Club Obi Wan

My Henry arrived today from John (thank you). I can now compare it directly to the Uptowner. For a start the Henry has very soft felt- very nice feel to it and a lot less stiff than the Uptowner. The Henry also has a lovely soft sweatband from an AB Delux. Very comfortable compared to the Uptowner. The band in the Henry is that bit darker than the Uptowner for a more SA look. Overall though, in terms of appearance there's not much between them. They are both very good Indy hats. The Uptowner came with a very good Raiders bash while the Henry requires a little more work at present.


Taking a beating from a little Indy wearing my Henry.

The Henry...

The Uptowner...

IMHO your Henry looks the best!


Travis

I second that, Travis.


...And I can safely assure you, djd... that Henry's gonna get a little bit better & better every day (or, more specifically, every time you wear it)

That's a beautiful new hat you own, my friend... Congrats.

Thanks Mitch! I've hardly taken it off all day. It's certainly comfortable

I'm sure it'll be your best new "old friend" in no time.

Wear it in good health, sir.

I'm still waiting for it...sent it for a reblock to Marc on July. Mine tapered after two months, and deformed due to too much rain and abuse.

It's taking more than I expected. It's 3 months and half of waiting, so far. I do not complain, though; but I hope to have it ready for my graduation ceremony on december - my christy's is too light for the winter cold.

I'm happy for you, djd. yes, the henry is a bit hard to bash - soft felt, but the creases don't want to stay. I suggest you to go for a CS bash, avoid Raiders with the henry - Raiders hats require a very thin felt, expecially if you are going for a SOC

Restless Dreamer wrote:I'm still waiting for it...sent it for a reblock to Marc on July. Mine tapered after two months, and deformed due to too much rain and abuse.

It's taking more than I expected. It's 3 months and half of waiting, so far. I do not complain, though; but I hope to have it ready for my graduation ceremony on december - my christy's is too light for the winter cold.

I'm happy for you, djd. yes, the henry is a bit hard to bash - soft felt, but the creases don't want to stay. I suggest you to go for a CS bash, avoid Raiders with the henry - Raiders hats require a very thin felt, expecially if you are going for a SOC

I have to disagree with you. The Henry can take any bash and that includes the raiders bash. With any good hat that has very little stiffener in it. You will need to re-enforce the bash over a week or two but it will settle nicely.

Well, I explained myself badly, as usual. I used to have a Raiders bash with my Henry, and I agree with you: by reinforcing the bash constantly, you will eventually make the creases stay in.

Anyway, I found my Christy's to be easier to bash. The creases settled in instantly, without any need to redefine them. I think this is due the fact its felt is thinner.

By the way, I still would suggest a CS bash for the Henry. I remember Marc once said this hat is specifically intended to be a CS hat, even if it is good with a Raiders bash too. Plus, the color, thickness and material of the felt make me think more to a CS than a Raiders.

But, djd, as Burger King says "have it your way"

Awesome hat djd. It looks good on you.

Thanks chaps

One more picture

djd, I forgot to mention... your kid's got a heckuva reach!

BAM!

That'll teach ya to cross that little fella!

You know, I had no problem in creasing the Henry Marc sent to me. The felt is very soft which made it easy for me to do. I had no trouble with the creases staying put either. But, compared to the thin felted HJs, I can see where one would note a difference.

As with any hat that contains rabbit, I highly recommend frequent treatments of water repellant though. The only hat that I would even consider wearing as a rain hat is a vintage hat, which seems impervious to taper when wetted. I would never wear an untreated modern rabbit, or one that is mostly rabbit in rain without the treatment. It's gonna taper, as that is what felt does, unless it is really old felt.

To date, my own Henry has gotten rained on several times, with not enough taper to make it anything else but a Raiders fedora. But, I treated it well with the treatment, and did so again after each rain, once it dried of the superficial wetting. The core never got wet due to the treatment, which is very important. Once that core gets wet, that's it. All bets are off. Some brands of hats you can't leave in a hot car. The heat by itself will taper these hats. The Henry won't do that though. I tried it right off, with no adverse effects.

