Club Obi Wan

So my wife and I were getting ready to go on a little hike yesterday and as we were about to leave, I put on my Adventurebilt.

"You're not going to hike in that, are you? It's too fancy for hiking".

Too fancy? Huh?

"Yeah, it looks like a city hat, what with no scratches or dirt on it. And a grossgrain ribbon, country hats don't have grossgrain ribbons".

Now, how the heck my wife had ever heard of a grossgrain ribbon, I'll never know, but there you are.

So I say, but this is an Indy fedora. AN INDY FEDORA. Indiana Jones wore one just like it, you think he was a city guy?

"Still", she says, "Indy's was all scuffed up and dirty, not clean and nice like yours".

Well, I guess I won't be getting a reblock and clean anytime soon. And on the hike, I kept kicking my lid and dragging it through the dirt.

So how do you guys dirty up your lids? Isn't there something called Fuller's Earch? And how do you apply it to make it look real and not like you jsut rubbed your hat in dirt to make it look old.

Thanks, KC

hey, just kep taking it on those hikes of yours. It will age nicely.

Might try dragging it under a truck

Fuller's Earth is great for dusting up a hat. Best way to apply it is using a powder puff tro get the right effect.

Ken

So get some Fuller's Earth (I found it on Ebay) and a powder puff, and then what, just put it on with the powder puff, but not too much at a time? How exactly do you do this?...KC

Well, I have a 3 lb. tub of Fuller's Earth, and I use a makeup brush to apply it. I dip the brush in the Fuller's, tap it against the rim of the container a couple times, and brush it on until it looks right. A good hat brush will take it right off for you.

A:

Kaleponi Craig wrote:"You're not going to hike in that, are you? It's too fancy for hiking".

B:

Kaleponi Craig wrote:"Still", she says, "Indy's was all scuffed up and dirty, not clean and nice like yours".

How do you get to "B" without going through "A" first?

She is right though. A brand new clean hat looks odd on the trails. Depending on where you are hiking that hat can stay clean for a long time. I always overkill on the Fuller's Earth and then brush it off. You can see the entire procedure here. Although it is not an Indiana Jones hat, the principle is the same.

Before:


After:


This hat does not look as dirty in person as it does in that last picture.

Once you get your first rain storm, it will kind of make it look right and tone it down a bit too. If you spend any time above the treeline during your hikes, and you get a few good gusts of dust-laden wind or your hat blows off a few times, it will get dirty fast enough.

Another method that I have not read here that works great in the summer is to hit a nice dry sandy area while cutting the lawn. I have a riding lawnmower that licks up a lot of dirt. Just hold your breath and drive on through. You get real local dirt that way.

EDIT:
Here it is after I broke it in on Mt. Osceola and East Osceola.

First -- Rick, that's an awesome hat! I love the teeth. Great tips too.

Second -- I swear, I just know I'm going to have the same discussion with my wife. That sounds SO familiar.

Steve

nice hat rick5150....looks great on you. now that looks like a true hiking hat by today's standards.

Wow, that's one wild lid. Scary, the teeth!...KC

Thanks guys. I had to remove the baby crocodile teeth that came on the hatband and replace them with larger teeth. The problem is that croc teeth - if you can even find them that big - are really expensive. Since you are looking at a dozen teeth, I did not want the teeth worth more than the hat.

It is a cool hat for hiking. It gets a lot of comments. Even people who did not see the Crocodile Dundee movie want to know what kind of teeth they are. Someone asked me what kind of claws they were once.

I will say that as few people there are wearing Indy hats, there are far fewer wearing this type.

I just wear a country hat, usually an Akubra Colly, when I'm hiking. You will all hate me, but I tend to agree with the wife. My fedoras -- even the AB -- look best with my business and casual clothes in the city, but when I'm in the country, it's a natural color, big brim hat with leather band and even air vents. Harrison Ford said words to the effect that a guy would have to be nuts to wear a fedora and leather jacket in the jungle.

