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My new hats

bolthead

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,905
Location
Pennsylvania, United States
WELCOME ABOARD.....

If anyone's wondering what exactly a ghetto reblock is...basically I took a large cylindrical plastic container and molded a dome on it out of paper towels. I've done this before and it has worked very well.

Pics......? :D
 

feltfan

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,190
Location
Oakland, CA, USA
Mr. Lucky said:
Great hats! Great look! And welcome! Don't let some drive you off.
Wow, I'm impressed by the substance-free response to my
post. I guess this is simply a hat forum and another place
for people obsessed by a cheezy action flick to hang out.
I thought it might be a place where we, "...share an interest
and passion in the "Golden Era." My mistake.

It had been my assumption that, for example, if this were
a bicycle forum, a poster who had melted bicycles to make
a monster truck would not be applauded. If this were a forum
on deco architecture, would we applaud someone who bought
the Chrysler Building and cut the top third off of it, replacing
it with solar panels and a modern food court? After all, a lot
that space isn't in use at the moment.

The original poster asked for opinions and I gave him mine.
The original poster took something that many
would find the epitome of Golden Era
homburg style and imposed an amateur reshaping on it. There
are plenty of fine fedoras available. He owned the hat and no
one is saying he had no right as an owner to ruin it. But it's
disappointing that no one seems to see what a shame that is.

Making fine old hats into indy copies used to be such a no-go
on this forum that it was practically an in joke.
 

Mr. Lucky

One Too Many
Messages
1,665
Location
SHUFFLED off to...
feltfan said:
Wow, I'm impressed by the substance-free response to my
post. I guess this is simply a hat forum and another place
for people obsessed by a cheezy action flick to hang out.
I thought it might be a place where we, "...share an interest
and passion in the "Golden Era." My mistake.

It had been my assumption that, for example, if this were
a bicycle forum, a poster who had melted bicycles to make
a monster truck would not be applauded. If this were a forum
on deco architecture, would we applaud someone who bought
the Chrysler Building and cut the top third off of it, replacing
it with solar panels and a modern food court? After all, a lot
that space isn't in use at the moment.

The original poster asked for opinions and I gave him mine.
The original poster took something that many
would find the epitome of Golden Era
homburg style and imposed an amateur reshaping on it. There
are plenty of fine fedoras available. He owned the hat and no
one is saying he had no right as an owner to ruin it. But it's
disappointing that no one seems to see what a shame that is.

Making fine old hats into indy copies used to be such a no-go
on this forum that it was practically an in joke.
Your post deserved no more response than that I gave it. There is a difference between stating your opinion, and stating your opinion with an utter absence of manners. As is there a way to make someone feel welcome, to possibly exchange ideas with them or give them an opportunity to learn, as opposed to showing them the door before they are half way through it by just being a...well, you know.
 

Bud-n-Texas

Practically Family
Messages
975
Location
Central Texas (H.O.T.)
feltfan said:
It didn't make a perfect fedora instead.
The binding is odd and the brim is wavy and strangely shaped.

To call the original homburg bad because it had a
high crown and wide brim is simply to lack an understanding
of vintage homburgs. Personally, I have been looking for a
homburg of such dimensions in my size. You ruined one.
There are plenty of stiff "Indy" hats to be had, but precious
few homburgs with those dimensions made by great hat makers
of the past.

Sorry, but you asked. This is a vintage forum, not COW.

I have re-read the post quoted above and while Felty and I look at things from a different vantage point from time to time. He did in fact give an opinion, when that is exactly what was asked for. Quote "Look at this and tell me it didn't make a perfect fedora instead?" There is nothing in Felty's post that is factually incorrect, he gave his opinion and that is what the original post solicited. Having something critiqued can be tough, its best to be equally tough, when asking for such.
 

JimD

New in Town
Messages
23
Location
Southern Calif
feltfan said:
Wow, I'm impressed by the substance-free response to my
post. I guess this is simply a hat forum and another place
for people obsessed by a cheezy action flick to hang out.


He owned the hat and no
one is saying he had no right as an owner to ruin it. But it's
disappointing that no one seems to see what a shame that is.

Making fine old hats into indy copies used to be such a no-go
on this forum that it was practically an in joke.

You must have really gotten upset over all the Fedoras that were made into Ed "Big Daddy" Roth hats back in the 70s.
 

Simon82

One of the Regulars
Messages
143
Location
Central Alabama
Welcome, Marcus!

