Club Obi Wan

Last Crusade is my favourite Indiana Jones movie because it was the first one I saw and I used to watch it all the time growing up with my dad... so it holds a strong place in my heart too. That's why getting this hat was important to me... and I couldn't be happier with it! Thanks John!

John makes a great LC hat, I can vouch. I had my hat earlier, but there were some problems with it (long story), so John fixed it up good for me. Actually tore it completely down, re-blocked it, re-pounced it, and everything. I liked it before, in spite of the problems it had, but I know it's going to be ten times better now. I can hardly wait to get it back. I bought a hat someone else had ordered and canceled, so it was bashed for me. I had John leave it open crown so I could have all the fun doing it this time.

I used to watch Last Crusade with my Dad (and Mom) too, so I have the same warm memories attached, which make it my favorite for the same reason. Funny how that goes, huh? From a strict movie-critic standpoint, I'd say Raiders is the better movie, but personally I'll take Last Crusade over it any day, because the "other factors" cause it to be a more emotional experience for me watching it.

Nice!!! That hat looks great on ya! I think it suits you very well. Some more fine work from John, as always.

I got my new Penman today as well. I haven't been able to take any pics of it but will tomorrow. I'm using it as part of my John Dillinger costume for a party tonight (though it isn't like the one in the Public Enemy movie, but I think fits the era nicely). The vintage ribbon that Steve sent John to use is absolutely beautiful. This stuff blows away any new ribbon I have ever seen. It reminds me a lot of the ribbon on my best friends' 1930's Knox, though the color is different. The pounce job is great too, my favorite from any of the hats I have. John's quality was great before, but it is rediculous now. This is the most beautifully constructed hat I have ever seen, inside and out. I can't wait to show you guys the pictures.

Dave

jasonalun wrote:John makes a great LC hat, I can vouch. I had my hat earlier, but there were some problems with it (long story), so John fixed it up good for me. Actually tore it completely down, re-blocked it, re-pounced it, and everything. I liked it before, in spite of the problems it had, but I know it's going to be ten times better now. I can hardly wait to get it back. I bought a hat someone else had ordered and canceled, so it was bashed for me. I had John leave it open crown this time so I could have all the fun doing it this time.

I used to watch Last Crusade with my Dad (and Mom) too, so I have the same warm memories attached, which make it my favorite for the same reason. Funny how that goes, huh? From a strict movie-critic standpoint, I'd say Raiders is the better movie, but personally I'll take Last Crusade over it any day, because the "other factors" cause it to be a more emotional experience for me watching it.

You should have it Saturday around noon. Believe it or not but I'm human and can make mistakes.

Thanks everyone for all the great compliments! This is now by far my most favourite hat!

I was comparing this Penman LC with an earlier Penman that I have (a grey Raiders seaplane) and even though the quality of both hats is amazing, you can really notice the improvements John has made since then since this LC is simply OUTSTANDING!

John, I just wanted to thank you for creating for me a masterpiece! It really is, and you made me very happy! Thank you!

jnicktem wrote:

I was comparing this Penman LC with an earlier Penman that I have (a grey Raiders seaplane) and even though the quality of both hats is amazing, you can really notice the improvements John has made since then since this LC is simply OUTSTANDING!

The hat looks outstanding on you. Did you ask any particular scene, or just a generic LC style?

I hope you can take some side-by-side comparison pics (this hat and the Seaplane) when you have the time! That would be great.

Great hat jnicktem! I got my Penman LC about a week ago and I have not taken it off my head! Mine came in the new leather like hat box and all I can say is WOW! I love this hat. I have got nothing but compliments on it. I have been late with pics because my kid broke my camera LOOOONG story. I'll see if I can't get them up today.



Travis

Totally agree with previous posts. John's craftmanship and attention to detail has exponentially improved. Crazy thing is that it was superb from the start. I bought one of John's 1st hats back in Sept 08 (CS beaver). I have since purchased 2 more hats from John (Grey CS beaver Apr 09, Raiders beaver Sept 09). The difference in pounce from the CS to the Raiders is like night and day when they are side by side. Actually its so good that I am having John do a reblock on my CS beaver down the road so it has the same look and feel as the new Raiders. Thanks John for making such great hats .