Russ wrote:Harrison Ford said words to the effect that a guy would have to be nuts to wear a fedora and leather jacket in the jungle.

Hiram Bingham, the modern discoverer of Machu Picchu, was the original Indiana Jones. He wore a fedora in the jungle...



but maybe not a leather jacket...KC

Looks like he's wearing a wool vest to me, so what's the difference?

Regards! Michaelson

He also looks disturbingly thin......You would have thought that a gust of wind would have knocked him off the top of Machu Picchu.

Wish I had that pic of the old paleontologist, squatting down on a dig, wearing a fedora. Anyone still have that old pic?? I think I lost mine in a pc crash several years ago.

And don't forget about Bogey and his wore out fedora......the film's name escapes me. Oh, Treasure of Sierra Madre, I think was the name.

Also if you look at the Stetson Book, you will see many hats with grosgrain that were the early western hats. The macho hatbands came much later, probably from Hollywood. Grosgrain was used on many an adventure hat, way back when men were men, and even disrespectful mean wore hats.

To me, once the dimensional cut is done to a hat, it changes the looks, from that of a dress hat to one that looks at home on the trail, just as long as it does not look brand new. That's the key. Also, to me what changes a fedora into a trail hat is the turn that warps the brim. Now that warped brim is definetely NOT prim, proper and dressy. It changes the entire look of the fedora, as long as the brim is cut down on the sides.

Fedora

Good advice, Fedora. I'll be taking my AB down to Chiapas, Mexico in a couple of months. We'll be rambling in the highlands for awhile and then we'll go down into the jungle, hiking around Palenque, Bonampak and Yaxchilan. It will probably be WAAAAAAY to hot to wear a fedora there, but I don't care. I should get it nice and rugged looking by the time we get back home. I'll be sure and post pictures of the AB before and after...KC

Cool hat here too. Although I think it had the double brim.



Fedora

Cool hat here too. Although I think it had the double brim.

What does that mean ? Down in the back as well as the front ?

Kaleponi Craig wrote:Good advice, Fedora. I'll be taking my AB down to Chiapas, Mexico in a couple of months. We'll be rambling in the highlands for awhile and then we'll go down into the jungle, hiking around Palenque, Bonampak and Yaxchilan. It will probably be WAAAAAAY to hot to wear a fedora there, but I don't care. I should get it nice and rugged looking by the time we get back home. I'll be sure and post pictures of the AB before and after...KC

I wore my AB in Mexico a couple years ago and even soaked a good deal of sweat into it at one point. But it kept my head out of the sun, got lots of compliments (including a guy who tried to buy it right off my head!), and it looked good. I was a little concerned taking it at first (it was still relatively new then) but was glad I did. It broke the hat in nicely, including being accidentally sat on by a German tourist!

Fedora wrote:Cool hat here too. Although I think it had the double brim.



Fedora

Looks like the suit to the left is carrying an Argus C3 camera. The case looks exactly like the one I own.

That hat looks good, but it looks as if it was poorly photoshopped onto his head. How the heck is it staying on? A slight wind will blow it off.

Hey, the guy immediately to the left in the brown hat needs some alligator teeth on his hat. It looks to be the right style.

Nope, it's actually Heston's head.

That's a still from 'Secret of the Incas'. I don't believe it was a double trim either, Fedora, but it's been a while since I've watched the film. Another one to dig out in the near future.


Regards! Michaelson

Fedora wrote:Cool hat here too. Although I think it had the double brim.

Where did this picture come from? Was it from a movie, or something else like an advertisement?

Anyways, Kaleponi Craig, I have found that wearing hats around campfires with lots of smoke and ash helps distress them. Usually the ash will come out with a little bit of water and a brush. However, I wouldn't recommend that you start a fire and stand in its fumes just to distress your hat, it might not be the best thing for your health. But, I would also say keep wearing your hat on hikes.


EDIT:

Man, am I slow! And in the post right above mine! I guess all of those special classes didn't pay off in grade school.

