Club Obi Wan

A hat.

BendingOak wrote:A hat.

I had that one coming didn't I.

Travis

It's a surprise! It's not an Indy hat though (I think I'm done ordering Indy hats... I have quite enough)

And John, that's priceless!

BendingOak wrote:A hat.

Dave

Hollowpond wrote:

BendingOak wrote:A hat.

I had that one coming didn't I.

Travis

Sorry Travis. You got handed the fire fighter answer.

BendingOak wrote: Sorry Travis. You got handed the fire fighter answer.

You might call it the ultimate BURN!

BendingOak wrote:

Hollowpond wrote:

BendingOak wrote:A hat.

I had that one coming didn't I.

Travis

Sorry Travis. You got handed the fire fighter answer.

I'm a big boy, I can take it.

Hmm, My Penman should be coming up this month or next....I can't wait!

jlee562 wrote:Hmm, My Penman should be coming up this month or next....I can't wait!

What style hat did you order? (See how I phrased that?)

Hollowpond wrote:

BendingOak wrote:

Hollowpond wrote:

BendingOak wrote:A hat.

I had that one coming didn't I.

Travis

Sorry Travis. You got handed the fire fighter answer.

I'm a big boy, I can take it.

I know you can. I was just explaining.

jnicktem wrote:

jlee562 wrote:Hmm, My Penman should be coming up this month or next....I can't wait!

What style hat did you order? (See how I phrased that?)

John is going to craft me a Dillinger-esque hat ala the Public Enemies movie....it's actually kinda inspired by the hat that Dave posted earlier in the thread that was made for his brother in law. John said he's going to tweak the specs a little bit, but mine will also be black with that maroon/wine ribbon.

After seeing everyone's Penman LC hats though, I definitely want to start saving for one of those.

I was at Optimo's website today and they now have the Dillinger up as a standard offering. In the lighting they shot it in, it looks like charcoal might work better, but the maroon ribbon is dead on. In the film, however, in almost every scene the hat appears black. Only in natural sunlight can you tell it isn't and in that lighting it looks almost purple. Truly unique felt. Anyway, I think the black and maroon looks great. Its a shame because my brother in law never wears that hat. What a waste. I asked him if he wanted to sell it to a friend of mine who is a hat guy and really likes it AND has the same head size, but he said no because he wears it in his room...

Dave

Excellent choice!

I can't wait to see some pictures of it when you get it!

DR Ulloa wrote:I was at Optimo's website today and they now have the Dillinger up as a standard offering. In the lighting they shot it in, it looks like charcoal might work better, but the maroon ribbon is dead on. In the film, however, in almost every scene the hat appears black. Only in natural sunlight can you tell it isn't and in that lighting it looks almost purple. Truly unique felt. Anyway, I think the black and maroon looks great. Its a shame because my brother in law never wears that hat. What a waste. I asked him if he wanted to sell it to a friend of mine who is a hat guy and really likes it AND has the same head size, but he said no because he wears it in his room...

Dave

I know, I'm this close to sending Optimo and email asking them if I can just buy the raw ox blood body and send it to John

Now that would be sweet. The one on the Optimo site looks like a bit different from the film hat though...perhaps its the bash that's throwing me off. But that ox blood felt is beautiful.

just a shot to show you my Penman with the Barnett College suit from Mr. Magnoli (was taken on early morning before going work )

Way ta' post 'em up, Pike. Here is a pic of me before my morning coffee:

(Moderator edit: Link removed. We are not a jumping point for other forum pages. We prefer posted pictures linked from one's own hosting site as opposed to links to outside forum pages just to see the image. Thanks for understanding.)

...all in all you are not doing so bad!

...sorry. The pic was all I was interested in.

Pure Class, steerpike... Well Done.
That's a GREAT look for you.

Here are some of the family pics that I promised...



That bottom pic is taken in a genuine one room school house. Kind of apropos considering I'm a teacher.
Travis

Love the way that hat sits on yer head, Travis. And I really like that last pic. I imagine thats something like where Indy may have gone to school as a boy in New Mexico.

Dave

So I took a mini-road trip out to Madison Wisconsin today (still there) and while at a restaurant in downtown an elder gentleman looked over to me and noticed my hat (my Penman LC). I commented on how he hasn't seen anyone wear such a quality fedora in years! All he sees these days are those "punk teenagers" with their pants below their knees and and cheap cardboard-like "fedora". I let him look it over for a while and he was blown away by the quality; saying his father had a hat like this back in the 20's and he has never seen another hat come close to the quality that his fathers hat had, until now. I told him who made it and overall we chatted for about 15 minutes on hats.

