Club Obi Wan

Hello, all. My Akubra Fed IV Deluxe should be coming in the mail any day now. For the last couple of weeks, I've been contemplating how to bash it. I've decided that since I already have a Christy's Poet that serves as a Temple/LC hat, I'm going to take the plunge and Raiders the heck out of this one. But now I am debating between turn or no turn. I'm sure it's probably been done to death, but I'd greatly appreciate some opinions from those of you who have already made your choices one way or another. Pictures would be welcomed, as well. Thanks in advance.

If you look for a great raiders hat there is only one choice to do: go with the turn.

My cairo

I had a hat with the turn and I currently have a couple more without it. My personal opinion? I did not like the turn. I would never get a hat with a turn in it again. I did not like the "crooked" aspect of the hat and wearing it a bit sideways or having the hat look like it was a bit sideways on your head. But that's me...

And I don't really dress up as Indy, I have my hats to wear just because I like them, so it's not that important to me...

Not a fan, and have NEVER been a fan.... but that’s just me.

If you’re looking to create a caricature of the hat for cosplay, you’re right on target, but if you plan to wear it in public, 99% of the folks you meet have no clue what the turn ‘represents’. All you have on is a hat with a crooked bow.

We’re the only ones who have any idea what it represents. I know too many folks over the years who have this done and never wear them. Just an observation after decades of activity in the hobby.....but then I’m not a fan of faux jacket distressing either, so take all this for what it’s worth.

Just wanted to post the opposing view as I KNOW we have rabid practioneers of the dark arts here, and I’m sure they’ll pile on shortly telling you just how wrong I/we are.

Regards! Michaelson

That can be a tough call, but if you already have a Temple/LC that you are happy with, then yes, the only way to make a Raiders Hat truly look like a Raiders hat is to put in the turn. Now, it doesn't need to be super-extreme. When you get the hat, before you shape it, put it on your head and look in the mirror. Start to turn it and make a note of how the brim looks on you. Turn it some more. Again, make a note of how it looks. Keep doing that in small increments until it looks ridiculous. Then turn it back and see what you would be happy with. It is super important that you do this before attempting to shape the hat. Once you put in the front crease, there is no going back.

For my Everyman hat, I shaped it somewhere between a Temple and an LC, and ended up putting in about a half-turn (not as extreme as in Raiders) and it ended up giving the brim some nice character. I really like it. The full Raiders turn can look a bit silly IMO, but really is the key to giving the hat that distinct Raiders look. Ultimately, do what looks best on you, if indeed you are wearing the hat a lot. Otherwise, go full turn and have an excellent looking Raiders prop.

At last.. it is only a personal preference, I agree.
for example I Love the raiders hat, how it looks,its proportions, its assimmetry on your head and I use hats daily and I'm the hatter of them.
I don't think that the turned hat is ugly if extrapolated from the "indy" universe. A great made hat is a great hat anyway.
at the same time, if You ( in general meaning) are a lover of simmetry and regular shapes maybe the turned hat is difficult to wear, there will be always something wrong at your eyes.
in this case is maybe better go to a not turned hat, conscious to have to do a compromise and to get a raiders-like hat. I would go intstead to a TOD (of better) an LC hat, imho.

(hope that my thought is readable and undrestandable ) !!)

Of my fedoras, I have one with the turn and I do like the look. I don't think it looks costumey, but I also don't have my fedoras artificially distressed with fullers earth or anything else.

Something else to consider is your head shape will drastically impact the effects of the turn. If your head is a "long oval" as viewed from the top (longer front to back than side to side) it doesn't take much rotation to get the turn effect. If you have a more round head (fairly symmetrical/round as viewed from the top) you can turn the hat perpendicular to they way it is supposed to be worn and not get any effect at all. There was a member years ago that was able to center the ribbon bow on his forehead and still got no brim distortion.

Forrest for the Trees has great advise. Put the hat on and turn it little by little to see the impact and if you like what you see.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

If you’ve got a favorite scene in Raiders maybe go for how the hat looks there? Just an idea. When it comes to a Raiders look you can’t go wrong in my opinion. Turn, or otherwise


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While we are on the subject, I'm not so sure that every hat that Harrison wore in Raiders had the turn. Certainly, there are scenes where the turn is very obvious, such as the Idol Grab, Raven Bar, and Streets of Cairo. But in the opening scenes of the film when he uses his whip to disarm his hired help, I'm not so sure that the hat is turned. If you look at stills, you can see the position of the bow is further back and the brim appears symmetrical. So perhaps turned and not turned are both screen accurate?

https://www.expressandstar.com/resizer/ ... IRBG7M.jpg

Forrest For the Trees wrote:While we are on the subject, I'm not so sure that every hat that Harrison wore in Raiders had the turn. Certainly, there are scenes where the turn is very obvious, such as the Idol Grab, Raven Bar, and Streets of Cairo. But in the opening scenes of the film when he uses his whip to disarm his hired help, I'm not so sure that the hat is turned. If you look at stills, you can see the position of the bow is further back and the brim appears symmetrical. So perhaps turned and not turned are both screen accurate?

https://www.expressandstar.com/resizer/ ... IRBG7M.jpg

Yep, no turn here great looking hat too


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So after all that wonderful advice (thank you all), I tried to shape the hat Raiders style, but couldn't seem to get it to look right on my head, with or without the turn. So I decided to go full-on LC. Not perfect, but it's a work in progress. Opinions/advice welcomed:

https://imgur.com/gallery/XHiRdTO" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Fed looks great as an LC. Well done!

Barry the Bounty Hunter wrote:So after all that wonderful advice (thank you all), I tried to shape the hat Raiders style, but couldn't seem to get it to look right on my head, with or without the turn. So I decided to go full-on LC. Not perfect, but it's a work in progress. Opinions/advice welcomed:

https://imgur.com/gallery/XHiRdTO" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nice hat!

I’m beginning to realize too that getting the right shape out of my hat seems to be more dependent on my head shape than I would have thought. I’m sure so many others here have known that for a long time. I’m going to stop trying to go for a specific scene and just try to get the hats where I like ‘em. And enjoy them!

Barry the Bounty Hunter wrote:So after all that wonderful advice (thank you all), I tried to shape the hat Raiders style, but couldn't seem to get it to look right on my head, with or without the turn. So I decided to go full-on LC. Not perfect, but it's a work in progress. Opinions/advice welcomed:

https://imgur.com/gallery/XHiRdTO" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nicely done. Funny after all that, you went with an LC/Temple like shape. That's where I ended up too! I found the Raiders crease to be tough to pull off for myself.