly wrote:
Illinois_Jones wrote:
Chose Poorly wrote:I keep almost pulling the trigger but I just can’t bring myself to actually do it. It just doesn’t feel right. I feel like I might wait until I kill my S&J Explorador (which I wear literally every day) and then just get a normal Beaver HJ… especially with the price point being the same as this special offering (minus the fancy bits).
Yeah, I just can't bring myself to spend $700 on a rabbit felt. I'm also curious why they chose deep sable; usually when people are trying for an SOC look they do everything they can to get the felt lighter, including wearing it in a tanning booth (yes, I know somebody who tried it).
I think it’s just because it’s HJ’s more recent, more “accurate” color. Between the fact that Michelle did a lot of research to track down and produce it, and the time and effort they put into promoting it as an updated felt inspired by screen worn hats, it would almost be contradictory to turn around and offer an anniversary hat in the original sable color.

Going back to some earlier posts about Mason & Sons as a newer retailer option for US-based customers, they only seem to offer the poets in what they refer to as “Raiders Sable” which I assume is HJ’s Sable. There is no mention of “Deep Sable” as an option. I emailed to see if they ever order Deep Sable hats for customers or if they only offer Sable, mostly out of curiosity. Personally, I prefer the look of Deep Sable, but I’m also curious how a Deep Sable HJ looks next to my S&J Explorador ‘36. Oh how I wish I could just see and touch all the hats in person.
Yeah, it's their "custom" personal felt, and it will fade over time to the proper color. And I have seen some of the regular sable HJs the past few years get a little too faded with repeated use for my comfort. But it's a little odd to see such pristine felt with the SOC bash and warping. It feels incongruous.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Canyon »

I want one! :mrgreen:

One of these days... :- :anxious:
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by zaynecarrick »

Indiana_Nate wrote:Just as an FYI to everyone, this is the current response email to those trying to contact HJ via workshop@herbert-johnson.co.uk :

"Thank you for contacting us at the Herbert Johnson Hatters Workshop.
We are experiencing a high volume of enquiries so please bear with us.

If you are inquiring about our 40th Anniversary Raiders Special
Edition Streets of Cairo hat then it will be available to buy on our
website as of Saturday 12th June.
Please do order online as soon as it is live. Here is the website address:
https://herbertjohnson.co.uk/pages/the- ... rs-package" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For more information and enquiries please contact
enquiries-hj@herbert-johnson.co.uk"

Best wishes from us all here at Team HJ!
Image

But does it come with a live cobra? :lol:
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by IJJTM »

I sure hope not. :shock:
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Chose Poorly »

Howdy y’all!

I heard back from Mason & Sons this morning, and they confirmed that they do “unfortunately” only carry the original ‘Sable’ color and not ‘Deep Sable’. Seems an interesting limitation if the hats are made to order and M&S is just a conduit to HJ.

As such, I’ve also asked if they stock hats for immediate shipping or if the hats are made by HJ upon receipt of the order. Will keep everybody posted here. :TOH:
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by IJJTM »

I’m also heard back from them, and it sounds like HJ bespoke makes the hats for them. Only thing, I didn’t get a clear answer if Mason and Sons are able to offer changes to the standard hat.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Illinois_Jones »

I think -- for the price they're offering -- that's it's simply a situation where HJ, most likely their junior hatters, are cranking out the basic Raiders hats as the orders flow in. The lower price means no customizations, ie, they're not spending the extra time and salary doing anything custom for individual hats. Just the size, rabbit or beaver in regular sable, and the turn or not. I would also venture a guess that they're using it as on-the-job training for their junior hatters.

Mason and Sons says they can put in a bespoke order, but my bet is it'll cost extra.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Castor Dioscuri »

HJ must be swamped, anyone try placing an order with them in the last few weeks? I haven't had them reply to an email for a week now, compared to a couple months ago when they had daily emails with my previous orders
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by tubasthebest »

I sent an email this morning to Herbert Johnson and got a reply in a few hours. I find it odd that you haven't heard from them yet.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by 3thoubucks »

I want to buy a HJ Raiders. The site describes them as "straight sided" , a cone is straight sided. Does it mean straight up and down sided? Or just the sides are straight up and down? I know from old pictures of hats on the block at the shop that jack made hats with no taper anywhere, but I kind of thought they might have put some taper in the front and back a couple years ago? It looks like taper is there in the open crown pics at the site. Does anyone know what the situation is?

I just read their description of the new SOC model, that says "stovepipe" which isn't in other descriptions. Also mentions "floppy". Has anyone noticed that deep sable is floppier than regular sable?