This was my first real comment on my hat and I have to say, it was a good experience!

Well, all this talk is making my head itch! My first Penman Raiders should be on the way in the next month or so. (note - not my first Penman hat). As much as I miss the hat it is replacing, I'm just as excited about getting the new one. I thought I was finally beyond this kind of anticipation for another Indy hat. Guess not.

Don't tell me this new Penman is replacing your Pepsi holder!

Dave

Hollowpond wrote:Here are some of the family pics that I promised...

Travis these pics are really beautifull! And great hat too! It suits on you perfect

Wonderful photos, Travis!
These are really great and I love that last shot.

jnicktem wrote:So I took a mini-road trip out to Madison Wisconsin today (still there) and while at a restaurant in downtown an elder gentleman looked over to me and noticed my hat (my Penman LC). I commented on how he hasn't seen anyone wear such a quality fedora in years! All he sees these days are those "punk teenagers" with their pants below their knees and and cheap cardboard-like "fedora". I let him look it over for a while and he was blown away by the quality; saying his father had a hat like this back in the 20's and he has never seen another hat come close to the quality that his fathers hat had, until now. I told him who made it and overall we chatted for about 15 minutes on hats.

This was my first real comment on my hat and I have to say, it was a good experience!

Thats was great to read, thanks for posting that. Made my day.

Well if anyone needs convincing to buy a Penman, send them my way! We've been experiencing a massive Nor`Easter here at the Jersey Shore. Thanks to Tropical Storm Ida. However I had errands to run and at the moment I'm without a car. So I'm schlepping around for hours in gale force winds of 50+ MPH and rain in my trusty, almost a year old, Penman. And it never came off. That beauty held on to my head like a baby to.....ahhhhhhh...anyway. Now some of the credit goes to my receding hairline and short haircut giving the sweatband plenty of skin to grip but I only had to reach up occasionally to hold it down. And the felt held up great. I've been treating it with John's water repellant after every rain and after I got home I hung it on it's peg on the wall and let it dry naturally. Just checked it and you'd never know it'd been out in that monsoon.

So if you have any concern about wearing a Penman in a little itty bitty rain storm, fugetaboutit! John's insistance on exact measurements and his excellent craftsmanship means you don't have to worry. It can take it!

Marty

DR Ulloa wrote:Don't tell me this new Penman is replacing your Pepsi holder!

Dave

I'm afraid so, Dave. But it wasn't the Pepsi that did her in. A cruel twist of fate, it seems, and nothing more.

I'm so sad. I've always loved that story. If there is anything left of that AB, Mike, I'd keep it as is and just store it away for the good memories. But at least now you have a chance to build up new memories and make a new friend with this hat.

Dave

BendingOak wrote:

jnicktem wrote:So I took a mini-road trip out to Madison Wisconsin today (still there) and while at a restaurant in downtown an elder gentleman looked over to me and noticed my hat (my Penman LC). I commented on how he hasn't seen anyone wear such a quality fedora in years! All he sees these days are those "punk teenagers" with their pants below their knees and and cheap cardboard-like "fedora". I let him look it over for a while and he was blown away by the quality; saying his father had a hat like this back in the 20's and he has never seen another hat come close to the quality that his fathers hat had, until now. I told him who made it and overall we chatted for about 15 minutes on hats.

This was my first real comment on my hat and I have to say, it was a good experience!

Thats was great to read, thanks for posting that. Made my day.

Anytime John! Thank you for making such a wonderful hat to begin with! It was really nice to have that conversation and having the hat you made compared to his fathers hat from 80 years ago.

I just picked up my new hat from John last Wednesday. We had lunch together and enjoyed conversation. My hat was ordered special for my oldest son's wedding. I was going for the look of the court step scene at the end of ROTLA. I bought a nice navy blue double-breasted pinstripe suit. I like the bash of the CS better then the LA so went with that. The outfit look great. Here's some pictures of the hat. I'll post some of the wedding pictures once I receive them.
This is my first real Indy hat and I love this hat! I ordered a brown CS AB in Nov. '08 and the wait for that hat was killing me. Now I feel satisfied.

The pictures are from work. The jacket is my CS Nowak I got in Dec '08.

That's a beauty!

