Club Obi Wan

....I am in the market for an Indy hat, but I would really love to get one that is as close to the Raiders Fedora as possible. I have been reading many of the posts and have learned a lot of wonderful things about hats/fedoras. But I couldn't really find anything that talked about the closest match to the Raiders hat. Is the Lee Keppler Indy fedora the best one to go with? The color of the hat looked much lighter on the web-site. I am sure that this has been answered before, but some more info on this would be really great. Thanks.

Without question, the Magnoli Herbert Johnson Fedora.
1st, it's a rabbit Herbert Johnson hat, just as the actual Raiders hat was.
2nd, it's blocked on Fedora's (aka: Steve Delk of Adventurebilt fame) old Raiders block, so it has the right shape.
3rd, Did I mention that it's built by Steve, with Steve's attention to detail?

You want the closest replica of what Harrison Ford wore in Raiders of the Lost Ark? This is your hat.

For more info on this read through... viewtopic.php?t=25584&start=0&postdays= ... highlight=

Cheers!
Johnny

I love my Keppler and is very Raiders. The color is very SA. There really is no definative answer as to the "best" Raiders hat. It is all preference. The Keppler is a great hat though and you will not be dissapointed. In that same price range you also have the Camptown hats, which are a beaver blend as well. The Federation is comperable in price but is rabbit, though tough as heck. The Christy's Adventurer is also in the same price range and is essentially a Herbert Johnson as both are made by the same factory. All of those would be good choices, it all just depends on your personal preference.

Dave

Johnny types faster than I do. Yes, the Magnoli HJ is the most accurate to the original Raiders hat. That will be the "holy grail," so to speak, for the Raiders fedora. But it is considerably more expensive than the Keppler you mentioned, though well worth it.

Dave

The absolute closest match you're going to get to the Raiders hat is one made by Steve or Marc at Adventurebilt hats. They are the benchmark for such lids. They are 100% beaver & built beautiful & tough. The wait time is a bit long but if you're willing to wait it out you could have one made to a specific scene to boot. they are the most expensive but worth every penny.
Now, if price is prohibitive for you, might I suggest Camptown Hats? His hats are a 50/50 blend of beaver & rabbit and can pull double duty as a dress hat & an adventure hat. Another hat that is the best bang for the buck.
I would also recommend Keppler's hat along with the Fed IV & one put out by Jimmy Pierce Designs. These are also very durable and can pull double duty as well.
Near the bottom of the cost list is the Christy's Adventurer in fur felt. Fairly floppy, holds a shape, but I would recommend it for city/dress use only. A daily wearer around town but not something to go on hikes in the wilderness with.

Take a look through some of the threads that have photos in them that showcase these described hats. There are plenty to find here. Aeries Canon has some images that are the envy of the hat collectors here. He has managed to coax the Raiders look out of every hat he has laid his hands on. The man has a rare talent and a super eye for detail. He is an artist in his own right. (Not to embarrass you Aeries but you are.)
There are plenty of images of my Camptowns that I have shaped and continue to work on to perfect the "look". There are others here that have pulled off some fantastic work on their hats that are Raiders spot on that are worthy of high praise as well.
Please be sure to check out all of their offerings and hopefully they'll grace this thread with their pics or at least links to other threads with their pics.
I hope that this helps you in your quest.

Cheers!

Dan

Well it appears some folks type much faster than I.

Cheers!

Dan

DR Ulloa wrote:The Christy's Adventurer is also in the same price range and is essentially a Herbert Johnson as both are made by the same factory.
Dave

Not quite. Let's be honest now. The Christy's hat is a factory made hat with the wrong block shape, wrong ribbon, and won't render a true Raider's hat with out some major work. Work that would be dangerous to do to the hat because as it is a factory built hat, it can not take a true reblock without tearing the brim off do to the perforation created by the mechanicly sewn-in sweatband. Steve builds the Mags HJ from unconstructed hat bodies. Repounces, stablizes the felt, waterproofs it, blocks it on his blocks, puts in the JH red label liner (something you can't realy get now from even HJ to say nothing of Christies), attaches the actual vintage HJ ribbon that only he and Marc can get. And to top it off it's styled by one of the two men to put a hat on Indiana Jones in his latest movie.

Really. Comparing the Christies hat to the Mags HJ is like comparing a Dorfman Pacific to an Adventurebilt.

Johnny

p.s. Oh, if you meant that the Christies and the SAB HJ is basicly the same hat then, yes. Indeed.

Right! But I wasn't comparing the Christy's to the Magnoli HJ. All I said was that the Chrity's is essentially a HJ, not a Mag/HJ. That is a horse of a different color. I would never compare the two, let alone a factory HJ to a Magnoli HJ.

Dave

I didn't catch your post script. Yes, I meant the Swales HJ.

Dave

DanielJones wrote:The absolute closest match you're going to get to the Raiders hat is one made by Steve or Marc at Adventurebilt hats. They are the benchmark for such lids. They are 100% beaver & built beautiful & tough.

Indeed they are beautiful and tough (and I'm still alittle spun up that I got blocked out of owning one ). But they are beaver. Tough but not what the actual Raiders hat was. That critter was a rabbit. So "the absolute closest match you're going to get to the Raiders hat is one made by Steve", the Mags HJ.

Johnny