Is the liner glued or sewn in? If it's glued in I don't want a liner unless it's out of the hat. Thanks.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Castor Dioscuri »

tubasthebest wrote:I sent an email this morning to Herbert Johnson and got a reply in a few hours. I find it odd that you haven't heard from them yet.
Maybe it's because I asked if I could order a custom hat and when they happily agreed, I provided the Indy V set pictures as a reference. :D

Pretty sure I'm blacklisted now since they've stopped replying to my emails since then... It's too bad too, since I was in the middle of placing a couple of unrelated orders with them. Haven't had a reply for 2 weeks now, even with two follow up emails.

It's ironic- I assume they did that rather than deal with arguing that they didn't make the hat (side note: I didn't even ask), but as a result, any doubts that I had of their involvement is now gone.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by IJJTM »

Oof, I would’ve used a different email in that situation.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Castor Dioscuri »

Live and learn! ;)

Moral of the story, don't do what I did, kids! :Dietrich:

But a word of advice though- for folks in the US, make sure you email them and ask for an invoice without a VAT surcharge before you place an order. They haven't updated their system to automatically remove it, and there's no reason why you should be paying an extra 20%.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by eazybox »

3thoubucks wrote:I want to buy a HJ Raiders. The site describes them as "straight sided" , a cone is straight sided. Does it mean straight up and down sided? Or just the sides are straight up and down? I know from old pictures of hats on the block at the shop that jack made hats with no taper anywhere, but I kind of thought they might have put some taper in the front and back a couple years ago? It looks like taper is there in the open crown pics at the site. Does anyone know what the situation is?

I just read their description of the new SOC model, that says "stovepipe" which isn't in other descriptions. Also mentions "floppy". Has anyone noticed that deep sable is floppier than regular sable?

Is the liner glued or sewn in? If it's glued in I don't want a liner unless it's out of the hat. Thanks.
I don't know if some of the more recent Raiders blocks HJ uses are completely straight-sided. All I can say is that the hat Jack built for me looked very straight in the front as well as the side views, with the back having that slight backward slant that we see in the Raiders bash. Some of HJ's more recent offerings do seem a little more tapered in the side views to my eyes-- others do not. As I understand it, the current info from HJ is that the original block was never lost as we believed (or, perhaps more accurately, were led to believe), but is a common block shape that was always readily available. If that's the case, I'm sure HJ could provide you with any bespoke details you require. Hope this helps.

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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by IJJTM »

Castor Dioscuri wrote:Live and learn! ;)

Moral of the story, don't do what I did, kids! :Dietrich:

But a word of advice though- for folks in the US, make sure you email them and ask for an invoice without a VAT surcharge before you place an order. They haven't updated their system to automatically remove it, and there's no reason why you should be paying an extra 20%.
Could you explain a VAT surcharge?
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Castor Dioscuri »

Value added tax. Basically a sales tax. If you're a tourist in the UK, for example, you can get a VAT refund from most non-consumable purchases. The link below goes into more detail:

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/vat-refund-how-it-works/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Indiana_Nate »

3thoubucks wrote:I want to buy a HJ Raiders. The site describes them as "straight sided" , a cone is straight sided. Does it mean straight up and down sided? Or just the sides are straight up and down? I know from old pictures of hats on the block at the shop that jack made hats with no taper anywhere, but I kind of thought they might have put some taper in the front and back a couple years ago? It looks like taper is there in the open crown pics at the site. Does anyone know what the situation is?

I just read their description of the new SOC model, that says "stovepipe" which isn't in other descriptions. Also mentions "floppy". Has anyone noticed that deep sable is floppier than regular sable?

Is the liner glued or sewn in? If it's glued in I don't want a liner unless it's out of the hat. Thanks.
It does mean straight up and down. The sides of the crown are mostly parallel from the front angle. There's a bit of taper slanting towards the back and maybe just a touch in the front.

As for the differences in sable, my original sable Raiders is floppier than my deep sable Crusade. Although I believe I read that this deep sable is even a bit different than the one they had been using. I know Michelle was trying to match color and texture of the felt to those used by HJ back in the 80s.

All of HJ's liners are sewn in.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by eazybox »

Indiana_Nate wrote:
3thoubucks wrote:I want to buy a HJ Raiders. The site describes them as "straight sided" , a cone is straight sided. Does it mean straight up and down sided? Or just the sides are straight up and down? I know from old pictures of hats on the block at the shop that jack made hats with no taper anywhere, but I kind of thought they might have put some taper in the front and back a couple years ago? It looks like taper is there in the open crown pics at the site. Does anyone know what the situation is?

I just read their description of the new SOC model, that says "stovepipe" which isn't in other descriptions. Also mentions "floppy". Has anyone noticed that deep sable is floppier than regular sable?

Is the liner glued or sewn in? If it's glued in I don't want a liner unless it's out of the hat. Thanks.
It does mean straight up and down. The sides of the crown are mostly parallel from the front angle. There's a bit of taper slanting towards the back and maybe just a touch in the front.

