Ok. Review time kids!
First, I want to thank John yet again for making me a terrific Raiders fedora! It's exactly what I wanted and pictured in my head. It's perfect in everyway, and could only ever be surpassed (and I hope you'll forgive me for this John...by my Mags/AB/HJ, but then you of all people know how much I love that hat
) At the same time, this hat, the hat you've made for me, will go on adventures that particular rabbit can't go, and will take on a life of it's own. Again, thank you sir.
Ok, let’s see...where to start...ok, what I ordered.
I ordered a Penman Hat Co. Fedora in Indy Brown, styled in the manner of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Now, after talking at length with John about style, I found that he and I share a somewhat similar view on the style elements that make a great Raiders fedora, and so I simply asked John for his best Raiders fedora, and that’s what I received.
First, I gotta' say I loved the packaging. Now, I can't remember if John told me he was going to use the logo on a custom printed box, but it certainly was fun to see when it arrived. It was also fun to open up the box and find not only my hat but the pamphlet, and several business cards to boot. On a personal note, it was a thrill to pull away the plastic and see the bicycle logo in gold against white satin on the liner. John wanted something very "Him" to represent The Penman Hat Co. and I wanted something very old fashioned, that I could believe "could" have been on the liner of Indiana Jones' actual hat. I think we nailed both requirements, and finally being able to see it in person, in a hat, well, that was cool moment.
Ok, on to the hat. Wow! Is that soft! I knew going into it that being beaver, it wouldn't be as floppy as my rabbit hat, but I was unprepared for how buttery soft the feel of the felt is. I don't even want to know how long you spend pouncing this felt; I just know that it feels great!
The fit is spot on with a bit of play in the sweatband for it to shrink to fit. By the way, I did check out the stitching and it's really fine, nice work.
Color. At first, I was a little concerned that the hat looked just a bit too dark. Until I saw it outside. In sunlight, it warms right up to an awesome shade of brown with a touch of red; just like the felt of an Adventurebilt hat (in fact, if anyone out there that has an Adventurebilt and a Penman, could you compare felt thickness and color between the two. I have a feeling the felts might turn out to be closer than anybody suspects. Perhaps even the same?) Not only that, but as I understand it, this color was chosen as it would also mellow and lighten slightly with age into the perfect shade brown seen in Raiders.
And speaking of the perfect shade of brown, let's move on to the ribbon and bow. Perfect! The bow is awesome and John, I think you nailed it! It looks as if it could have been on Harrison's fedora as opposed to mine. The ribbon is a thing of beauty. Dark almost black, brown. It's just dead right, and it's exactly the same ribbon as on my Mags HJ. The only thing I can assume is that somehow you actually sourced the vintage ribbon just as Steve and Marc did. That's really the only answer, and bravo to you for finding it. I'll bet that was a real pain to track down. Good Indy hats are often brought down by a crappy ribbon, and your hats, made with that ribbon, puts you in an exclusive club with Steve and Marc being the only other members. ;-)
Block. Here is another area in which the Penman hat excels. Now, I've been wearing and scrutinizing this hat since receiving it and the only conclusion I can reach regarding the block shape of this hat is that it shares the same block shape, quirks and all, with my Mags/AB/HJ. A hat that was made using Steve's old Raiders block.
So...let's see, Adventurebilt felt? Vintage HJ ribbon? Oh yeah, same block shape as my HJ? No wonder it's a great hat, it's practically an Adventurebilt. But that stuff is only part of what makes a great hat. The rest, the craftsmanship, is all John. He put it together with all the care and attention to detail that I would expect from a hatter of no less than Steve and Marc's prowess, and I would easily throw this hat into the ring as a true successor to Adventurebilt USA when Steve retires. Not bad for a hatter who made his first hat in May!
Thanks again for my fantastic hat John! I love wearing it!
Johnny
