Club Obi Wan

Well, it was my bloody idea, so....
Anyone with a new Magnoli/AB HJ, insert pics and reviews here.

I just got my "Ultimate Indy Hat". I haven't had time to play with it yet, but I give my initial impressions and supply just-out-of-the-box pics.

First, the inside support ring of the box got loose during shipping, so the brim is all misshappen. I had asked for a turned preshaped brim, but I guess I'll have to rely on my own meager brim-shaping skills.
I also asked for an open crown and got it. So, Aeris-Canon! We'll get to test how well a no-stiffener HJ will hold it's shape.

I think I see some subtle differences in block shape from my AB, but not in a way that's better or worse. Just different. The felt - oh, the felt! It's exactly the sort of floppy felt so many of use have been looking for, but no so floppy that it it can't hold itself up. Even with the mis-shapen brim, the felt really responds to a turn, even a slight one.

The color is less red than the standard AB - a nice chocolate brown. The crown looks lower than most Raiders hats, but I think it's an illusion.

So, here are the first batch of pictures. Once I get the brim sorted out and the bash done, I'll post more.

http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/bb36 ... noli%20HJ/

A quick taste;

looks great so far! come on chewie.....slap her on, turn the puppy, pinch 'er off and then karate chop your head right down the middle.....then show us the finished goods.....man, you got me drooling

mags....I WANT ONE!!!!

Hey Chewy,

She's a beauty for sure. Nice color, shape etc.. It's gonna be one hot lid once you give the needed touches.


Regards,

Indiana_7

Looking good-- congratulations!

Jack

grr it's my size too. you sure you don't want to send it to me?

but really, I can't wait to see how it turns out once you bash it.

Looks nice! My one doesn't have the red HJ sticker or the Magnoli logo on the sweat band- it just has the HJ logo in gold on the liner and the band.

Chewbacca,

Thanks for the pics. The HJ look awesome. I have one on order with a LC bash. I am hoping to hear something soon. Your photos have not made my wait any easier, but it does give me confidence that it will be worth the wait.

Cheers,
OWJ88

I had asked for a turned preshaped brim, but I guess I'll have to rely on my own meager brim-shaping skills.

Yes, this is hard to do, if I don't crease the hat. Since you got it open crowned, the best way to do it is to put it on your head, turn it just enough to get the brim warp, and then crease it while it is on your head. You can work the brim with your hands to shape it the way you want.

Regards, Fedora

Great fedora!

Fedora wrote:

I had asked for a turned preshaped brim, but I guess I'll have to rely on my own meager brim-shaping skills.

Yes, this is hard to do, if I don't crease the hat. Since you got it open crowned, the best way to do it is to put it on your head, turn it just enough to get the brim warp, and then crease it while it is on your head. You can work the brim with your hands to shape it the way you want.

Regards, Fedora

I can feel the turn in the hat when I put it on blind. Like I can sort of fidget it around into the sweet spot... then I look in the mirror and it's turned.

I spent hours last night with this thing. I finally got the crease to hold by dampening my fingers. The side dents don't seem to want to go deep enough. Not that they won't hold, they just seem shallow to me. Basically, the really soft crown will hold a bash, but it works against me when it comes to sharp details and creases. However, the soft brim made the reshape easy. I know I'm not done playing with it, but it looks good. The color of the felt really makes the ribbon color pop. Even pictures don't due that justice.

Anyway, I added some new pictures to the link in my first post, and a teaser photo. The hat is bashed, in sunlight. No on-the-head shots, yet. I got interrupted (My Todd's Jacket arrived), and it was too dark to get good shots by the time I was done looking at that.

Review Verdict; This new HJ has the Steve Delk touch. It's obvious, and I am confident that this is the best an HJ gets these days. It is a very nice hat, all the way. But to be honest - Steve's regular AB's walk all over this thing (in my opinion). Steve's workmanship has turned the HJ into something greater than the sum of it's parts... but the parts only get so good. Still, this hat satisfies that SA-loving "gotta have an HJ" itch that most of us feel sooner or later. If/when it needs a reblock, I'll ask Steve to add a little stiffener to the crown. Write this date down someplace, because you may never hear me ask for more stiffener ever again!