As for the differences in sable, my original sable Raiders is floppier than my deep sable Crusade. Although I believe I read that this deep sable is even a bit different than the one they had been using. I know Michelle was trying to match color and texture of the felt to those used by HJ back in the 80s.

All of HJ's liners are sewn in.
The felt of the original Last Crusade hats was very stiff, which could account for the difference in texture in your hats if Michelle is replicating the original feel as well as look. So, the difference in texture may not be consistent between sable and deep sable. It might depend on which movie style is being replicated. It probably would be best to contact HJ for clarification on this.

Jack
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by jlee562 »

Deep Sable is denser and 10g lighter according to Michelle's intro vid: https://youtu.be/WFiBWKmRAKM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Hedji »

Castor Dioscuri wrote: But a word of advice though- for folks in the US, make sure you email them and ask for an invoice without a VAT surcharge before you place an order. They haven't updated their system to automatically remove it, and there's no reason why you should be paying an extra 20%.
Does anyone have confirmation of this working for HJ? I never even thought to ask. A lot of international vendors will do it automatically, like AdVintage. But for whatever reason, I never thought to ask HJ.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Castor Dioscuri »

I mean... that's how I placed my last few orders with them anyway. FWIW
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Hedji »

Thanks for the pro-tip! :TOH:
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Castor Dioscuri »

Happy to help! :TOH:
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Loneken »

Given the title of this thread I thought I would ask here before creating a new post. Is HJ the holy grail when it gets to Last Crusade fedoras from a screen accuracy standpoint? I understand that they still have the original LC block but it's also not always a guarantee of perfect screen accuracy it looks like...

Basically my options for a screen accurate LC right now are Advintage, Steele & Jones and HJ, since Penman seems to be out of business for a while at least. Leaning towards HJ given the history etc but would love to hear from others specifically on the Last Crusade fedora.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by eazybox »

Loneken wrote:Given the title of this thread I thought I would ask here before creating a new post. Is HJ the holy grail when it gets to Last Crusade fedoras from a screen accuracy standpoint? I understand that they still have the original LC block but it's also not always a guarantee of perfect screen accuracy it looks like...

Basically my options for a screen accurate LC right now are Advintage, Steele & Jones and HJ, since Penman seems to be out of business for a while at least. Leaning towards HJ given the history etc but would love to hear from others specifically on the Last Crusade fedora.
To me, Holy Grail means something that is almost impossible to find. In that sense, there is no Holy Grail for Indy fedoras. Any competent custom vendor here could make you an excellent Last Crusade replica. Even the original Raiders block, apparently, is no longer the big mystery we once thought it was. Personally, I would go with the original maker, HJ, as the original LC block seems to be your top priority. But as Walter Donovan says, "don't trust anybody," me included. Do your own research, read the reviews, look at the photos, etc. It all comes down to personal taste and budget. All you have to do is "choose wisely." ;)

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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by IJJTM »

I’ve heard good things about HJ’s LC, and given that LC is the movie where the interior is most prominent, I would say that the HJ LC would be the way to go, only thing holding me back would be the price.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Pyramid Jones »

I just spoke with Herbert Johnson about getting a yij hat made. They stated they can do it in beaver and follow the specs of the original hat. For only around $600 I think that’s an excellent deal for beaver and being from the original hatters. In comparison my full beaver western weight custom hats run me about $900 a pop but have lasted for 10 years without any kind of refurbishment and that’s with being worn everyday in all conditions.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Indiana_Nate »

Loneken wrote:Given the title of this thread I thought I would ask here before creating a new post. Is HJ the holy grail when it gets to Last Crusade fedoras from a screen accuracy standpoint? I understand that they still have the original LC block but it's also not always a guarantee of perfect screen accuracy it looks like...

Basically my options for a screen accurate LC right now are Advintage, Steele & Jones and HJ, since Penman seems to be out of business for a while at least. Leaning towards HJ given the history etc but would love to hear from others specifically on the Last Crusade fedora.
My Crusade Poet is my favorite. I think Michelle did an excellent job with the bash. I wanted a Venice Pier look to it and she nailed it.
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Re: Is Herbert Johnson the holy grail of indy fedoras now?

Post by Loneken »

Indiana_Nate wrote:
Loneken wrote:Given the title of this thread I thought I would ask here before creating a new post. Is HJ the holy grail when it gets to Last Crusade fedoras from a screen accuracy standpoint? I understand that they still have the original LC block but it's also not always a guarantee of perfect screen accuracy it looks like...

Basically my options for a screen accurate LC right now are Advintage, Steele & Jones and HJ, since Penman seems to be out of business for a while at least. Leaning towards HJ given the history etc but would love to hear from others specifically on the Last Crusade fedora.
My Crusade Poet is my favorite. I think Michelle did an excellent job with the bash. I wanted a Venice Pier look to it and she nailed it.
Thanks! Any chance you might be able to post a couple of pics? Would love to see it.
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