Nice hat

Makes me want the one I have on order with John Ah well, It should go onto the block somewhere this month or so, so I don't have to wait that long anymore

Regards, Geert

Beautiful. Look at that bow? What a beautiful bow! Makes me want the grey CS AB I ordered back in July for my birthday. I think this may be my favorite grey hat that John has made so far. Wow!

Dave

DR Ulloa wrote:Beautiful. Look at that bow? What a beautiful bow! Makes me want the grey CS AB I ordered back in July for my birthday. I think this may be my favorite grey hat that John has made so far. Wow!

Dave

This may possibly be my favorite Raiders bow...ever!

Dave

That's a beautiful gray Raiders that John made. I don't think there are any of his that are not. If I ever get enough saved up, that would be the one I get.

Wow, that hat's a beauty!
And like Dave said, that bow is just perfect.

Congrats, lantzn!
Mitch

That is a LOVELY hat!

It's a gray KOTCS boys. I liked the look of the navy blue pinstripe and gray hat from the Raiders court steps scene. However I prefer the bash/crease of the CS and so I went with that hat to go with my navy double-breasted suit. That bow is perfect.

I originally placed an order with John months ago for a brown LC beaver fedora. In the process of waiting I received my CS AB. I truly want a hat that I wear everyday for years and years. I want to walk out the door and always grab my wallet keys and my trusty fedora. My AB is going to be that hat. So I got the call last week from John saying my hat was coming up and he wanted to know if I wanted to make any changes before he started. (Good MAN that Mr. Penman) So we ended up chatting about an hour and I was back and forth on the style and finally decided to totally change my order to a Gray beaver bashed and blocked in the LC style. Now I will have a different style when the occasion calls for it, and have a travelers hat that is in the spirit of Indy. After seeing these great pictures I know I made the right decision. Thanks for posting the great pictures.

Beaverlid

beaverlid wrote:So I got the call last week from John saying my hat was coming up and he wanted to know if I wanted to make any changes before he started. (Good MAN that Mr. Penman) So we ended up chatting about an hour and I was back and forth on the style and finally decided to totally change my order to a Gray beaver bashed and blocked in the LC style.

Yep, I got a similiar call last week. John was just about to start work on my hat and called me to confirm the order (I have been moving around orders like crazy) and we ended up chatting for an hour. I have to say, it was a very pleasant conversation and I always enjoy talking with John.

It's not very often you can find such an amazing craftsman that provides an equally amazing customer service like John does!

In my best stewie voice. " Thank you." I can't tell you how much I needed to hear that today.

lantzn wrote:It's a gray KOTCS boys. I liked the look of the navy blue pinstripe and gray hat from the Raiders court steps scene. However I prefer the bash/crease of the CS and so I went with that hat to go with my navy double-breasted suit. That bow is perfect.

Oops, my bad. That's what I get for posting late

I like to wear a gray lid in the fall/winter. Just seems to go with the atmosphere.

I love my hat. Thank you John.


John when I was down your way we talked about a Panama hat.
Unlike most of the hats around, the one on this guy has the wide 3.2" brim and is the look I'm after;
http://www.panamahatsdirect.com/iframe/Havana.htm
I like them with the really wide black ribbon and bow.

I can put any size ribbon you would like on it but I the the 1 inch on the type I showed you.

edit

I don't have a Penman to post up...yet. BUT, I just got a call letting me know that my hat ought to be going on the block in about a week or so. Re-reading these posts ( and looking at the pictures of fantastic hats ) has doubled my excitement. After wearing felt hats for about nineteen or twenty years, this'll be the first custom I've ever bought, built from the ground up, for me. I know there are other options out there for customs, but the extremely loyal fanbase for Penman Hats, Oak's website, and the pictures on this and other forums were more than enough to make the decision easy.
On top of the things that I've mentioned, however, is the way John Penman makes himself accessible, both in terms of tending to customer needs and, just as importantly, accessibility as a person. The personal interaction with John Penman is really part of the purchase: getting someone who clearly want's to deliver on every possible level. It's exciting to hear someone talk about what they're doing with a passion. Without a hint of irony, I have to say, I never imagined sanding something could be such a cool experience - until I heard John describing it.
Without my hat in hand yet, I can say with confidence that if his product is HALF of what his personal involvement in the exchange would indicate, this will be the single best use of my money I've ever made.
I'll post my hat as soon as I get it.

Post 'em up, Kiltie!