Club Obi Wan

Hi all

Just to chip in I ordered a custom non-Indy from John back in June and the lead time has been pushed due to Covid.

Although I’ll admit it’s more fun to speculate this is due to Indy 5...

Best

G

Yeah, shipping is probably a real headache for him right now.

I know getting stuff from California is taking twice as long as usual through the USPS.

I'm waiting on two small items that have been on the road for over a week. It usually only takes 3 days.

At least they're still on USPS tracking radar, but larger items are probably taking longer.

Regards! M

According to John's social media posts, he's having to work out of his home at least part time so that has slowed his production timeline.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

I've known that he had slowed production times, but to me, it seems a little dubious that from December 10 to January 5, he gained an additional 4 months to the wait time. As I said, though, he may have just gotten a bunch of orders during that time. I'm still hoping he gets the gig. Also, they may have him refurbishing old AB's, but they don't often share gear between movies, so I dunno.

Could also be something innocuous like waiting on a shipment of hat bodies.

Or it could be something personal. He's one guy, with family and frailties and the like. I get the frustration, though. When your Jonesin' for a fedora, you want it now
It does seem like supplies are delayed across the country. For example, whipmakers are having trouble getting skins I think so maybe there is a supply issue. Or he has a lot of orders all of a sudden. Hang in there.

When the pandemic first started, John was posting videos of producing hats in his house. These are extenuating circumstances for us all. I would imagine that would slow the process down quite a bit.

I posted this in another thread about felt fading over time, but figured I’d come over and post it here since this is where it belongs.

After 13 years, my Penman is still my favorite hat. Here it is recently on a trip we took to North Georgia. I promise we were socially distant and wore a mask before and after the picture was taken.

https://i.ibb.co/r4HnZVD/FEEEEF2-A-9695 ... D3-DF2.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dave

The day is finally here! My Adventurebilt Legacy Collection KotCS has arrived, and she is marvelous.



https://imgur.com/gallery/8EQkOtq

Thank you very much for sharing, Nate; I really appreciate it. She's a beaut. You've made me even more excited for mine due later this year.

What a gorgeous hat! And an incredible collection! Nate, I’d love to hear your thoughts on how the felt and quality compare with your HJ hats. Any impressions or review you have would be interesting to hear.

Indiana_Nate wrote:The day is finally here! My Adventurebilt Legacy Collection KotCS has arrived, and she is marvelous.



https://imgur.com/gallery/8EQkOtq

What would you say is your favorite?

Nate that's one superb hat! The Crystal Skull crease has always seemed perfect to me

Thank you all for the kind words! It is my pleasure to share these works of art (in my humble opinion). It's my goal to have a hat from the original manufacturers from all 4 films. At this point, the only one remaining is a ToD from HJ, which they conveniently just announced.

The hat is spectacular. I am admittedly not a patient person, but the wait was definitely worth it. John certainly lives up to his reputation in terms of the quality of his work and really honors Steve Delk's legacy with this hat. My first impressions out of the box: The packaging and presentation is a 10 out of 10. The hat brush and Adventurebilt pin are great accessories, and the hat box itself with the burned map and Adventurebilt logo faintly in the background make you feel like you're going to be magically transported into Indy's shoes the moment that the hat goes on your head. When you invest this type of money into a hat, those little additions are nice to have. I would love to see HJ do something similar in the future.

The hat itself has such an amazing feel to it. It was as if it was broken in and brand new all at the same time. All of my HJs are rabbit felt, so I was very curious to see how a beaver would measure up. It was noticeable to me right away that the felt of the beaver AB was denser and a bit stiffer than the HJs. Based on my prior research, that seems to be the norm. All of my HJs have really been phenomenal at holding their shape/bash, so I do not imagine the AB will be any different. The other thing I noticed was that the crown is significantly shorter than the Raiders/LC Poets (I have not measured them yet to see by how much). I've read the complaints from some that the crowns on HJs are too high, but I've always felt that they were pretty screen accurate.

As far as my favorite goes...that's a tough question. I would have to say that it is my HJ Crusade Poet. Michelle at HJ is amazing and she and I corresponded frequently to get the look that I wanted for it. Plus I think that the deep sable color along with the purple lining is just absolutely gorgeous. With that said though, the AB is already giving it a good run for its money. I love the proportions and the way that it fits, the crease (as Bo Invader mentioned) is perfect, and it just seems like it is built like a tank. If I had to choose between the two hatters, I simply could not. They both make one heck of a hat!