Matt

I snapped off these pictures of my new Penman. Again, I really think that the vintage ribbon that Steve gave me really made the hat. And as always, John's work is top notch. Every hat I get from him just gets better and better. This is also the softest and floppiest hat I've ever gotten from John. The brim flapps around just with walking! Again, Steve and John, thank you so much.





Dave

Dave,

The hat looks great. What are the color and dimensions? I know its different, but it still has an Indy feel to it.

Matt

Once you see it on my head, it doesn't look Indy. I creased it with a loose front pinch and the side creases don't go very far back. I also put a really deep and wide center crease in it. I wanted this hat to have just a hair of taper. As for the dimensions, the crown is 5 1/4'' and the brim is 2 1/2''. I think the smaller dimensions make for a more casual hat. The brim is narrow enough for me to dress casual and wide enough for me to dress it up too. This is just a little quirk of mine, though. I'm having some trouble getting the pics of the hat on my head to show, but I'll try to get them up so you can see it on my head.

Dave

Dave

Really nice color and ribbon. What is the name for this color?

Thanks guys! As for the colors, the felt is charcoal and the ribbon is iron.

Dave

That looks VERY sharp on you, Dave.
Class AND Attitude all the way.


Excellent purchase on your part... and as for Mr. Penman... Well...


I hope you have a great time tonight wearing that hat David. Wishing you all the compliments you'll deserve while wearing it.

Thank you, my friend. I wore it last night as John Dillinger to a costue party. Tonight its topping off my Perry the Platypus costume.

Dave

That's GREAT! I hope if you get a few photos taken you can see your way clear to sharing a few with us here at C.O.W.


Y'know, it's funny... Every time I see Perry I'm reminded of how years (and I DO mean YEARS ) ago I worked on an Anthology comic book that featured many different stories including a reccuring one about a crime solving gumshoe named Sherlock Platypus (who was, naturally, a fedora-wearing duck-billed Platypus)...

Now, I didn't create him or anything, but I did get to draw him a few times.
And now, here you are a new friend of mine, wearing a hat made by one of my favorite Hatters working today and dressing up like a character who always reminds me of a character I worked on back in my youth... kind of a "full circle" for me now that I think about it...


Have a great night tonight, Dave... Hakuna Matata!

First of all, Dave, that new Penman of yours is truly fantastic! I love the colour of that ribbon! And I know just what you mean by saying that every hat you get from John just gets better and better! I can't believe how smooth the felt is on my new Penman!

And Barcelona Jones, I ordered a generic Last Crusade style. Right now I am leaving it as is, and I am not going to tweak it. I am just going to wear it and let it create its own character.

Ok guys and dolls (as John says), here's some pics of my Penman Last Crusade hat. I styled it mostly Venice Pier style, but with some "Indy's father's house scene" in the front bashes. I find it really hard see what's going on in the bashes of the Venice Pier scenes, due to the quick motion (Indy is mostly walking swiftly during it) and the fact that the hat is in bright sunlight which casts the front of the hat in shadow much of the time. So I curled the side brims like Venice Pier, and made the front bashes to more or less follow the "Indy's father's house scene."







and for all you "cowboy hat curl" fans...




and a last close-up. Apologies for the spots on it - it's lens flare from the bright sunlight, not anything on the hat. Strange but I didn't see that happening when I was looking through the viewfinder...

Well thanks Fox! Even though my Perry costume was just jeans, a blue shirt, this hat, and a bill and tail made of construction paper (cheap but effective) I had a great time. I know some people took photos so I'll try to get those up along with some of my John Dillinger costume, complete with accurately spray painted Thompson sub-machine gun.

Jason, I ove the crease in that hat. The brim curl looks great too. Congrats!

Dave

Thanks, Dave! I appreciate that coming from you, since I happen to know that the Last Crusade is your least favorite Indy hat. I must have done a really good job if even you like it.

BEAUTIFUL hat!


And I'm with Dave: the crease and brim look just great (and you know I'M a fan of that cowboy curl, Jason)

More great work from John Penman!

