Club Obi Wan

Hello everyone.

I started this new thread to hopefully get some helpful advice from all the knowledgeable experts out there. I own a Peters Brothers, Raiders style, in soft rabbit fur blend and lately have not been quite satisfied with the way that it came styled. To me, the hat does not look, entirely, screen accurate enough and am asking for help, as to what I should do in order to make it look like the perfect Raiders hat. Does anyone know how well this particular hat takes to distressing and how I can possibly achieve the streets of Cairo scene with this hat? Any help or advice is always welcomed.

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv18 ... ers001.jpg

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv18 ... 9_1335.jpg

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv18 ... ers003.jpg

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv18 ... ers002.jpg

First, you need to pinch it more in the front. It only appears to be pinched halfway down the crown face. For a Raiders look, you need a full pinch almost all the way down to the ribbon.

Second, the hat really isn't "on" your head as far as I can tell. I mean, your head isn't IN the hat. Maybe you need to (if it is possible), pull the back of the hat down to more on your head.

Third, your ribbon is too light. You'll want to replace it with a very dark brown ribbon. That one seems similar to the one that comes stock on the Dorfman Pacific hats, which looks purple in the light.

Hope this helps get you started.

Perhaps you should unbash the hat, then follow John Penman's bashing video on youtube to help you out.

That's funny, that's the second Peter Bros hat I've seen with that off ribbon. Someone on the RPF posted an image of their Indy mannequin with a Peter Bros hat and I commented on it, but they insisted it was just the camera. That ribbon has to go. It's not SA at all, and IMHO, actually detracts from it looking like an Indy hat.

Todd's sells replacement ribbon, although Penman has the good stuff.

I agree with Maboot, it looks like you need to pull the hat down on your head a bit more. Check out the recent Streets of Cairo thread: http://indygear.com/cow/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42072

Lots of good reference pics and tips in there.

And oh, most importantly, it doesn't look like the hat is turned....but I can't quite tell from the angles of the pics posted. But you'll need that turn to get an SOC look.

edit #2: Either the back of the center dent is not low enough, or the front dent is too low. The front should be higher than the back.

First, you need to pinch it more in the front. It only appears to be pinched halfway down the crown face. For a Raiders look, you need a full pinch almost all the way down to the ribbon.

How do I go about the tighter pinch? Would I have to steam it and as far as the ribbon goes, is it easy to replace?

Bdgsi11 wrote:

First, you need to pinch it more in the front. It only appears to be pinched halfway down the crown face. For a Raiders look, you need a full pinch almost all the way down to the ribbon.

How do I go about the tighter pinch? Would I have to steam it and as far as the ribbon goes, is it easy to replace?

Well, just pinch it. Steam isn't a necessity, but it may help. It's really just that the Raiders look has the pinch pretty much down to the ribbon.

That having been said, as I wrote above, if your hat isn't turned, you're not gonna be able to get a good SOC look.

Try this tutorial for replacing the ribbon:
http://www.dalexs.whitvani.net/hat/hatpage.html

Personally, it's too much work for me (or, more accurately, I don't trust myself enough to be that precise with the sewing and what not) and I'd imagine a local hat shop should be able to tackle the job.

I replaced the ribbon once on a cheap woll Dorfman Pacific, and that wool is stiff, so I imagine that it is easier on a felt hat. You can try that tutorial, and if it doesn't work, you can have a hatter do it for you. Maybe John Penman can put one on. I don't know if he offers that or not, but he's got great ribbons, the right color, and he can probably guide you somewhat.

I should add that the thing I found most useful when replacing a ribbon was to SLOWLY take apart the existing bow and make detailed observations of how it is attached, taking extra care to attach the new one the same way.

The ribbon is what makes or breaks an Indy hat, in my opinion. Only three guys have SA ribbon and that is John, Steve, and Marc. I know that John sells his ribbon, or will sew it in for you and have that beautiful Penman bow, but it is not cheap. This ribbon is unique, so I'm sure it costs a bit more than your average ribbon.

As jlee mentioned, you will have to turn the hat. All you have to do is pop out the creases and turn the hat to the right until you get that familiar swopp to the brim. After that, just watch the Penman creasing tutorial. Creasing a hat isn't difficult. If you don't want to turn the hat, the I just recommend dropping the back of the top crease down a bit and defining the side creases.

Dave

Thanks everyone for the helpful feedback. I have decided to send in my hat to John for a reblock and complete ribbon change. I am very excited for this, but I now have a 5-month wait time to look forward to.

It will be worth it though. John has my favorite Raiders block from all the hatters on here. Steve is a close second with his new block.

Dave