Chew:

Very nice. 5 1/2, when open crown? Did you have it cut to your preferred brim size?

Sincerely,

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb36 ... ront03.jpg

That almost seems spot on for a KOTCS hat

Dr.Seuss wrote:Chew:

Very nice. 5 1/2, when open crown? Did you have it cut to your preferred brim size?

Sincerely,

Yes on the 5 1/2" open crown. With my face, I can pull off a 5 3/4 with a deep crease, but I figured that the hat would taper if the crease was too deep. I tried it just to see, and I was right.

I have the sides of the brim cut at 2 5/8". My face and build works better with that instead of 2 1/2".

Ghos7a55assin wrote: That almost seems spot on for a KOTCS hat

"Spot on" might be a little strong, but I was thinking that. If I pushed the side dents back a little more that might be exactly what I'd get. No way to know for sure until the movie comes out and we get a clearer look at new hat.

Alright, I finally have a few pictures of the Magnoli HJ on my head. Not the best shots, but what I have for now...



http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb36 ... htcrop.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb36 ... htcrop.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb36 ... adshot.jpg

It's a fantastic hat and looks great on you.

Jack

looks awesome chewie....the soft pinch is ideal for soft felt imo.

Looks great Chewie!

What I like about this felt is the lack of stiffener, although I do add a tiny amount to the back side of the brim, but not the front. If the hat had a softer sweat, I would imagine it would be one of the most comfortable hats out there, assuming the sizing is right. Nothing can quite pull off the Raiders look feltwise, better than this hat. IMHO. Fedora

Hi guys,

like to show you my AB HJ on http://picasaweb.google.com/hp.images/I ... ertJohnson
I started with LC bash, unturned. But it may look like Raiders eventually ;-)
How does it appeal to you?

Cheers
HP

looks very nice...but would like to see more angles if you could please

Indiana G wrote:looks very nice...but would like to see more angles if you could please

Here we go...
http://picasaweb.google.com/hp.images/I ... ertJohnson

I think the teddy bear needs a smaller hat!

Kind regards,
Indy

Indy Magnoli wrote: I think the teddy bear needs a smaller hat!

Kind regards,
Indy

Well, I was thinking of taking a walk in the rain... just kidding, Indy.
Are you satisfied with my styling job?

Cheers
HP

The only thing I would change would be to push the center dent a little further down at the back.

Kind regards,
Indy

Here's my HJ which was supposed to be the "Cairo" bash. The front pinch needs to be more precise and not relaxed as much. It looks too much like the Crystal or LC bash. I'm going to work on it some more this week when I get it back with the completed bust.

http://jallred.homestead.com/HSindypg.html

Indy Magnoli wrote:The only thing I would change would be to push the center dent a little further down at the back.

Kind regards,
Indy

Actually the dent is further down in the back. The bear's little head pushed it out a little bit ;-)

Cheers
HP

i got mine on monday

before i opened the box, i thought, hmmmm steve did mention that he got the extra stiffener in it so i'm hoping none of his expertly placed bashes have loosened up in shipping......then i opened the box up and to my surprise, i found a beautiful HJ in a full raiders block.....(very distinctive and world's apart from all of the factory hj's that i've pulled out of the box)......and it was OPEN CROWNED!....just like chewie's

i thought to myself, steve and tony are testing me are they??? haven't bashed a raiders style sice i got my federetion reg over a year ago.....which i'd like to state here for the record: thank you all for not raking me over the coals on that bash job i posted. the clearest recollection was from bending oak who gave me tips on how to get the humps more pronounced.....everyone who replied to that thread i would like to thank for being kind to me as i know now that that bash job was a piece of ####

i took er home and straightened the brim out with mr. kettle. this time, i listened to the little aeris canon on my shoulder who told me to put mr. kettle away for the crown. i brought in some distilled water and i sprayed the crown down and went to work with the center crease and dents. at this point in time i realized, man, steve really pounced this felt nicely as it was way smoother than the todds hj's i've bashed in the past. in the end i settled for the following:

1. no turn and the brim remains with the nice 'raiders beak'. on an unturned hat, this gives a distinct TOD brim look
2. the side dents were pushed in slightly, moreso like the side dents in the idle grab scene and definitely not as deep as in the cairo/wos scenes. this gives the hat a very 'new' and 'crisp' look imo.
3. the center pinch was a raiders standard at the top of the hat and gradually relaxes as you reach the ribbon. i didn't want to put it too tight all the way down as the area near the ribbon tends to relax more anyways.
4. the center dent rise front/back were taken off of my other ab for reference and i put a nice crease in there which shows off the camel humps quite nicely imo.

all in all, i think this is the best hat bash i have ever done. i think it was primarily due to the fact that i wasn't going for any particular scene in the movie, but going after what the hat wanted to look like.

That's good and all indiana G, but where the #### are the pics???

they are there....can't you see them?.....oh yeah, that's right, i put on the 'oilers fan filtering fire wall' on the pictures.

i'll try to get some pics up tonite

(KN....you just put an oilers sticker on my gun and shelaced it in there didn't you )

kudos to steve and mags for offering this baby to all of us hj fans



and some more.....

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m212 ... mhj002.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m212 ... mhj003.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m212 ... mhj004.jpg

Ah what a beautiful hat, my friend. Sorry, but I can't help but ask, can I have it?

indy89 wrote:Ah what a beautiful hat, my friend. Sorry, but I can't help but ask, can I have it?

...i was wondering when that would come back to bite me

u da man indy89

Thanks, G

The Magnoli-AB truly seems to be one #### of a hat. I'm seriously thinking of ordering one after the holidays are done and after I order a new whip.

Does someone have a Magnoli HJ that is actually raiders bashed, with the tight pinch and all the character or are you all afraid to touch it?
I wanna know so I can order one.

mufflowne wrote:Does someone have a Magnoli HJ that is actually raiders bashed, with the tight pinch and all the character or are you all afraid to touch it?
I wanna know so I can order one.

very good question. my hat was bashed based on what the hat wanted to look like, not what i wanted it to look like. once i get bored of the way she looks, i may just go on my bashing rampage and turn her into a raven bar hat

mufflowne wrote:Does someone have a Magnoli HJ that is actually raiders bashed, with the tight pinch and all the character or are you all afraid to touch it?
I wanna know so I can order one.

I'm not afraid to do it (I even tried), but it won't hold the subtle character or the tight pinch as is, which is to say, the standard way that they come. Ask for extra stiffener. That should do the trick, and appears to be the one fault in the hat. It's just too soft. Eventually, the stiffener will let go and the felt will be floppy again, but by then the felt will have "learned" the shape and will keep it. The request will probably slow down delivery time, but it's worth it. I wish I had known. One day I'll send it off to get stiffened up a tad.

One thing to note, however; my Magnoli HJ was open crowned, but I'm pretty good at shaping a hat. Still, if you had it shaped before it was mailed out to you... maybe it would turn out better in Steve's hands.

My Magnoli AB/HJ looks great as shaped by Steve; I didn't ask for a specific scene, and it most closely resembles the opening scene, as the camel humps in the front of the crown are only barely perceptible-- unless they popped out during shipping. But the front crease, as well as the entire bash, looks fine to me. After years of monkeying around with other HJ's trying to get the right look, that was quite a refreshing experience.

Jack

Sorry about that Indiana G. I thought you were one of my customers who always ordered my hats open crowned. Let me get a pic of my own HJ, which has no stiffner added as I bought the hat from Todd. I had reblocked it when I first got it, and then being a beaver hat lover, stored it in my rental storage building until last weekend when I was rummaging through the building looking for flanges. I got it out and have worn it a couple of times. Here it it, just pulled off my head and placed on my monitor as I was making this post.



Actually with the hot summer that we had, I fully expected the HJ to be a cone, and was surprised that it had suffered non the worse from being in the hot building for a long time. It rained here yesterday, and generally I would have never worn the HJ in the rain, but I was in such a hurry to get to the post office to mail out two hats, that I forgot to change hats. So, it got a bit damp, and looking at it now, I can see no extra taper from getting it damp and then letting it dry overnight. And I did not punch out the crown either to let it dry. I just hung it on a nail. The above pic is how it looked when I just pulled it off. I did no tweaking at all to it.