It is my least favorite hat. Don't know why. I will take a ToD hat over an LC hat any day. Now, John's hats are a different story. I actually like his LC hats. I think they look better than the ones we see in the film because they are a little bit straighter sided than the film hats. That crease that you put in it is great and you creased the hat to a very good height. If you would have creased the hat a little lower, it would be closer to what I think I see in the film, but then again, maybe thats why I like this one so much, because it isn't creased so low. Whatever it is, very nice job on it.

Dave

Thank you again for the compliments on my bashing, Dave. I've been spending a fair amount of time over the last few months studying various creases and practicing on my various hats, and some new ones, and wondered if I was getting any better at it.

John's LC hats won't crease down any further in front (4 1/2") without buckling outward too far, and you get the reverse taper front-back wise, which doesn't look good. I tried it just out of curiousity to see how far down I could crease it in front, and this was as far as I could get it without any "funny stuff" going on with taper. I think I may agree with you that John's LC hat is somewhat higher than what the film hat appears in some scenes - I'm not 100% sure. So much can be distorted by lens length or camera angle, it's hard to be sure without actually having the hat in your hands. In the "tied to a chair" scene, the hat looks awfully short in the front crown, yet in other scenes, like the tank chase or Dad's house, it looks fairly tall. I tend to think it is just the center crease depth affecting it, but then you can only crease some hats down so far before you start to get some ill effects in other areas, and with how low that hat looks in some scenes, I almost wonder if they had more than one hat block in LC?! Food for discussion (in some other thread, of course! )
Bottom line, this is my ultimate LC hat - I'm completely happy with it. This is the hat I've wanted since 1989, when I was 18 years old and saw "Last Crusade" for the first time, and fell in love with Indy's hat.

Dave, I love your "Dillinger hat." I think that hat suits you best, if you don't mind my saying so. You look good in your other hats too, but that one really "fits" you in my opinion. Very nice hat - I wouldn't mind having one in that style myself, though you wear it better than I would, I think.

jnicktem, looking forward to seeing more pics of your LC hat, maybe outside on your head! Looks great so far!

Thank you, my friend. I think this hat suits me best too. It definately stands out without being too loud. It wasn't meant to be a Dillinger hat, though. I just think it captures that 30's feel and so I wore it for my Dillinger get up. It can pull off the look though. As for the hats in LC, I don't think we see different blocks but we see hats with varying crease depths, like you mentioned. Most of those hats look very tapered to me and the crease plays a great role in that. It is creased so low in some scenes, that you see Ford's head pushing up on the top crease. In other scenes, the hat seems taller, like in Donovan's study, Henry's house, and the Grail temple. Those are the ones I like in LC. I think your hat more closely resembles those but with straighter sides. I like it. In fact, the straighter sides make it seem like a CS hat and that one I REALLY love.

Dave

Ok, here they are. Two weeks late (I had to...ahem...borrow the schools yearbook camera to get these. Its only two weeks old, but its like an old friend already. Believe me when I say, John will not be happy until you are happy with a hat. He takes a pride in his creations that are seldom seen in todays "give it to me fast and cheap" world! Hats off (not literally, I'm not takin this one off for nothin!) to John for being a stand up guy and outstanding craftsman! Already pondering what my next Penman will be...what kind of vintage ribbon you got John?






Travis

Wow, Hollowpond, that's looks great! You really look good in a Last Crusade hat - fits your face well. Looks like an old friend on your head!

Did John bash that or did you? Good bash job, whoever did it.

Thanks guys! John bashed it, but I have been tweaking it since I got it. It has settled in now to be a Hollowpond hat. I kicked up the cowboy curl, pinched the very top of the front bash a little tighter, and basically worked for a couple of days massaging the bashes to give it a more lived in look. LOVE...THIS...HAT!


Travis

Hollowpond I love the look of the Penman. I have a LC Penman ordered and by the looks of it I have a lot to look forward to. Thanks for posting.

Beaverlid

Great hat you've got there, Travis, and it looks like the young ones are following in their Dad's footsteps!

Travis, I love the look of that hat. Once again John comes through.

Beautiful hat, Travis (and wonderful photos!)

