Club Obi Wan

...or the newest hat offering by Diego and Roberto from Argentina.

The Explorador 2.0 is the latest hat offering from Steele & Jones, and responding to their recent SoC ad in the Cairo Bazaar…

http://indygear.com/cow/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=47116

…I decided to take one of these for a spin, and it did not disappoint.

Some quick facts:
*Custom made to your specs for $195
*Felt is a lighter color, soft hare, rabbit felt made in Argentina.
*soft, pliable sweatband
*ribbon is a faithful reproduction of the original
*bashed any way you choose
*delivered in 8 weeks or less.

In Roberto's ('Shorty', he’s 6’5”) words....

About our work:
We started making hats as a hobby in late 2006, and it was in 2008 that the Explorador fedora was born, with over a 100 hats made for people in Europe, and some guys in America.

Explorador is our version of the brown adventure hat, available in '36, '35, '38, '57 styles.
Viajero is our version of the grey travel hat, available in models '36 & '57.

We wanted to make the “best hat for the buck” something that you would take with you on your travels without caring about losing or damaging it, but it whould be as screen accurate as possible.

In 2010 we changed all our blocks, and made our latest version of each block, and as there have been many improvements since we started. We called these new hats “Explorador 2.0”, and “Viajero 2.0”.

-We use Argentinean wild hare felt, both for browns and greys. We re-pounce the felt, block the hats and cut the dimensional brim (using scissors in my case, as Richard Swales did).

All our blocks are round oval. Our front and back brims are 70mm. Side brims 63 or 66 mm, as required.

-We take special care about the bow making, according to each film, each are Hand sewn.
-The sweatband is black, made out of Argentinean leather, machine sewn. (As in HJs)
-The liners are made out of silk, and have our logo sewn on them. They are handmade by Pilar (Diego´s wife) and glued. (As was the HJ's.)

We intend to do this as a hobby, more for the fun than for the “fortune and glory”.

Our goal is to make the best “reasonably priced” Indy hat; durable, but also good looking, and as SA as possible.

Visit their website at:
http://www.steele-jones.com.ar/

These hats are made to fill a niche on the lower end of the pricing scale. If you are looking for a likeness for less than $200, give S&J a try.

I really dig that bow work. Very nice looking V there. Congrats on the new hat.

Dave

Bows. Why did it have to be bows???

Thanks for appreciating our work!

(I hate making bows, but we pay special atention to them, so they match every film's bow as close as possible).

Scott, thanks for your kind words.
We really put our heart and soul in the making of every fedora or leather accesories.
With every new order, improving our skills and, offcourse, the final products.

Regards.-

I have already one of the firts, the explorador its really great.
thanks Roberto and Diego

Great, post some pics if you wish to!

That's a fine looking hat, alright (especially for that very reasonable PRICE!)
WELL done, guys!


(And yeah... like Tex said: if you've got some photos of these hats... POST 'em UP!)

....forgot this Mitch.....

...don't leave home without it...plenty of post 'em up material.

latest creations:

RAIDERS (clic to enlarge)


TEMPLE OF DOOM -Rope Bridge bash- (clic to enlarge)


LAST CRUSADE

Me gustan mucho Indiego. Espcialmente el ultimo, es un Ultima Cruzada, Venecia no?


I think that this is a very nice hat for the price. I wish more were posted here. Someday I will have one. Are you guys ever going to do a nutria felt again?

whipcracker wrote:Me gustan mucho Indiego. Espcialmente el ultimo, es un Ultima Cruzada, Venecia no?

Yes, is a LC. Our friend didn't ask specifically "Venice Pier" when order it, but a general LC bash. But when I crease it, the Venice screencap was on my monitor...

whipcracker wrote:I think that this is a very nice hat for the price. I wish more were posted here. Someday I will have one. Are you guys ever going to do a nutria felt again?

Nutria was just a very small run, about 2 years ago. Only 10-11 hats, if I remember correctly. All gone.
I don't think we're going to do it again.

Looking good, Diego! Post some pics of your Viajero hat if you have some recent ones.

Diego I'd love to see some shots of the liner and sweatband.

Indiana Dymond wrote:Diego I'd love to see some shots of the liner and sweatband.

