Club Obi Wan

Hey guys, I think I've read that AB hats ship by way of USPS.. is that true? I just got a call an hour ago from UPS and they said a package is coming tomorrow that needs to be signed for.. but my wife and I haven't ordered anything lately. My AB order is going on 13 months so obviously I'm hoping THAT is the package they are talking about, but I have my doubts because it's a UPS package, not USPS. Can anyone confirm so I don't have to read through this whole thread again?

Thanks guys.

LJ

My AB and, as I recall most others I've read about came via USPS; but I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Jack

Thanks bud.

Same here. USPS every time. Maybe it just sounded like they said UPS, or perhaps your location forced Steve to use UPS. Either way, I hope it is the AB... or a better surprise (though I can't imagine what that would be).

Hope it is not a, "Badger-in-a-Box"!!!

Drumroll please.... I am the proud new owner of.... a fixed xbox360. Shucks! It's been broken for a year, so I finally sent it back to Microsoft a month ago and THAT is the package I received the phone call about. My UPS guy, Gil, was walking up the driveway with a white box easily big enough for a hat.. so I told him it was my lucky day and he agreed and said he had quite a few xbox's to return on his route..... I had completely forgotten about the thing.

Oh well... back to the waiting game.

LJ

Louisiana Jones wrote:Drumroll please.... I am the proud new owner of.... a fixed xbox360. Shucks! It's been broken for a year, so I finally sent it back to Microsoft a month ago and THAT is the package I received the phone call about. My UPS guy, Gil, was walking up the driveway with a white box easily big enough for a hat.. so I told him it was my lucky day and he agreed and said he had quite a few xbox's to return on his route..... I had completely forgotten about the thing.

Oh well... back to the waiting game.

LJ

On the bright side, now you got something to help pass the time.

Indiana Williams wrote: On the bright side, now you got something to help pass the time.

Not if my wife has something to say about it!!

Say, I didn't see my name on the list - Mine was ordered on November 11, 2007.......FYI (KOTCS)

nicktheguy wrote:Say, I didn't see my name on the list - Mine was ordered on November 11, 2007.......FYI (KOTCS)

Well, all you need to do is ask. From your last post, I didn't think you were worried, since you didn't post a date.

nicktheguy wrote:An AB is an AB --- and whatever the wait it is worth it. I don't think Steve ever thought AB would take off as much as it has and I am sure the poor guy is working hard to get the orders out. As much as I am curious where my order stands I am not calling him weekly to find out my status...I am being as patient as I can...It is worth the wait....WELL worth the wait.

'Blues

Thanks so much - I can't believe I didn't post the date with the original post...

But I gotta say I am looking forward to the day I find that box with my new AB in it

I ordered mine 9/11/07 so maybe soon?

-Nebraska

For those of you chomping at the July bit, Steve says mine is on its way.

ordered: 06-12-2007
received: 08-29-2008

It had to be shipped all the way to Germany, but was very much worth the wait.

Looks what jumped out of a box onto my head today.

And it is 9:45pm here in Santa Rosa CA and 85 degrees with no A/C in my apartment. And a full day of work and then working out = the glaze in the eyes. I just have to hope I can keep the bills at bay to be able to keep it.

I ordered 6/30/07 Beaver Felt Raiders Bash. I got the Ra headpiece liner, signed sweatband by Steve, bash looks a bit CS but I like it. I didn't realize how tall the crown is. My wife said "does he know you're 5'6"? That hat looks like you're the man in the yellow hat from Curious George."


It looks huge on me in some angles but others like above look perfect.

Thanks much Steve. Very much worth the wait.

Looks fine to me. Tall straight crowns take getting used to. They seem big at first. If it still seems too tall by the holidays, try lowering the front a little, that's all.

In any event, nice hat.

Yeah, I agree. People are generally slow to get used to tall hats. Just give it time. :junior: -M

I order mine on July 4th 2007, have not heard anything from Steve, and never heard anything back from my emails or PM's that were sent many months ago... I was going to order another one but not anymore, I understand the wait time, and that doesn't bother me but the mystery of whether or not I'm actually going to get what I asked for is a little unnerving.

I have read posts of those who send Steve an e-mail and they get a reply same or next day. And then I have heard of those like you who haven't even received a response. Here's what I did.

Ordered 6/30/07.

Emailed Steve a week after with the speifics I wanted (bash/film type)

Waited until it came to my door.

I know it is a long wait but I have not read any posts of someone who never received a hat way out of the order it was ordered. Looking at this post you could assume since mine was ordered 6/30 he must be on 7/07 but remember this post is only COW members and isn't even the full list of those who oredered from here. So Steve may have 1-100 orders from 6/30 - 7/4 that he could be working on. We just don't know. That's why I just waited. I'm sure you'll get it soon and be really happy with it. Once you get that one and have it a little while you can see if there are any changes you may want then order another?

