Club Obi Wan

Hi everyone,

I received my Indy Magnoli Herbert Johnson on Friday. Thanks to Steve Delk for some awesome re-blocking, I finally consider my quest for "Indy's Raiders hat" to be over.

Up until Friday, I was displaying the awesome Christy's Adventurer which had been expertly styled by Aeris Canon. As much as I love that hat, this HJ takes its place by a hair.

Steve said he's re-blocked this HJ on his final Raiders block (which after years of tweaking, he's finally satisfied with it).

To me, the colour of the HJ felt is just "it" and after a light dusting of Fuller's, it's already looking like it's been on a few adventures.

Thanks to Indy Magnoli for offering these hats and huge thanks to Steve for re-blocking it so well.





Chris

WOW!
That is one GORGEOUS hat! (And display!)
Congratulations CK!
(And if it helps to know, you just made my wait for MY Mag HJ THAT MUCH MORE agonizing!)
So thanks for that...
All the Best,
Mitch

cool set up I like the Yoda statue too. Your hat looks awesome.

That HJ looks great. The Mag/AB HJ will definately be my next and (probably) final Indy fedora. I like the style, but I don't know that I can continue to justify purchasing brown fedoras. I may have to move on to other colors, which I've begun with a grey Christy's. And again, beuatiful hat; a great job by Fedora.

Dave

Nice hat Chris!

I'm currently waiting for mine. Can you post pics of some more angles????

I second that request!
It's too nice not to show us a few profile or three-quarter shots.
MLR

The hat looks great!!
I really do like your set up too..
Wear in good health,
Wulfie

To be honest the Christy's looked better.... this one looks more like an AB than a Raiders hat. Just my opinion.

O man thats fantastic!

I hope mine arrives soon.....patiently awaits!

Dutch_jones wrote:To be honest the Christy's looked better.... this one looks more like an AB than a Raiders hat. Just my opinion.

...Can you explain? It looks dead on Raiders to me.

Dave

love the display and yoda looks great too

I may have to get some SA gear someday for a setup like that.

Looks beautiful! But, your mannequin has girl hands. Maybe rough em' up a bit.

The hat and jacket look like you swiped them from the movie set! Thanks for sharing!

Weston

I'm not a hatter like Steve and I'm not a master stylist like Aeris. I will however say this - the Christy's that I got from Aeris looked stunning. The brim swoop is still my favorite and slightly beats my new HJ.

However, the beating that Steve gave the felt of my HJ not to mention the accurate ribbon and bow and the very nice crease job he did made the HJ become my favorite (by a very narrow margin).

I think it's really sad that there seems to be this friction between Steve and Aeris because both of those guys are truly talented and masters at their craft.

Chris

hey chris, how bout a profile shot of the HJ? i'm curious to see how the bashing stuck

Fedora wrote:


And here are some straight sided hats that have yet to taper from the film.






But we also have tapered hats as you can see here.






Fedora

I think that the center dent has a lot to do with whether or not the Raiders hat looks a little tapered. In the first pic above the hat has a very shallow centre dent, and in the next pic the dent has been pushed out.
In other scenes such as in the temple or the Raven bar, the hat has a very deep centre dent. The bash of the hat(s) varies somewhat throughout the film and obviously affects how the hat looks from still to still. At least that's my opinion anyway.

To get back on track, that is a beautiful hat and a great job by Fedora.

Dave

Yes friends! Back on track indeed. How about some side shots? Back shots??? Just more shots of that lid!

Many thanks!

Cheers,
A

Looks fantastic, Chris. More pics...more pics!

Would love to see some pics of it in action as well.

Cheers!

Dan

What a difference a day makes-- Great hat, Chris!
Jack

Thanks everyone. Here's some more pics!

wow.great hat.makes me really want one soon...

what kind of felt is it? is it a kinda soft and floppy hat?

bests
Holt

I think it's rabbit. It's the standard Herbert Johnson body that Steve re-blocks for Indy Magnoli.

Yes, it's pretty floppy. It's the same sort of felt as you get on the Christy's adventurer (because I think they're the same hat body).