I think Marc did well with having this Henry made for us. I have yet to see another factory made hat this is as high quality as this one. And the attention to detail on the bow is the best out there, in factory made hats. So, he did his homework. And the factory is doing a great job on maintaining his specs. Fedora

I have to say that with a little work the Henry now has the shape I want. I think the felt is pretty thin- its just so soft compared to the Uptowner that it feels that the shape will just pop out- but in practice it doesn't. It's a great hat and I'm very pleased. My original intentio was to sell either the Uptowner or the Henry but I find that I like them both too much to part with either.

What sort of water repellant would you recommend Steve? Is there a particularly good make?

Thanks

Nice to see your Henry in action, djd
I was amazed that John had your size left! We already ran out of all sizes couple of weeks ago with our stock.
Good news is that we recently received the new batch. Our stock has now a adequate size and will, or hopefully not , last longer than ever before. John will receive a load by next week for folks who prefer to order in the US.

djd wrote:.
Taking a beating from a little Indy wearing my Henry.

Just to show that I got my revenge yesterday...

Fedora wrote:You know, I had no problem in creasing the Henry Marc sent to me. The felt is very soft which made it easy for me to do. I had no trouble with the creases staying put either. But, compared to the thin felted HJs, I can see where one would note a difference.

As with any hat that contains rabbit, I highly recommend frequent treatments of water repellant though. The only hat that I would even consider wearing as a rain hat is a vintage hat, which seems impervious to taper when wetted. I would never wear an untreated modern rabbit, or one that is mostly rabbit in rain without the treatment. It's gonna taper, as that is what felt does, unless it is really old felt.

To date, my own Henry has gotten rained on several times, with not enough taper to make it anything else but a Raiders fedora. But, I treated it well with the treatment, and did so again after each rain, once it dried of the superficial wetting. The core never got wet due to the treatment, which is very important. Once that core gets wet, that's it. All bets are off. Some brands of hats you can't leave in a hot car. The heat by itself will taper these hats. The Henry won't do that though. I tried it right off, with no adverse effects.

I think Marc did well with having this Henry made for us. I have yet to see another factory made hat this is as high quality as this one. And the attention to detail on the bow is the best out there, in factory made hats. So, he did his homework. And the factory is doing a great job on maintaining his specs. Fedora

I have not had my new Henry out in the rain yet, but living here in Florida its bound to happen. I have to wonder if the felt used in Fed 4s is different than your standard rabbit, because I've had my most abused fed 4 twice in a lake, and numerous downpours (at least once soaked to the core) and have not seen a bit of taper (knock on wood!)

But I love my Henry, with it's dark smooth felt, and the KOTCS bash, Marc was kind enough to put into it for me.

djd wrote:Just to show that I got my revenge yesterday...

Clearly, the secret is: whoever wears the "satchel of strength" wields the winning punch!


Oh, and djd... I'm sure you already know this, but:
While it's clear you've won that little battle, something tells me it'll be your son who'll win the war!

Oh yeah! Every day

djd wrote:What sort of water repellant would you recommend Steve? Is there a particularly good make?

I was about to ask the same question, djd. Did I read Steve say somewhere Scotchguard spray?

djd wrote:

djd wrote:.
Taking a beating from a little Indy wearing my Henry.

Just to show that I got my revenge yesterday...

Great looking scarf. Is it home made?

Marty

Yojimbo Jones wrote:

djd wrote:What sort of water repellant would you recommend Steve? Is there a particularly good make?

I was about to ask the same question, djd. Did I read Steve say somewhere Scotchguard spray?

John sells some on his website.
http://www.penmanhats.com/Contact_Us.html


Travis

The Librarian wrote:[
Great looking scarf. Is it home made?

Marty

No, I got it in a Gap store in New York a few years back. Not quite Tom Baker length but not far off