Club Obi Wan

I've read countless times people who have gotten a HJ from Swales, but I would love to see some pictures so please post them here

thanks.

I don't have my AB yet, but this request I CAN do! Here's my beautiful hand-crafted Swales Poet made in April/May 1999:





The rest of the pics are in my flickr HJ photo set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9911326@N0 ... 802192589/

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whipwarrior,

That's one gorgeous hat! Thanks for posting that. I love the front ribbon flourish. Not really Indy, of course, but nice!

That's seems like one tall crown. I was trying to compare it with my FedIV that I have bashed in a similar fashion and the crown on mine just doesn't seem anywhere tall enough to get close to that look. The FedIV crown is supposed to be 5 5/8" open crowned, and mine is 5" roughly when bashed. Can you tell me what the crown height is on yours? It could just be the block shape that makes the difference, though. The front of the HJ crown seems to have a bit more beef in it than the FedIV's does.

Again, beautiful hat! I'm jealous...

The very front crown of my hat measures exactly 4 1/2 inches tall. When I punched the top of the hat outward (open crown), the height measurement is exactly 5 inches. The hat size is 6 and 7/8. I've been told that my hat is one of the finer examples of a HJ Poet that has come out of the shop, and I do love it very much, but I am just dying to get my Adventurebilt CS!

Thanks ww! Wow, I guess I really stink at estimating size in photos. I would have almost sworn that was close to 5" at the front! My FedIV is exactly 4 1/2" at the front as well. So perhaps my theory of the fuller front to the block near the top curve is correct.



I tried to replicate your shot with mine, so you can see what I'm talking about. Your crown seems narrower in width, and the top left edge of the front crease kind of hangs out a bit over the bottom curve of the crown on that side. Makes a nice look - kind of reminds me of this scene in Last Crusade :
http://www.theraider.net/showimage.php? ... ts/083.jpg

That hat's got a ton of character!

I modeled it on the Venice pier scene (the way the side brims are curled up cowboy-style). I hand-shaped the felt over a pot of boiling water on the stove, and then let it dry. It's been holding that shape for about six years now. At least the AB comes styled right out of the box, so there's no work involved.

whipwarrior wrote:I don't have my AB yet, but this request I CAN do! Here's my beautiful hand-crafted Swales Poet made in April/May 1999:





The rest of the pics are in my flickr HJ photo set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9911326@N0 ... 802192589/

WW, did you bow ever get replaced?

I've always liked the Venice pier look.

No, that's the original bow, complete with that strange front flare. I'm not sure if Swales was in a hurry when he put it on, or what, but I'm used to it by now (though if I knew anything about hat repair, I'd probably re-tack it level with the top of the ribbon). The only thing that I have physically done to the hat is repair the oval HJ crest (which is just a sticker) that peeled off during a trip to North Carolina. I bought a spool of burgundy thread that matched the color of the seal, and I sewed it back in.

I haven't seen a bow racket on one of the HJ fromhim or anyone like that. Its not a had fix. Take out the liner and you would have to redo a couple of stitches. I would have to see a true side shot to tell you more.

If you click on the Flickr link under the hat pics, you can see a direct side shot of the hat.

Thanks for sharing your pictures gentlemen ! Keep em coming there have to be more than just you two?

Rmonura do you have pictures of the other Poets also?

Love your hat whipwarrior!

Matt

Thanks!

Does Swales still style and make these hats?

ReturningSon wrote:Does Swales still style and make these hats?

No, he's retired.

No, Swales retired from hatmaking and left Herbert Johnson back in 2003. Shame, too, because nobody did it like him.