Thank you so much for adding your review! This is all really good information for me, because as I wait for my Penman (Crusade) I have been eyeing a HJ Raiders. I don't think I will be able to resist! I really like the look of your Crusade HJ, Michelle did a fantastic job.

Yeah, I’ll have to wait and see the 40th anniversary before I jump on one of their Raiders.

That is my plan as well!

Same here. I wish I knew when the HJ 40th Raiders was coming.

Lol! Me too, but this is a Penman Hat thread, so maybe that HJ discussion needs to move to a related thread so it doesn’t get lost in here!

Thanks!

Regards! Michaelson

I ordered a Penman ABL Raiders back in March of 2020, as of recently I was unable to contact John Penman via phone as it was disconnected. I know he was dealing with some personal issues and that things were delayed due to Covid. I sent a message via his website and got a reply that someone was helping with his business and that he is sick and unable to be reached. I was recently messaged and told they would be refunding my money. So after all of this wait of over a year I am back to square one on getting a Fedora. I am looking for any and all advice on a different fedora to fit the bill now.

Wow... That’s definitely something... From my understanding, Indiana_Nate made an order for an ABL CS in May and received it recently. I know the materials are different and all, but that is just weird. It seems to me that we’re missing a piece of the story.

Has anyone else been in contact with John recently? The last I messaged with him was February 28th, and he seemed fine then. I’m worried that my order will be canceled now; I’ll have to talk with him soon.

Howard, as for searching for another fedora, I would recommend looking into Herbert Johnson, Advintage, and Smith & Jones.

jhoward2762 wrote:I ordered a Penman ABL Raiders back in March of 2020, as of recently I was unable to contact John Penman via phone as it was disconnected. I know he was dealing with some personal issues and that things were delayed due to Covid. I sent a message via his website and got a reply that someone was helping with his business and that he is sick and unable to be reached. I was recently messaged and told they would be refunding my money. So after all of this wait of over a year I am back to square one on getting a Fedora. I am looking for any and all advice on a different fedora to fit the bill now.

That’s sad to hear about John. I hope he feels better soon. I did order mine in May and receive it recently. Maybe he either had that on hand or it was easier to source than the rabbit he uses. I sent him a thank you email shortly after I received it and he did get back to me pretty quickly.

It’s hard to beat a Penman, but there are a lot of great hatters out there. My number one recommendation would be Herbert Johnson. Their master hatter Michelle is a wizard and one of the nicest, most helpful people in the world to deal with. And the turnaround time is very fast. Other than that, I’ve read really good things about Brian at Screencapped.

That is bad news, I hope he is doing better. Not getting my hat would be disappointing but we’re in difficult times. I myself am suffering from some pretty nasty side effects of long Covid so poor health puts getting a new hat in perspective.

I last heard from John on the 6th March that my order was due in April, and I ordered in June of last year. So if it can happen to a March 2020 order I could be in the firing line too. I’ll give him some space and see where we are in May.

jhoward2762 If mine falls through I’ll be going to HJ, them being based in England would be my main reason. Bigger operation too, and I suppose shorter lead times.

Best

Gerry

The whole situation seems really strange. I hope that all is well with Mr. Penman. I just wanted people to see what is going on and see if anyone else was in the same situation that I am. It looks like upon my refund I will be going with Herbert Johnson. I have attached snippets of the e-mails back and forth as that is the only way I was able to provide evidence of this weird situation.

From what it sounds like, your order somehow slipped through the cracks...

Assuming everything you were told is true, I don't find it particularly 'strange' that illness would sideline a one-man-shop and that someone trying to tie the loose ends in the meantime would be working with incomplete information. Seems pretty straightforward to me.

My $0.02 is just get an HJ.

So sorry to hear that John is not feeling well. Hope he recovers soon.

This may just be me, but it sounds like the person messaging you seems to be saying that they will ask John about it over the weekend. For all, we know John could have this all resolved then, or am I overlooking something? If you do end up with a refund, I would suggest possibly waiting for the HJ 40th anniversary hat, but I don't think you would be disappointed with one of their regular collection hats.