In my defense, I quoted straight off of fedora's post and didn't read all the way down to the bottom of the thread. So, it wasn't absolute stupidity, it was just complete laziness.

Yes, as Michaelson mentioned above: "Secret of the Incas" from 1954.

Giant forehead. Reminds me of someone...

Does anyone know where to purchase a VHS or DVD of 'Secret of the Incas'??

I have an original poster, but have never watched the movie....


My Poster:

pastimesteve wrote:Second -- I swear, I just know I'm going to have the same discussion with my wife. That sounds SO familiar.

Why does this seem to be a recurring theme? I guess I'm just lucky, the woman I'm with right now wants an AdventureBilt of her own.

Technonut wrote:Does anyone know where to purchase a VHS or DVD of 'Secret of the Incas'??

I have an original poster, but have never watched the movie....

As far as I know the movie is not available on DVD. Too sad, as I am looking for this one myself some time now. There are some VHS copies, if I'm right and it airs in TV now and then (at least over here).

GREAT poster, especially the drawing in the upper part!

I'd offer to dub a copy from my VHS copy, but it's getting so worn, I'm afraid audio transfer just isn't as good as it used to be.

The movie was recorded over the July 4th weekend in the early 80's off of TBS, and there are even 'news breaks' about Reagan and Gorbachev meeting for the first time. Yep. It's that old. I'm amazed it plays as well as it does most days....

Regards! Michaelson

"We go through history, but this ... IS history!"

I'll just keep an eye peeled for it on cable... I was searching for it on ebay awhile back, and ran into the English version of the poster, from a guy in Spain... No one but I bid at a reasonable $$... I was surprised.

There was a DVD that sold on Ebay for $51!!...KC

Now this is too fancy...



Seriously though, there was a postcard from the 1930's on ebay of people hiking Mt. Monadnock. You would be surprised at how well they dressed back then. I lost the bid on it :evil:

That's true. I have a picture somethere of people climbing in tweed jacket, Fedora and ... a plain manila rope!

Going climbing myself sometimes I could live with the first two ('though they might be obstructive a bit), but with a rope like this ... you need to be very brave.

Yeah I think it was a double brimmed hat. Looky here.



I think there was was a Stuart Granger film in which Stuart wore a double brimmed safari type hat as well. Seems like they would be mighty hot-in Africa. Fedora

Now, these are the sorts of hats, I would not be caught dead in!!! This is from 1902, and notice how high the men wore the hats on their heads back then. I wear a 7 1/4 hat, but if I were living back then, and got the hat fitted, it would be around a size 7 !! That would be the size of my head at the very top.

We can be thankful Indy did not sport one of these jewels.........I sure would not be wearing one, that is for sure!!!

One thing is apparent. You would NEVER have the taper issue concerns!! Most of these hats are already cone shaped.


I now know where the modern cowboy hats got their inspiration from!! Look at how severe the brims are turned up on the sides!!! Fedora

Hey, a nutria fur fedora for 95 cents. How can you go wrong?

Here is how to dress while hiking...

Fedora wrote:Yeah I think it was a double brimmed hat. Looky here.



I think there was was a Stuart Granger film in which Stuart wore a double brimmed safari type hat as well. Seems like they would be mighty hot-in Africa. Fedora

Yep. With a clear still frame, I believe you're right. (remember, I said my VHS copy is about 25 years old now. I'm lucky I can even SEE Heston, let alone his hat brim! )

The other movie was King Solomon's Mines with Granger.

Regards! Michaelson

A double terai, eh? Who would have made such hats in those days?

What do the experts estimate are the brim width and crown height on that lid?

Kaleponi Craig;

It's all guff about a fedora being "too fancy."

Here's from my latest rant: "Our Names Will Be Synonymous With "Adventure."



Picture is worth a thousand words. Here're are five more... my wife took that picture.

Word of advice? Buy another Adventurebilt.

When will Fedora start making "double brims?"

"Now, that's a..........." adventure hat.

Sincerely,

WOW! Now thats a great photo.