Chris

Indiana Holt wrote:wow.great hat.makes me really want one soon...

what kind of felt is it? is it a kinda soft and floppy hat?

bests
Holt

It is rabbit fur. It has a more luxurious look and feel than the Adventurer because of the repouncing Steve gives it.

Jack

Beautiful hat Chris.

Thanks everyone!

For those who are interested to see the Christy's Fedora that Aeris_Canon styled. It's currently on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0293131186

Chris

Great hat also. But i will receive my AB Raven within the next days, otherwise .....

Interesting to see that AC's styling can double the price of a Christy's.

Not cheap to send a hat to the US and back I dont think there is much profit for Chris and the bash is fantastic.

CairoIndy - I'm selling it at a LOSS. I paid £115 for it.
I will say that I was very happy to pay that price for it BECAUSE it was so expertly styled by Aeris.

Aeris - I think all the detail is still there. It just doesn't display as well on my polystyrene head form compared to your head!

Chris

Hi Aeris,

This Indy Magnoli HJ has the following specs:

Brim size: Front/rear = 3 inches.
Brim size: Sides - 2.75 inches.
Crown height: Front = 4.75 inches.
Crown height: Rear = 4.25 inches. The rear of the crown is pushed out to 4.5 inches in my pics though because the top of the polystyrene head is too tall in there and consequently, it's pushed the center dent out a bit.

Cheers,

Chris

Aeris_Canon wrote:No, that's understandable. I had a feeling it was a sizing issue. Don't get me wrong, the ribbon work on the Magnoli looks great!

Chris, what are the specs on the replacement? I notice a Stetson showed up on a reblock shortly after you got this, also.

Chris_King wrote:Hi Aeris,

This Indy Magnoli HJ has the following specs:

Brim size: Front/rear = 3 inches.
Brim size: Sides - 2.75 inches.
Crown height: Front = 4.75 inches.
Crown height: Rear = 4.25 inches. The rear of the crown is pushed out to 4.5 inches in my pics though because the top of the polystyrene head is too tall in there and consequently, it's pushed the center dent out a bit.

Cheers,

Chris

Aeris_Canon wrote:No, that's understandable. I had a feeling it was a sizing issue. Don't get me wrong, the ribbon work on the Magnoli looks great!

Chris, what are the specs on the replacement? I notice a Stetson showed up on a reblock shortly after you got this, also.

So what would be the open crowned height of that Magnoli HJ?

I'm guessing it would be 5.5 inches. I'm sure Fedora could chime in and confirm that though.
I don't want to pop the bash out to find out though.

Chris

5 1/2 open crown. This block was meant for the back to be creased down to 4 inches, with 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 on front. I could tell from the pics the back was pushed up. Fedora

jacksdad wrote:cool set up I like the Yoda statue too. Your hat looks awesome.

Chris actually has one of the best movie prop/costume displays I have ever seen. His Star Wars items are perfectly presented and he has a Christopher Reeve Super Man that blows my mind away.

Chris,
great hat, great collection.
I've viewed your display before on this forum - truly awsome :!:
Unfortunately my wife will not alow a mannequin in the house.
Just out of curiosity, how come you bought your HJ from Magnoli and not Hertbert Johnson (Swaine Adeney Brigg) themselves, who dispatch from Bar Hill near Cambridge about an hour from where you live?
After all, it's where Magnoli, Todd's etc acquire their HJ's.
I ordered mine about six months ago and as I live quite close to Cambridge I actually went to the HJ warehouse to pick it up.
Cheers,
JTW.

jones the whip wrote:Chris,
great hat, great collection.
I've viewed your display before on this forum - truly awsome :!:
Unfortunately my wife will not alow a mannequin in the house.
Just out of curiosity, how come you bought your HJ from Magnoli and not Hertbert Johnson (Swaine Adeney Brigg) themselves, who dispatch from Bar Hill near Cambridge about an hour from where you live?
After all, it's where Magnoli, Todd's etc acquire their HJ's.
I ordered mine about six months ago and as I live quite close to Cambridge I actually went to the HJ warehouse to pick it up.
Cheers,
JTW.