Have you asked if you can refuse the refund and keep the order in the queue for when John gets better? Of course, we don't have a timeline for that, but that would be my preference rather than a canceled order after all this time.

So, I emailed info@penmanhats.com late last night about acquiring an additional liner for my ABL. Odd request, I know, but I love the AB logo and I wanted a fresh one in the event my perspiration wrecks the current one with summer fast approaching. I knew what I was walking into when I sent the email, but I was curious as to what the response would be. Much to my surprise, I had received an answer by the time I awoke this morning. It was as follows:

“I’m sorry mr penman is ill. I’m a friend of his and I’m trying to help as much as I can. I don’t know if he sales bus liners or what the price of them would be. Can you check back after the summer?

Sent from my iPhone
John Penman
http://www.penmanhats.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;”

I only wanted to share because it offers some indication of a timeline moving forward. Certainly no harm in waiting, but there seems to be a lot of uncertainty here.

tubasthebest wrote:Have you asked if you can refuse the refund and keep the order in the queue for when John gets better? Of course, we don't have a timeline for that, but that would be my preference rather than a canceled order after all this time.

I was debating on that, but I never asked for a refund and that is the route he was trying to go. I think at this point I will just got to HJ. Hate to roll the dice and end up with no hat and 530$ down the drain.


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jhoward2762 wrote:

tubasthebest wrote:Have you asked if you can refuse the refund and keep the order in the queue for when John gets better? Of course, we don't have a timeline for that, but that would be my preference rather than a canceled order after all this time.

I was debating on that, but I never asked for a refund and that is the route he was trying to go. I think at this point I will just got to HJ. Hate to roll the dice and end up with no hat and 530$ down the drain.


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I think you’re making the right call. Better to play it safe at this point. And you will not regret going with the HJ. Michelle is awesome.


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Anyone with a new Penman?

Post 'em UP!


*nice pic Dave

I have a reblocked Adventurebilt from Penman. Does that count?

Canyon wrote:I have a reblocked Adventurebilt from Penman. Does that count?

Sure!


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Texan Scott wrote:Anyone with a new Penman?

Post 'em UP!


*nice pic Dave

Sadly not for another 7 or so months, but I’ll be sure to post it up then.

post 'em up here, Canyon. Don't he stingy with that Penman!?

Okay...



Made by Adventurebilt Hats and reblock by Penman Hats
Picture credit: Penman Hat Co

Looks fantastic.

That hat looks amazing Canyon!

Thanks guys.

I wish I could take credit for the reblock. JP did an incredible job.

That is a sweet look lid there Canyon.
Now the picture is by Penman, so how’s it lookin now?

Let’s one with you wearing it, don’t be bashful.

Croft

Indiana Croft wrote:That is a sweet look lid there Canyon.
Now the picture is by Penman, so how’s it lookin now?

Let’s one with you wearing it, don’t be bashful.

Croft

I know. I gotta get around to taking some pictures. I'll see if I can get Chewie to take some tomorrow...

WOW!, Simply ~ WOW! As Always with John -- Great stuff ! W>

Looking good, Canyon!
How recent is that reblock? Does that mean Penman is back in action? He told me mine needed a reblock right before the whole Covid mess started and I've been waiting for him to start taking work again so I can give my lid some much needed TLC.

Doing a quick search, her reblock was done last year.

Regards! Michaelson

Indiana Croft wrote:That is a sweet look lid there Canyon.
Now the picture is by Penman, so how’s it lookin now?

Let’s one with you wearing it, don’t be bashful.

Croft

Don't say I didn't warn you...

A bit shy...


Okay then...


Here goes...


I'm afraid hitting middle age etc has not been kind...

It looks very good on you Canyon, thanks for sharing pictures with us.

Canyon, the hat looks amazing.
And don’t kid yourself, you do to.

And I know all about middle age as many here do as well.
Remember, it’s not the years, it’s the mileage.

Know I have to get my Penman KS travel hat.
Trying to remember if he re-blocked my AB

Croft

Indiana Croft wrote:Canyon, the hat looks amazing.
And don’t kid yourself, you do to.

Too kind. Many thanks!