The only nice photos of liner and sweatband I have are this:

Here you can see the black sweatband, and a blue liner.

We also offer liner in ivory. Allways in fine silk.
With or without the logo.
Soon I'll take some good pics of the liner and sweatband.

Here is a Viajero '57 -CRYSTAL SKULL style- (so, an AB replica. A show of respect and tribute to Mr. Delk's work):

Thanks Diego .
Realy like that blue liner,may not be SA on some hats( as far as I can remember you never see the inside of the Raiders or Temple fedoras).

I feel a spend coming soon.

Indiego Jones wrote:

...man, this puppy has me salivating! Being hat-less is a bad, bad thing for an Indy fan!

Not a bad option at all. Hare felt, custom made, and the ribbon and bow work is some of the best out there. Compares favorably with the Fed.

Looks very nice, I may have to take a stab at ordering one once I start working soon.

Texan Scott wrote:Not a bad option at all. Hare felt, custom made, and the ribbon and bow work is some of the best out there. Compares favorably with the Fed.

Thanks for the review!

AHHHH I though I was finally done buying hats!
Looks like I'm gonna have to come up with an excuse to tell my wife as to why I need another fedora. Any suggestions? Perhaps I'll make up a dream a'la Tevia in Fiddler on the Roof.

Long as I know, no excuses would work, besides buying something (not Indy related) to her, too.
Sorry, that's how it works...

Odo wrote:Long as I know, no excuses would work, besides buying something (not Indy related) to her, too.
Sorry, that's how it works...

Odo's right. Buy her something nice, and she will not even notice the new hat!

A reminder:

Raiders CAIRO style ----> NO EXTRA CHARGE!!! (limited offer until further notice)
(clean and dirty version)
clic to enlarge


For this and other offers, check the bazaar post:
http://indygear.com/cow/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=52610

Regards.-

I'll add my name to the chorus praising the fine work that Diego and Roberto do on these hats. Great hat. Great price. Great guys to do business with. A real quality outfit.

Thanks!

Meanwhile, I'd like to share a couple of pics of my Explorador in Brasilia and Washington...

Anyone else think that's one of the best Temple hats there is?

Looks great!

Kyle

Looking forward to getting my Raiders hat in the near future.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

As you know we work without stock.
If anyone else is pondering to order a hat from us, this is the time to place your order.

So, next wednesday we'll be making a felt and sweatband order to the factory.
Our advice to you is to order before next wednesday.

This way the waiting time will not be out of control.

For further info, check our bazaar post:
http://indygear.com/cow/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=52610

Regards.-

Just sent in my order!!! I look forward to receiving the lid. It's about time for a new Raiders fedora in my collection! The above photos and good marks from fellow COW members really helped sell me on this hat. Looks like a gorgeous lid.

Bogie1943 wrote:Looks like a gorgeous lid.

Thanks! We'll make our best to add you at our COW's satisfied clients list.

PS: In a few months I'm planning to visit the USAF Museum at Ohio. If you live close to it, we could make an Indy Fan meeting... (no certain date yet)

You know Ive always wanted to visit there. I've lived in Ohio all of my life and have never been there. I'm an aviation history lover myself. That's about a 3 hour drive for me which isn't bad at all. Keep in touch and I'm sure we can get together!

It sounds great. I'm an aviation history fan, too. What I actually intend to do is to visit the backstage of the restoration of 2 B-17s (B17d "The Swoose" and B17f "Memphis Belle"). They can be visited on guided tours on fridays, but only registered visitors, and making reservations long before.
When I have a certain date for this travel, I'll let you know by PM.

Meanwhile, lets go back to hats!

Looks great! I'll have to keep this in mind when ordering a new hat. Do they also come in a beaver felt, or just rabbit?

In fact our felt is high quality wild hare. Not beaver, but better than rabbit.

Diego and Roberto do quality work. I can attest to that. Especially the ribbon and bow work that Roberto loves to do.

Texan Scott wrote:Diego and Roberto do quality work. I can attest to that. Especially the ribbon and bow work that Roberto loves to do.

Ha, ha. Very funny!

"I hate Bows, Scott! I hate 'em! ..."
"Come on! Show a little backbone, will you???!