Personally, I would not add any stiffener to this HJ, as the softness and floppiness is what I wanted, to match up more with the actual Raiders fedora. If you have trouble keeping the front pinch tight, I would suggest only adding stiffener to the front crease, and leave the rest of the hat soft. I added none at all to this hat and just originally kept pinching the front until it finally "took". The lack of stiffener is what allows the sides to bulge out, ala ROTLA.


Here another one, and I just put the front pinch back in, all the way to the ribbon.

Interesting, looks very nice. Getting a good camel hump is no joke.

8-[

Getting a good camel hump is no joke.

You want to hear something funny? Well, funny now that quite some time has passed since I first posted it.

Back several years ago, and it may have happened on Indyfan, I was talking about what we now call camel humps, although at the time, that term had yet to be coined.

In my reference to this feature on the hat, I called them "camel toes" Not realizing that at the time, this term had already been coined, and it sure did not refer to the top portion of a hat!! Someone emailed me and told me WHAT that term generally referred to, and I almost fell out of my chair! I was embarrassed to even post for a bit after that.

Sometimes not being "up" on the current venicular can make you look.......like an idiot. Fedora

Sometimes not being "up" on the current venicular can make you look.......like an idiot. Fedora

Oh, I don't know about that, old friend. It's never phased me!

Regards! Michaelson

Ok then, what exactly do I need to do here to get my IMHJ to look like Steve's above? Using of course, my skills (which are limited) unless Steve's going to be in Oregon anytime soon (unlikely).



Johnny

Johnny Fedora wrote:Ok then, what exactly do I need to do here to get my IMHJ to look like Steve's above? Using of course, my skills (which are limited) unless Steve's going to be in Oregon anytime soon (unlikely).



Johnny

I think your hat looks great as it is, Johnny. But, what I did to bring out the "camel humps" a little more was simply to press down on the top front of the crown with my index finger, while holdng the front pinch firmly with my other fingers.

I don't know if Steve or others dwould recommend doing it differently. It does take some repetition to get the felt to "behave" and hold the shape you want. Then, it would probably be a good idea to leave the hat alone for awhile to allow the felt to settle into the new shape.

The pic of it on your head looks great to me!! I am curious now as to what I cut your brim on the sides, since you have a full face. I think the brim width looks great.

On my hat, all I did was to sit on it a few times! And to experiment with the sides creases until the crease itself actually plays a part in getting the radius on the top sides to look better. The shape of this crease, as well as how far you push it back affects the overall look. Some of the Raiders fedoraa had a nice triangle shaped crease, but others, had more of a squarish front/side crease. That is, the angle of the crease, as it runs towards the back of the hat changes in the film. On some scenes, the angle of the crease is around 45 degrees. On othes, the angle is practically straight up and down, almost forming a square shape instead of a triangle. Regards, Fedora

Chewbacca Jones wrote:Alright, I finally have a few pictures of the Magnoli HJ on my head. Not the best shots, but what I have for now...



http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb36 ... htcrop.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb36 ... htcrop.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb36 ... adshot.jpg

Looks fantastic, Chewie. Both you and the hat.

Fedora wrote:The pic of it on your head looks great to me!! I am curious now as to what I cut your brim on the sides, since you have a full face. I think the brim width looks great.

Thank you sir! I do love the way my hat looks on. The wife said as much the first time I put it on my noggin. All credit goes to my hatter. As for the brim, my trusty tape measure tells me that the brim is 2 1/2" on the sides. What would it be normaly? As for the what you did with yours...maybe someday I'll be brave enough to sit on it a time or two, but till then I'm just trying to work the pinch Harrison style. Any other advice?

Johnny

p.s. Merry Christmas and thanks again for making my hat sir!

Since the Hj's are rabbit hats which respond much better to beating/sittin on it.
Has any one ( Iam kinda asking you Fedora as I know you've handled a few of these babies) Put them through some serious beating/sitting?

I would love to see some pictures.