Really, really nice and the key is it suits you

Travis, the hat looks great. Congratulations. I really like the crease too.

Dave

Thanks alot guys! It is an awesome hat. I love everything about it, and yes it does seem to suit my facial features. I have always loved Indy Gear, but I have always been more about adapting Indy's stuff to me.


Travis

Travis, that Penman looks greats on you! Way to make it your hat! I tweaked and messed with my grey Raiders Seaplane Penman so much that it is now an old friend. With my brand new Penman LC, I am just going to wear it to death and let it develop its own character. I am not going to mess with the bash at all. I am curious to see how it changes just from wearing it.

So I just went and took some pictures of the inside of my new Penman Last Crusade... it's a shame that I didn't take any pics earlier because the inside of this hat is truly breathtaking!

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/j ... NLC012.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/j ... NLC013.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/j ... NLC014.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/j ... NLC015.jpg

Nice work on the inside of your fedora. I really went back and forth between getting the black penman liner or the white liner. In the end I went with the white liner to keep my LC fedora accurate to the Indy Hat in the Last Crusade. I am thinking of the scene where Indy at the point of exhaustion after the tank battle collapses and the wind blows his hat to him and we catch a glimpse of the white liner. Thanks for posting.

Beaverlid

Back in the early days there was no choice of liner colors so mine is white. But IMHO I think the white liner adds class so I wouldn't change.
Great work all around. The sweatband is very comfortable, the ribbon is smooth and beautiful.
Just one question. How does John know the beavers used in the felt were pure? Maybe they had naughty beaver thoughts.
Or robbed (river) banks.

Got professional pics done today of the fam and me. Some of them feature my Penman. They are great! I'll post as soon as I get them. The lady that took the pictures was taken with the hat as well, people around here don't even realize what a quality hat is, but they realize there is something special about this lid! This hat continues to rock!

Professional Pics? I can't wait to see those!

Terrific look to that hat, Travis. And they only get better with age (also a rarity in today's society).

Well, Oakster, we expect a full report of your trip. Time for the bendable tree to sound off...how'd it go? Inquiring minds wanna' know. What was the funniest thing you saw? huh?

I've had this hat for close to a year and realized I never posted pics on this site to share. This is the nicest and most comfortable hat I own. John went the extra mile on this hat, and I got exactly what I was looking for.

Indiana Jake

Those are some great shots, Jake! Were you going for a LC bash? That's an interesting take on the seaplane stairs scene, with the brown fedora.

Indiana Jake wrote:

I've had this hat for close to a year and realized I never posted pics on this site to share. This is the nicest and most comfortable hat I own. John went the extra mile on this hat, and I got exactly what I was looking for.

Indiana Jake

It was great to see one of my hats after a year or so. The photos are great and you wear it well. I'm glade you like it and it was great hanging with you Jake.

John,

The excuse to purchase a grey fedora occurred to me only too late before we shot these pictures. Just like Indy, I had to make do with what I had at the time. Next time you drive from Portland to LA, you should see the plane in Oakland. I suppose it is a bit like an LC bash. I never tried to match it to a specific hat or scene. As much as I am a Raiders fan, I never really liked the tight pinch on those hats. It always seemed too artificial in my eye. Now if it looks that way ten years from now, then it will be the real deal. So I wait.....

Indiana Jake

Indiana Jake wrote:John,

The excuse to purchase a grey fedora occurred to me only too late before we shot these pictures. Just like Indy, I had to make do with what I had at the time. Next time you drive from Portland to LA, you should see the plane in Oakland. I suppose it is a bit like an LC bash. I never tried to match it to a specific hat or scene. As much as I am a Raiders fan, I never really liked the tight pinch on those hats. It always seemed too artificial in my eye. Now if it looks that way ten years from now, then it will be the real deal. So I wait.....

Indiana Jake

Next time I will give it a try. I totally forgot about it. Was excited to get to the QM. What ever bash you want to call it, it fits your face very well. I wouldn't change it.


One more thing. Drop it girl.

I have had my Penman LC for a little over a week now... and guess what happened to me today??? John called me saying he is starting work on my next Penman! How cool is that??? It feels like Christmas... in... November!

Whats it gonna be?

Travis