Club Obi Wan

Looking at the LC post from Rundquist, I noticed a trend of sorts. A couple of threads have been focusing on the Raiders fed and the rotation to get the right hand sided "swoop and droop" (I'll coin that phrase!).

I can see that same thing in the LC fed in these shots ...




You can also see that the ribbon is pretty much on the side, not towards the front. (Like ROTLA). And that his left side has more of a staight edge on the brim. (Like ROTLA)

Is Harry's head warped to recreate this? Or just his habit of pulling down on the brim?

Thoughts anyone?


Skip

I get the exact same results pulling a size 7 1/4 hat on my size 7 3/8 head. Regards. Michaelson

In order for that hat to stay on most of the time, I'm thinkin' it HAD to be a good size or so small....THAT could account for what some folks are seeing on screen with the hat bulging and such....the same thing happened to ME when I used to try and wear a 6 7/8 Indiana Miller...just too small for my head, DRASTIC swoop of the brim, and bulging sides of the hat, to boot....

Good call, Michaelson...you might just have something there...
Later!
Indydawg

...it is what I've experienced, and it has been discussed in the past here as well, so I'm pretty much repeating old information, but thanks for the kudos. Regards. Michaelson

I shrunk a 7 3/8" to fit my 7 1/4" head, and I get perfectly symmetrical "brim swoops" (this must be new-term day )

It might reflect the imperfection of trying to sew the sweatband in the fresh blocked hat. Take the smaller size Michealson, and it probably amplifies the imperfections.

Skip

Having owned 17 motorcycles myself (and the trashed body to prove it), I'd say the wind in his face folded the brim.

I get the exact same results pulling a size 7 1/4 hat on my size 7 3/8 head. Regards. Michaelson

This may be exactly the answer we have been looking for as opposed to turning the hat sideways. It makes sense that the hat would be tighter because they were having trouble getting it to stay on and they finally resorted to tape (and staples, if you saw the scene where Harrison picks up the staple gun Good thing it was empty or that joke would have backfired!)

We have always maintained that stretching the hat front to back can give the swoop more pronounciation. This is what I think happened as opposed to turning the hat 180 degrees, 90 degrees or even 1 inch. Next thing you know, we will be wearing our shirts inside out and our pants backwards. Things just fit different people different ways.

I've always figured it was just a snug fit too. It's clear in LC when it blows off on the tank, withe the band marks it leaves behind.

But, (hey, like my big but?... sorry couldn't resist) turning it may be a good way to get the same results without having a headache.

Mike

My thoughts exactly. I mean, I have a fedora that I wear when it IS windy and one to wear when it ISN'T windy....the one I wear when it IS leaves that red mark in my forehead AND the brim on that one is much more "swooped" than on my other one....

I think that is probably what we're dealing with....

Later!
Indydawg

I've always had a notion that it was the Ford "worked" the hat in Raiders. Watch the Making of Raiders, or Great Movie Stunts. I can't remember which, but while in the Raven bar Ford runs his hand along the side of the brim and pulls down on the front. I do this with my PB and it gives a bit of the same effect.

All the best.
Canasta

I have always noticed the MAJOR dip in the brim of the LC fedora.

It looks like, for that one crossroads scene, they actually sprayed some stiffener on Ford's hat and ironed the front of the brim flat and bent it down. I don't think you see it quite like that anywhere else in the film. Sure, the brim is turned down, but not like that. (except that great little scene where they're running from the Nazi planes and Indy's brim is flipped up briefly.
"Happens to me all the time." as he flips his brim down, in answer to Sean Connery saying that being shot at was "new" to him.)

That is one sweet looking brim, I was going to mention that tank scene as well when his hat blew off. The funny thing about this thread now is that Indiana Dan (wherever he is, WHERE ARE YOU DAN?) Said the exact same thing on the old cow site...about the hat being really tight which gave it that dramatic swoop.