This is one thread among many that explains the development of the Magnoli/Adventurebilt version of the HJ:

viewtopic.php?t=20387&sid=173564b3a7f1000384c

In short, many feel the modern HJ's fall short in screen accurate detail, and the modified Magnoli is an attempt to replicate the original Raiders hat as closely as possible.

Jack

Notice how I make the bows. I don't artificially put in the top edge of the flying v. I just fold the ribbon over, and tease the top of the flying v down a bit to form it. Not yet the perfect Raiders bow, but practice makes perfect. Fedora

That mannequin looks great! You should add some distressed Wells-Lamont gloves to cover the hands. (or the visible one)

Chris, that is an awesome display and what a fantastic fedora to cap it off with! (And with great pictures to boot.) Thanks for the look, and congrats on completing your Indy display.

Dutch_jones wrote:To be honest the Christy's looked better.... this one looks more like an AB than a Raiders hat. Just my opinion.

Sorry, Dutch. No Christy's, no matter how expertly styled will mask the fact that it's simply an inferior hat compared to a Mags HJ built by Steve. The Christies hat has the wrong block shape, is mechanically sewn together, has a god awful looking ribbon and bow, and the felt is poorly finished. Frankly, I'm amazed at all the adoration given to this inferior hat on COW of all places. The Christies hat is a SAB HJ without the HJ name, just as crappy a hat as the SAB HJ. One that will taper up and can't be reblocked because that machine stitched sweat will cause that brim to rip off the hat when it's pulled over the block. If this hat looks like an AB than that’s right! With all the research Steve and Marc have put into getting the blocks right alone, it should. And for a collector of Chris' status, nothing short of an exact replica of Harrison Ford's original Raider's hat will do. That hat is a Magnoli Herbert Johnson fedora made by AdventureBilt.

jones the whip wrote:Chris,
Just out of curiosity, how come you bought your HJ from Magnoli and not Herbert Johnson (Swaine Adeney Brigg) themselves, who dispatch from Bar Hill near Cambridge about an hour from where you live?
After all, it's where Magnoli, Todd's etc acquire their HJ's.
I ordered mine about six months ago and as I live quite close to Cambridge I actually went to the HJ warehouse to pick it up.

Good question. The answer is that a Herbert Johnson hat made by SAB, is simply not the same hat as what they provided Harrison Ford with all those years ago. Over time they lost the block, went with a cheaper felt, lost the proper ribbon, and basically forgot how to make a hat like Indiana Jones' hat. That's one of the reasons why it's an AdventureBilt on Harrison's head this time around instead of a HJ. As for being where "Magnoli, Todd's etc acquire their HJ's" that is true, but not the whole story. Todd acquires finished Poet hats (open crown) from them and then reshapes them. Steve on the other hand, gets unfinished Poet hat bodies, liners, and sweat bands from them. He then repounces the felt to a better finish stabilizing the felt against premature taper, adds better weather proofing, blocks (not reblocks, but blocks a fresh body) on his Raiders block, hand sews in the sweatband, turns the hat properly (if you wish) tacks on the original vintage ribbon and bow (that neither HJ, Todd nor Christies has, only Steve and Mark and : have sourced and use the proper vintage ribbon), and finally tack in the original HJ liner with an old style burgundy and gold label (currently HJ use just a gold script of their name on a plain white liner). These steps and more, make the Magnoli Herbert Johnson Fedora the closest truly accurate replica of the hat worn by Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Even the AdventureBilt is a close second in complete screen accuracy as it is made of beaver and not rabbit.

Cheers!
Johnny

Here here johnny! That is a perfect and concise explanation of why mag's hj is the best there is for a SA raiders hat. Mine should be arriving this week and I will add onto this thread with more pics so more people can clearly see how awesome Steve's work is.

I think the Magnoli and the Christys are both fantastic hats in their own ways. I also realize that not everyone can afford a $300 custom hat. For those people, the Christys is a perfect and easily affordable choice for screen accuracy. I own the Magnoli and the Christys and am very happy with them both.

Superior quality and looks are two different things, and you get both (as well you should) with the more expensive hats. You get THE LOOK with the Christys and for me, at that price level, that's enough.

Jack