Indiana Snipes wrote:I order mine on July 4th 2007, have not heard anything from Steve, and never heard anything back from my emails or PM's that were sent many months ago... I was going to order another one but not anymore, I understand the wait time, and that doesn't bother me but the mystery of whether or not I'm actually going to get what I asked for is a little unnerving.

I'm not quite as relaxed as Shawn, but I know from experience not to worry. Fedora is very forthcoming about his "bad habits" and limitations with communication. Not ideal, but he admits to it.

I have developed a strategy for contacting Fedora that has yet to fail me.

1. Given the high volume of messages he gets, I only contact him if I need to know something specific or if it is important. If I pay with paypal, I know that record is my confirmation of order. No worries.

2. Always use E-Mail to contact him. It's just more likely he'll see it.

3. Send first e-mail with a subject line that is short, to the point, and indicates a reply is in order. Wait 10 days. If no response arrives, send second e-mail with a subject that indicates it is your second attempt. Continue every 10 days until Fedora gets back to you. Only once did it take me three attempts.

4. If it is an emergency situation (hey, it happens) indicate it in e-mail subject lines. If it's an order that should be comeing up soon (or should have arrived) include your order date in the subject line.

5. Always be polite, but don't be afraid to express concerns if you have them. Fedora will respond in kind.

Snipes, I don't blame you for your reservations. If you (or anyone else) is uncomfortable with Fedora's ways, that's how it is. But just know that patience, courtesy, and persistence pays off.

Chewbacca Jones wrote:

Indiana Snipes wrote:I order mine on July 4th 2007, have not heard anything from Steve, and never heard anything back from my emails or PM's that were sent many months ago... I was going to order another one but not anymore, I understand the wait time, and that doesn't bother me but the mystery of whether or not I'm actually going to get what I asked for is a little unnerving.

I'm not quite as relaxed as Shawn, but I know from experience not to worry. Fedora is very forthcoming about his "bad habits" and limitations with communication. Not ideal, but he admits to it.

I have developed a strategy for contacting Fedora that has yet to fail me.

1. Given the high volume of messages he gets, I only contact him if I need to know something specific or if it is important. If I pay with paypal, I know that record is my confirmation of order. No worries.

2. Always use E-Mail to contact him. It's just more likely he'll see it.

3. Send first e-mail with a subject line that is short, to the point, and indicates a reply is in order. Wait 10 days. If no response arrives, send second e-mail with a subject that indicates it is your second attempt. Continue every 10 days until Fedora gets back to you. Only once did it take me three attempts.

4. If it is an emergency situation (hey, it happens) indicate it in e-mail subject lines. If it's an order that should be comeing up soon (or should have arrived) include your order date in the subject line.

5. Always be polite, but don't be afraid to express concerns if you have them. Fedora will respond in kind.

Snipes, I don't blame you for your reservations. If you (or anyone else) is uncomfortable with Fedora's ways, that's how it is. But just know that patience, courtesy, and persistence pays off.

I emailed him a few months ago to give him a more accurate size for the hat because I had just given him a measurement of my head. Then I actually bought a Federation and decided to email him the hat size of that hat in hopes that it might be a more accurate measure for him. I sent him both an email and a PM (the PM never went through, his box is obviously full). I don't mind waiting over a year, but for the money I shelled out a confirmation of receiving my email would at least be appreciative. I know Steve has said customer service has gone down as of late, but it takes 2 seconds to hit reply and say okay! I'm just hoping I get everything the way I asked for, I have heard of a few people not getting the bash they requested. It's probably a little late to bother emailing him again since he's probably on my order now but I guess if there's any issues with it I'll have to attempt to get a hold of him then, hopefully there is none. As for purchasing another one, I doubt it, isn't he retiring here soon, surely he's going to have to stop taking orders here soon.

approaching the one year mark.

and yet... I still ahve patience.... but am hoping for a little communication.

-r.

I sent Steve an email at the 1-year mark (this past July) just to make sure he had the correct bash for me, and told him to take his time because I'm used to waiting 4+ years for custom knives so his wait time was no biggie... he got back to me within 12 hrs.

LJ

Well!

You can take me off the list!

Received,

September 12, 2008

Ordered June 30th 2007

a year and 3 months. WELL worth the wait.

Mola Ram wrote:Well!

You can take me off the list!

Received,

September 12, 2008

Ordered June 30th 2007

a year and 3 months. WELL worth the wait.

Mola Ram,

You know what comes next - PICS!!! Let's see a few of that noggin' huggin' beauty!