Sorry you got such a response your first time here. Even if criticism is offered, there's a much more polite way to give it. Please know that some of us admired your work. And like you said, it could easily be turned back into homburg shape.

I, for one, think the new look is cool, not misshapen at all, and if you're happy with it, I am too.

Less important than how one treats hombergs is how one treats people.
 

kiltie

Practically Family
Messages
732
Location
lone star state
my conversion

After looking at this thread, I wanted to do something radical, too. I took an old Herbert Johnson...

homtwo.jpg


...and, voila!!! I came up with this...

newhom.jpg


A crummy fedora, but makes a perfect homburg, don't you think? Please, give me your honest opinion...
 

Marcus Brody

Familiar Face
Messages
68
Location
San Francisco
Welcome to the lounge Marcus!! I believe you will find quite a few people here that came from COW.
I'm aware that a lot of people here are from COW. Heck the admin is a veteran COW member and part of the Indy Gear staff and many of your vendors are started off at COW first.

Making fine old hats into indy copies used to be such a no-go
on this forum that it was practically an in joke.
There you go again saying it's an Indy copy. If it was an Indy copy then it would be a pretty bad one. The other 2 hats have distinctly Raiders like features down to the bash, but I did not do that to the homburg. If I wanted to I could also have replaced the ribbon too. Why don't you ask yourself why I didn't do that. It's because I respect this hat, but I don't think getting rid of the pencil roll is such an huge offense, it is something that can be replace. In addition, it's too tall to be a Raiders hat in the first place and it's not even brown.

Trying to make a Indy copy would have involved dyeing the felt, removing the ribbon, removing the sweatband, reblocking to regain some brim and lower the crown by .5", replacing the sweatband, replacing the sweatband, and removing the bound edge. You don't know what us crazy gear heads are possible of and you are specifically lucky I am not 3thoubucks from COW, because he wouldn't have batted an eye at doing what I just described in order to make an Indy copy.
 

AlanC

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,175
Location
Heart of America
Okay, let's tone down the rhetoric folks. We have a new member; let's welcome him. Marcus Brody--welcome!--but please also remember your manners.

People are welcome to disagree, but none are welcome to be disagreeable.
 

Marcus Brody

Familiar Face
Messages
68
Location
San Francisco
Yeah, they are a bit "samey", but it works for me and I like my hats fairly conservative in design. Doesn't get more classic than a plain black ribbon on gray fedora with a moderately sized crown and brim. The Barrister's a teeny bit more formal than the Dobbs and it has a bit more brim to it, and it's the only one with a proper snap brim. The Dobbs is softer and a bit smaller in scale, and its dimensional brim makes the brim look a bit more adventurish. On retrospect, I probably would have gone with a slightly narrower ribbon on the Dobbs, maybe a 1.25" or 1" as opposed to 1.5". I also maybe should have done the knots on the ribbons differently with the barrister having one with the fold facing out.

Optionally I can wear the homburg with the brim turned up still and the dents popped out (I only cold bashed it and the hat was very receptive to that). Just because I messed with the pencil roll doesn't mean it's completely gone. For the most part it had a fairly relaxed one in the first place. This is what it looks like with the brim turned up.
emersonhomburgfront.jpg
 
That's after the ironing job, right? You can see the issue i'm sure. The first photo has a pencil curl, and what looks to be a pretty standard one, at that:

emersonoriginal.jpg


You can't possibly think this looks the same:

emersonhomburgfront.jpg


As Feltfan pointed out, the result of your labours can be described as neither a homburg nor a fedora. It's kind of a mixed up mess somewhere between the two.

Doesn't get more classic than a plain black ribbon on gray fedora with a moderately sized crown and brim.

I agree. Though i prefer a higher crown, i think the major problem with many hats shown here and elsewhere is the brim being too wide for the wearer.

bk
 

Ande1964

Practically Family
Messages
556
Location
Kansas
Marcus,

Good work. In my opinion, if the adjustments you made to hats you own make you happy, more power to ya (to quote Briscoe Darling). I also think you look good in them.

And, speaking of homburgs, I have decided that this Cavanagh homburg doesn't work for me. As a result, I will be...

... selling it in the classifieds. ;)

Anj
 

Justdog

Practically Family
Messages
819
Location
North of 48
kiltie said:
After looking at this thread, I wanted to do something radical, too. I took an old Herbert Johnson...

homtwo.jpg


...and, voila!!! I came up with this...

newhom.jpg


A crummy fedora, but makes a perfect homburg, don't you think? Please, give me your honest opinion...

Very skillful
 

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