Club Obi Wan

Hello all,
I acquired a reasonably priced hat block which fits my lid very well, unfortunately it's a bit dome shaped rather than stovepipe, therefore the finished product is not absolutely perfect and the hat continues to suffer from a little taper, but there is a vast improvement in the overall shape.




This Poet hat was bought in person from Swaine Adeney Brigg, in London about three years ago.
Cheers,
JTW.

Nice re-block! Very Temple of Doom! Just need a darker ribbon and it will be perfect!

Of course, the final shape of a re-blocked hat has much to do with the shape of the block. The right block(s) will bring a hat back to whatever shape the block dictates.

Looks good Jones. Did you take it apart or reblock a complete hat?

Looks really good!

Thanks guys,
I'm trying to recreate the LC look which should'nt require a very much darker ribbon. In the early scenes, Donovan's study etc, the ribbons shade is very similar to the felt, from Castle Brunwald onwards it does appear a little darker.

With regard to the blocking, the block comfortably fit the hat intact and I am not expert enough to take it apart.
Cheers,
JTW.

JTW, did you buy your Poet from Herbert Johnson in-person? If so, do they still do the full Indy conversion to each hat; giving the standard 3" Poet brim the dimensional cut, and changing out the stock ribbon for the dark brown Petersham? As the original source, they should be following Swales' recipe to the letter. Personally, I'd be disappointed if I traveled all the way to England and shelled-out $300 only to discover that they don't customize each hat to the screen specs.

Can you show us your block?

whipwarrior wrote:JTW, did you buy your Poet from Herbert Johnson in-person? If so, do they still do the full Indy conversion to each hat; giving the standard 3" Poet brim the dimensional cut, and changing out the stock ribbon for the dark brown Petersham? As the original source, they should be following Swales' recipe to the letter. Personally, I'd be disappointed if I traveled all the way to England and shelled-out $300 only to discover that they don't customize each hat to the screen specs.

The HJ license is currently owned by Swaine Adeney Brigg of St James St, London and, to be honest, I believe they create an 'Indy type' shape to the Poet hat that does'nt really resemble any of the originals.
However, it's very good quality felt and ideal for re-blocking, I understand Magnoli uses these as raw material.

JTW.

It looks a beauty! How recently did you get the hat from Swaine Adeney? It looks a perfect Last Cruscade!

Stones

stones wrote:It looks a beauty! How recently did you get the hat from Swaine Adeney? It looks a perfect Last Cruscade!

Stones

Many thanks Stones, although I think you're being a little over generous .
I bought this lid in person from S.A.B. in the summer of 08, upon purchase the hat has an open crown it is then sent to be bashed at their work rooms in Cambridgeshire, so you do have some say in the shaping. Unfortunately, at that time I was very inexperienced in the subject of Indy gear so I was unable to provide them with specific requests.
The construction of this fedora, the shade/texture of the felt and the general look have great similarities to that seen in TOD and LC.
If someone were to walk into S.A.B. and provide them with documentation and photos as to precisely how they wanted a Poet bashed, i'm convinced they would not be disappointed.

Cheers,
JTW.

Renderking Fisk wrote:Can you show us your block?

This raises an interesting trend on this board...

People tend to be very protective in realtion to actually showing their blocks and frankly I can't understand why.

I know there's the ollllllllld argument that people will rip off the design and start mass prducing hats, but I don't buy it.

The far greater percentage would just be interested in reblocking their own and that's it. I mean who has the time, money or inclination to learn hat making and start a business in something that'd have a relatively small turnover anyhoo??

It's funny if anyone sees any tapper at all in a Indy hat they go right to temple. I don't think it looks like a temple hat. I think what will help this hat out is if you lower the front crease a tad and raise the back. Look at the side view.

BendingOak wrote:It's funny if anyone sees any tapper at all in a Indy hat they go right to temple. I don't think it looks like a temple hat. I think what will help this hat out is if you lower the front crease a tad and raise the back. Look at the side view.

I can see why people refer to this lid as being "temple like" after all, the taper seen in some TOD shots (specifically Lao Che cockpit) is much emphasized, but if you look carefully there is a little taper in the hat during LC Castle Brunwald scenes. So, my lid may not be too far off the LC mark afterall.

JTW.

And after a further go at home re-blocking............



Getting there!
Cheers,
JTW.

nice hat, really great bash, where did you buy the hat block? and did you used water or steam to get the open crown form. because I habe also a HJ,and I wish the hat, in temple bash.
thanks congratulations

This hat block was bought in 2008 from http://www.winghamwoolwork.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I'm not even sure if they still do them.
After pushing out the creases, I immersed the entire crown into warm water for about a minute, I then steamed it thoroughly and placed it on the block smoothing the suface of the hat quite vigorously and pushing down hard.
Once this was completed the hat was left to dry out for 48 hours.

Cheers,
JTW.

http://www.winghamwoolwork.co.uk/eqp_flt_lasts.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They do still sell them.
JTW.

That is a good looking hat!

stones

JTW, you have done a fine job with this hat. A little dust and weathering, and you just could very well be on your way to the Canyon of the Crescent Moon.

jones the whip wrote:And after a further go at home re-blocking............



Getting there!
Cheers,
JTW.