Kind regards,
Craig

Ordered 6-23-08
Received 9-11-08
Thanks Steve

inexpensive_jones:
Am I missing something?
How did you pull off THAT trick?
I mean, don't get me wrong, I 'm not jealous... I haven't even ORDERED mine yet... I'm happy for you and all... (and post pics!)... but how did you get your fedora so fast?
Do you wear an uncommon size...?
Or...
Did you write "Ordered 6-23-08" when you MEANT to write "Ordered 6-23-07?
Or... what?
Mitch

ordered mine on March 28, 2008

Mola Ram wrote:Well!

You can take me off the list!

Received,

September 12, 2008

Ordered June 30th 2007

a year and 3 months. WELL worth the wait.

What style did you go with? and what size did you order?
best
Canada

Mitch LaRue wrote:inexpensive_jones:
Am I missing something?
How did you pull off THAT trick?
I mean, don't get me wrong, I 'm not jealous... I haven't even ORDERED mine yet... I'm happy for you and all... (and post pics!)... but how did you get your fedora so fast?
Do you wear an uncommon size...?
Or...
Did you write "Ordered 6-23-08" when you MEANT to write "Ordered 6-23-07?
Or... what?
Mitch

You know, I overlooked that yesterday when I saw this. I just assumed it was 07 and didn't even notice it said 08. This happened to another member ho ordered an AB and recieved his within a month or so. It doesn't bother me that some folks don't have to wait as long as I do (after all its only happened twice since I've been here). I'm just happy that I ordered mine back in March and actually enjoy the wait. Congrats on recieving your AB, inexpensive_jones.

Dave

inexpensive_jones - CS bash - 7 1/4 - 6/23/07 RECEIVED 9/11/08

Me and inexpensive Jones bought the same hat, same size, and it arrived on the same day.

here it is!

Hat looks fabulous.
best
Canada

Sorry guys it was '07. I wish it was the other way, that was quite a wait. The hat fits like I was there being fitted. I can't believe it.

Ah well...
I kinda' figured that was probably it... still, a guy can DREAM, can't he?

(In this particular dream YOUR hat size was identical to MINE and for some strange reason we were the only 2 COW Members who wore that particular size - hence the short wait for the block - henceHENCE to short turn-around time for your hat!)

Yep... dream effectively dashed on the rocks of harsh reality...



But I guess I can always come back to the comfort I take in the level of excellence that awaits each of us at the end of our waits...

Glad to hear your hat is no different, inexpensive_jones.
And thanks for clearing that up.
Mitch

Hey Mitch the hat you are wearing in your avatar looks great! I really like it.

Thank you gabrielle.
I'm kinda proud of this hat actually... it's FAR from being screen accurate (and depending on the light - indoor or outdoor / flash or no flash - it can look anywhere from grey to caramel colored) but I was a young and inexperienced hat owner when I first went to work on it, so it'll always have a place in my heart (at least until my Penman gets here!)

And, since it's an excerpt from a post I had already written down in one of the first COW comments I wrote (and it's therefore no extra effort on MY part - just YOURS)... here's a little bit of the story on this hat:

"...back in '92 I tracked down - the old-fashioned way - a hat shop in New York called J.J. Hat Center.
They carried a number of styles (each one trying to tap into that Hat-Seeking Indy Fanbase out there): "The Temple", "The Crusader", etc... But none of them quite captured what I was looking for... Instead, I ordered up an altogether different fedora from them, the "Royal DeLuxe" Stetson. I remember thinking that the hat color, brim & style were "close enough"... or, at least, close enough for me to work with, as that's what I'd decided to do...)
So, when the hat arrived - and with absolute IGNORANCE as my co-pilot - I went to work on what I thought (at the time) to be a ground-breaking endeavor: Here I was, just some guy who knew next to nothing about how a fedora was constructed and before you knew it I was using an X-Acto blade to give the brim what I would later learn was called a "dimensional-cut", re-shaping the top using a spray bottle of warm water & clothes-pins and even replacing the ribbon with the hat band off of a pork-pie hat I used to wear in high school.
The end result was... something I thought was PRETTY good, but still left me wanting to find the kind of skilled craftsperson who could create the authentic thing... Never stopped wanting that. And, of course, never stopped being an Indy fan."

The hat eventually went in the closet and only came out a few days before I wrote that so if it sounds a little nostalgic and sentimental (or just mental), you'll have to forgive me... ah, the memories...

And thanks again for the compliment.
Mitch

Does that now account for everyone that had June '07 orders?

Anybody received his '07 July order? Has Steve started with the July orders?

That last one is the one million dollar question!

Ordered mine July 2007 and just got it today 9/17/08. Beautiful white box with a very very sweet fedora inside. Although I think all of the work has started our friend Steve smoking. Worth the wait.

