Club Obi Wan

Well, after getting word Monday that my long-awaited "Raider" from Local Land Surveyor was on its way, today I hear a commotion at the front door and then see my wife carrying a huge box to me!

I liked the box, which was somewhat decorative, with an attractive address label on the corner, and a nice silk-like cord carrying handle. I pulled the hat out and was intrigued by its open crown shape - a bit different than what you might expect. But alas, I promised I would not share photos of it, so I'll skip ahead to my review and pics of it after bashing.

So without further ado, here is my review:

LLS has definately nailed the Raiders hat. This is it - from any angle, any scene, it is spot on in blockshape, felt floppiness, texture, and ribbon look. My quest for "the hat" is over.
Felt - nice texture - not quite Henry-soft, but close. Best I've felt on a rabbit hat yet.
Color - Very nice. I think I would prefer a lighter color right off the bat, with more reddish tinge in it like the Henry , but in a year or two of wear in the sun this hat will be a very Raiders color, I think. It's kind of a medium dark, warm brown.
Ribbon - Beautiful bow work. My compliments to LLS. I don't think he could do too much better.
Sweatband - top notch - very soft and supple. Feels great. I could wear it all day and not notice.
Liner - Nice! I love the Staff of Ra logo inside. I was surprised by the choice of tan or "taupe" for the liner, as I'm used to white, but since no one knows the color of the Raiders liner, and I've heard that at least at some point in the film the hat was without its liner, it doesn't much matter for screen accuracy to me, and it goes well with the brown sweat and hat.
Felt floppiness - perfect. Not too floppy as to not hold a bash well, but floppy enough to replicate how the hat reacts on screen in Raiders. I even popped out the initial bash and turned the hat more and re-creased it, and there was no trace of the old bash after working it for a few minutes.

I hate to mention anything negative, since I love the hat and there's so much to praise about it, but I would feel dishonest if I didn't, so here goes. There was a small spot on my brim where the cut hadn't been sanded down enough, and so the edge wasn't quite even. LLS offered to fix it free of charge for me, but since he already explained how I can fix it with the right grit sandpaper, I think I may just take care of it myself, since I don't really want to be without the hat again for a few weeks. There were also two small spots on the top of the brim where something had pulled up some of the felt, creating "fuzzy spots," but these most likely occurred in shipping, and can easily be smoothed out with some fine grit sandpaper, or maybe even wetting the felt slightly and giving it a brush.

All in all, I am extremely happy with my hat, and I think anyone who chooses to order one of these will be very satisfied as well. LLS is a pleasure to deal with and goes the extra mile to please his customers.

So, here are some pics! Enjoy! I will have more, and better ones (outdoor in natural light) tomorrow.


http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/6008 ... onhat1.jpg
http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/9637 ... onhat2.jpg
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/5624 ... onhat9.jpg
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/7158 ... nhat10.jpg

WOW.....the pics look great!! I think I know what my next hat is going to be................

I guess I've been out of the loop awhile- who's Garrison Hatters? Local Land Surveyors?

TR

I looked them up.....Found this:

http://garrisonhatters.com/

He also has his own thread in the Cairo Bazaar section: found here.

What a great looking hat! All the R&D LLS did sure pay off!

Great looking hat - funny how that staff of Ra headpiece has made it's way to two different hats. "What was once briefly yours is now mine" (meaning formerly the logo of AB is now G)

Well I guess it could pass for a Raiders lid.


Ahh, I'm not fooling anyone....that hat looks fantastic!

LLS did a great job and I look forward to seeing more as people start to get them. I have a feeling that Garrison Hats will be around for a looooong while......

Agreed, that hat looks great! Congrats on the new lid jasonalun!!

nice lid

beautiful work david! and congrats jasonalun.....i'm with envy...............can i have it???

so, does GH offer the hat both open crown and bashed then?

Thanks for all the kind words, guys! Here is an outdoor pic as promised.


No G, you can't have it! But I'm sure LLS will make you one if want - and it'll be your size even! I'm a 7 3/4 - I have a feeling that wouldn't fit you.

I wore that hat outdoors in the breeze and warm sun at the Henry Ford Greenfield Village (Dearborn, MI) today with my family, and I hardly knew it was on! Perfect fit and extremely comfortable. It's already taking on some character, and looks more "Raiders" all the time to me.

You can ask LLS about the open crown. He obviously did it for me, but I told him that the hat wouldn't feel "mine" unless I put my own personal bash into it. Just a thing with me. I don't like pre-creased hats. So he acquiesced. I imagine if you wanted it that way he would do it for you, but I don't want to speak for him, so I'll let him answer that one.

Looks fantastic on you Jasonalun. Thanks for the thorough review. You were the first to order. That makes you a risk taker. Adventurer's heart.
I was so tempted to put chalk markes as guide line on your hat just to help out. Turns out you didn't need 'em. I would like to see a "bow side" side shot to see where the center of the knot ends up on you. Now remember, the back can be dropped to 3-1/2" to 3-3/4" in the back. That will complete the whole look of the back of the hat.
Another tip is to hold the front of the brim with your left hand while folding the right side up at your ear with your right hand. This act will enhance the swoop on the right side.
The proportions look good on you. That last pic clearly show the assymetry of the brim.
Don't you just love that sweatband. Butter soft!!
The liner has been one thing I haven't talked about. I went with that color of liner because it really had a vintage look to it. I was inspired by a Herbert Johnson liner Fedora was kind enough to share with me. He also gave me the O.K. to use the headpiece as the crest. I thought that would be a great homage to both the film and to Steve for training me and encouraging me to take on this endeavor.
I am flattered by your words "My quest for "the hat" is over". Thank You. Wear it, use it, ruff it up, throw some dirt on it, sweat in it, set it on a table on its brim, and enjoy it. I have been wearing mine for nearly two months and it keeps getting better.

LLS

You're most welcome, David! I am very proud to be your first customer. I'm sorry I didn't send you the pics directly first, but my family is in from out of town this weekend and I've been scrambling to get things done while playing host and catching up with them. I thought I could serve you best by giving everyone here their first look and review of Garrison Hats product. I'll be emailing you more pics tomorrow, and any special requests you have for angles and such, just let me know and I'll be happy to provide. The bow side shot is on the list.

Hearing about how that tan liner is after a vintage HJ makes me even happier. I probably will never have the privilege of owning a vintage HJ, but my Garrison Raider is close enough to satisfy me.

Oh, and thank you for the compliments on my bash job. I may need to order a new hat from you now though, because I think my head is swelling.

Love the color of the liner!! Well done, LLS!!

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Very nice hat and I, too, love the liner. I thought I was done with hats in the Raiders style but I see another one in the future!

Sometimes, I feel like Pacino in Godfather III.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=40326

Actually, you DID steal his 'thunder'.

You might want to go ahead and transplant this into the already existing thread started a couple days before this one to keep things all in one place, or just leave that link to this thread so they can loop back.

Regards! Michaelson