Cheers

I firmly believe that this "tight" hat theory is very credible. All you have to do is place one index finger at the back and the other at the front of the sweat band. Wa lah, and you have the dramatic brim curl and swoop. But here's the big BUT...... YOU NEED TO HAVE A LONG OVAL HEAD. I know this, cause my head is ROUND OVAL. A round oval head, just flattens out the brim. So the brim looks like an Amish hat. You guys, with long oval heads, I admire you.

-S

Sergei-Here's Gorak, who says he has a round head, wearing a Borsalino turned 90 degrees. He claimed that when he turned the hat- "Whammo" he got the Raiders look. The front of the brim looks pretty bent down. He said the crown became Raiders like also. ....Still, over 10 mph on a motorcycle, the brim would bend.

Still, theres no way you could ride a motorcyle over 10 mph without the front brim of your fedora getting bent.

I can't run without my brim flipping up. I've actually found that the weather affects the brims stiffness, so it doesn't always. I probably should get some stiffner anyways.

Here's Indiana Dan in Downtown FW on a windy day...his Keppler is pretty floppy...
http://home.earthlink.net/~texasgirl7/I ... ndyhat.JPG

I only have one fed so far, but unlike Indiana Dan's hat, I would need a hurricane with the amount of stiffener Akubra puts in it's hats to bend this brim!!!

I'm very curious as to how floppy one of the PBBM's or Optimo's are. Unless I give this hat a good thrashing, I don't see it getting floppy in the near future.

Does stiffener eventually "fade"? Anyone?


Skip

It fades. On my Federations it has faded pretty quickly...on my PB, I've had that thing for two years and worn it in the worst weather....snow, rain, ice...

It STILL is as stiff as a board....

Later!
Indydawg

My Keppler keeps becoming softer and softer everytime I wear it.

That turned hat looks great! I dont think the costumiers actually used that method in the actual films, IMHO, but it look great! And I agree alot of stiffener in the FED brim - .....solid

Cheers!
I J

IndySkip wrote:I only have one fed so far, but unlike Indiana Dan's hat, I would need a hurricane with the amount of stiffener Akubra puts in it's hats to bend this brim!!!

I'm very curious as to how floppy one of the PBBM's or Optimo's are. Unless I give this hat a good thrashing, I don't see it getting floppy in the near future.

Does stiffener eventually "fade"? Anyone?


Skip

Sure does.
Mine and golpeo rapidamente's Fed Deluxes are #### near as floppy as an Optimo! Just keep rotating the hat in your hands (hold by the brim) and wring it about, bend it, manipulate it for about half an hour and you'll definitely notice a change. To soften the crown keep punching it and popping it out again. It works!
My Fed's now made of butter!

IndySkip wrote:... I would need a hurricane with the amount of stiffener Akubra puts in it's hats to bend this brim!!!

Here's how you can test the floppiness of your brim.



I think my hat would have blown off before it curled. My hat seems to come off pretty easy when held from the rear.

...I DO have a long oval head, so that's probably why the suggestion I put out works so well on my head. I guess being just 3 generations removed from Wales had something to do with that. At least that was Joe Jr.'s explaination. Regards. Michaelson

Well to proof the theory, I am having a hat made that will be about 1/8" bigger than my 7 1/2 hat size. The hat maker will be putting in leather shims on the front and back of the hat (inside the sweatband). This experiment is to transform my boring round oval head into a "long oval" so that the brim "swoop" and brim "curls" naturally appear. The hat maker endorsed this method of making round oval heads into long oval heads.

As a side comment, the hat maker thinks that the round oval heads actually make for a better shape to wear hats overall. But for the Indy fedora crowd, this poses a problem.

I will have my hat within a month to verify the results. Maybe a solution for some of you "round oval" guys/gals that want that nice swoop and curl on your brims without having to put gallons of siffner on the brims.

Take Care...
-S

Good THinkin Sergei....Let us know how it turns out!

Regards!