Would anyone be annoyed if I said mine arrived this week? My name is the last on the list on the OP and I ordered it this year & yes I do believe Steve has started smoking.

unerhij wrote:Would anyone be annoyed if I said mine arrived this week? My name is the last on the list on the OP and I ordered it this year

You are joking, right?
If not: Congratulations, you are the luckiest guy on this planet.

Not only did my AB turn up but my Penman turned up, what a week.


I will post pics later on.

Okay, unerhij...
You know there's only ONE WAY to balance out the karma when you have THIS good a week, right?

That's riiiight...
By sharing!

And since it wouldn't be feasible to let each of us have a turn holding and trying on your hat(s) you ARE at LEAST going to SHARE some PHOTOS aren't you?

Just... puttin' it out there...
Mitch

add me to the list. waiting on:

indy1936 - idol grab - 7 3/4 - ordered about 1/15/08

Iron Chef wrote:Ordered mine July 2007 and just got it today 9/17/08. Beautiful white box with a very very sweet fedora inside. Although I think all of the work has started our friend Steve smoking. Worth the wait.

unerhij wrote:Would anyone be annoyed if I said mine arrived this week? My name is the last on the list on the OP and I ordered it this year & yes I do believe Steve has started smoking.

Ummm...
Can I just ask that we back things up for a second? Are you both saying that your new AB's have an overly STRONG smell of smoke on them?
(I can't imagine what ELSE you could mean by your comments unless there were actual ashes or butts in the boxes - which, would be even HARDER to imagine...)

How do I ask this...
Is... this a problem for anyone?

I think once before I saw a thread here at COW where someone had bought an OLD used fedora on eBay, IT smelled of smoke and they wanted tips on how to remove the smell, but quite frankly I didn't read the thread because - at the time - I thought "Well, that's not really an issue I'll have to worry about since I've chosen to order only NEW custom-made fedoras from a short list of Highly Recommended Hat Makers."

I think once I was even reading a GREAT thread where Marc walked us through his Hat-Making Process and HE mentioned "Stopping for a quick cigarette" but I didn't figure on it being something that "STAYED" with the hat.

I hadn't assumed I'd ever have to ask this question, but now I'm wondering if it's a good Pre-Emptive move in anticipation of one day getting an AB:
So, "Does anyone have any tips on how to remove the smell of smoke from a Brand New Hat? Or does it just fade over time? Is "Febreeze" the TRUE final chapter in my quest to get the fedora I've been looking for for so long?"

I realize that all this might sound a bit sarcastic...

And maybe I just jumped the gun... Maybe that ISN'T what those comments meant...

And believe me when I say, I am NOT an anti-smoking Nazi who doesn't believe that if Steve wants to HAVE a smoke, that he shouldn't dang-well HAVE a smoke!
Dude is AWESOME and works way, WAY harder than MOST people (and especially given everything that HE's been putting up with - including NOW, guys like myself who might say "Eeeew! Ick! Why does my hat smell smokey?!")
If the man wants to have a smoke, he definitely SHOULD!

BUT...

Shouldn't & couldn't somebody drop him a line and say "Steve...just an FYI: but just so you know, the hats are arriving at their destinations - your customers addresses - still smelling a little of smoke...
Just... y'know... so you are aware of that... little... y'know, unplanned, added...'detail' (and please don't push MY hat further back on the waiting list just for being the one to TELL you this...)"

Anyway, that's what's going on in MY head.

Am I over-reacting?
Part of me thinks "Hey, if it means I get my AB I don't care if it smells like Mustard Pickles!"
But then, part of me (the part that's writing this post) thinks "If I'm gonna spend this much money and wait this long for a hat is it TOO much to ask that at the end of the whole process it DOESN'T have an unpleasant smell to it?"

Your thoughts?

I once had a microwave oven repaired and when I got it home it smelled of cigarette smoke. I called the shop and they said "we get that complaint all the time" (duh). "Put a cup of lemon juice in it and runit for a minute on medium and it will clear it up."

I do not recommend using this method on a fedora.

Duly noted, ANZAC_1915...
(Writing this down)
"No Fedora IN microwave WITH lemon"
Got it!

(And thanks for a good laugh)

I'm curious to know about this smoke issue as well....wouldn't bother me much, but just curious.....

Mitch LaRue wrote:Okay, unerhij...
You know there's only ONE WAY to balance out the karma when you have THIS good a week, right?

That's riiiight...
By sharing!

And since it wouldn't be feasible to let each of us have a turn holding and trying on your hat(s) you ARE at LEAST going to SHARE some PHOTOS aren't you?

Just... puttin' it out there...
Mitch

Hey Mitch,

its dark here now so when I get a chance to take some good pics in the day time I will and I will post them up.

Unerhij

Could it possibly smell from the burning process?

I thought mine smelled of smoke initially, then realized it smelled just like what the last hat I was making smelled like when I did the final process, which is lighting the hat on fire....