Hello & a few questions!

Total_BullWhip

New member
I'm very new to the forum but have been a long time reader. Love the films and have taken it upon myself to start a small prop collection in homage to my childhood hero. Harrison Ford, like every hero type men want to be him and wives also want their husbands him!

I Recently acquired an indy style jacket and was wanting opinions on weathering techniques if anyone has done it with lamb before.

It's a USWINGS Lightweight Lambskin and it was an xxl but I gave it the washing machine warm and dryer warm treatment to shrink the jacket to a size in between XL and XXL... fits great now very happy. Was curious on how to age it... I'm planning on wetting the sleeves again and wearing them rolled up to get that nice striated sleeve look, just didn't how know how to go about aging everything else..

I also have a Akubra Adventurer on its way(much to the dismay of the wife) and wanted to know how you gentleman got rid of that boring flat felt new look. I want this thing bashed and dirty but still presentable for daily wear. It isn't going to be a hat on a stand kinda prop.

I also made a whip holder and learned how to crack a whip! I love learning new skills just didn't think leather worker would be one of them!

Hope some of you can help! I'm excited to be posting here the first time and very excited to hear what everyone thinks... I'll post a few pics of gear, including my now extreme taper Dorfman! Thanks! :)

IMG_20141023_200159599.jpg


IMG_20141023_200606857.jpg


IMG_20141022_121129793_HDR.jpg


IMG-20141019-WA0001.jpg


IMG_20141025_035718.jpg


IMG_20141018_111228123_HD_edit_1414224406355.jpg
 

HenryJunior

New member
Haven't done much with leather but here's some basic advice:

The best way to weather clothes in my experience is by natural causes, but sped up a bit. Go find some dirt and go rolling around in it while wearing it. It's very important that you wear the clothes while weathering, so that the worn-out areas arise naturally (elbows/ shoulders). Exercise caution of course, try not to deliberately puncture the material or tear the seams, especially the inside liner, otherwise.... bad times :p

Dirt is a truly magical thing, rub it in and if you don't like it, wipe it away. :D

Something I've had plenty of experience with is my very own Akubra FED4. The basic rule is to beat the hell out of it. By all means start slow, you don't want to do any permanent damage, but you should be surprised by how much torture these can take. For my FED4, I wadded it up in a ball in my hands, sat on it, threw it around, stomped on it in the dirt and sweat in it as much as I could in it. After all that beating, yes it actually looks better to me. Be careful, repeated wear in the same spot will weaken felt, which is why some people get holes in daily use. (beware tight pinching)

Also, I believe the Adventurer has a cloth liner, so be wary. Where the two pieces of cloth are supposed to be glued together in my liner, they got uh... un-glued on mine :dead:. I can fix it but it is potentially disheartening.

Using water in shaping and conditioning is incredibly risky, it can shrink or possibly warp it, leave that to professionals who use steam for resizing etc. :p. IMO, don't do it. If you get caught in rain, no worries, flip it upside down and put it in a hat holder or box (leave it open). I would probably open up the bash because drying water will more permanently set in any shapes in the felt.

Again, dirt is magic. It really helped get the right color to come out in my hat. To clean off excess dirt I use a dry brown rag (so that I don't accidentally get the wrong color fibers on it) and wipe in a clockwise direction.

Nice whip-holder! Hope my comments were helpful.
 

Total_BullWhip

New member
So in regards to the bash on the hat. I'm probably gonna try to rock a Raiders...

Does that mean that I shape it dry, no steam, then open it back if I go venture in the rain?

For the comment on the holder... Quite proud if it haha!

There is also (from what I can tell) no filler between the very noisey polyester liner and the outer shell of the jacket. Might get the liner changed and a thin filler put in
 

HenryJunior

New member
I think the only real advantage steam has is that when it drys it will more quickly lock in the bash. Or you can be patient for a day or two and reinforce the bash with your hands and you'll be fine.

The felt on my Akubra isn't nearly as stiff as the on screen-hat so my bash is a bit more Last-crusade with a tighter pinch (and no turn really).

Steam isn't gonna hurt the hat, I think what I was warning against was actually wetting the felt with water, you don't need that much influence on the felt :D

With Steam by David Morgan

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6teKY8gGHfM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Without by John Penman

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ozJKQVCgeZ4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

These are two very different hats, but the Penman vid is a great walk-though on the Raiders bash.

Penman hats have a much stiffer felt as you can probably tell, so your results might not be quite that quick, but trust me it'll happen.

Also thank you for not ordering your hat with the bash. Bashing your hat is a personal touch, not a service. Plus you can make sure it truly looks how you want it to :D

And yeah the idea is on a soaked hat from rain, return it to an open crown so that you don't get any bad warping. Then when it's dry, put back in the bash. Most likely the felt will still "want" to go back to the old shape.
 

Drones33

New member
Welcome aboard. Nice whip holder. You must post a few pics of your weathered jacket and your Akubra when it arrives (y)
 

jsarino

New member
Good work on your gear so far! I'd like to see the progress on your jacket as you age it. I'm sort of in the same boat myself, as I'd like to accelerate the aging on my Todd's jacket. It'd be cool to see your Akubra when you get that. :)

HenryJunior said:
Something I've had plenty of experience with is my very own Akubra FED4. The basic rule is to beat the hell out of it. By all means start slow, you don't want to do any permanent damage, but you should be surprised by how much torture these can take. For my FED4, I wadded it up in a ball in my hands, sat on it, threw it around, stomped on it in the dirt and sweat in it as much as I could in it. After all that beating, yes it actually looks better to me. Be careful, repeated wear in the same spot will weaken felt, which is why some people get holes in daily use. (beware tight pinching)

I've been wary about beating the hell out of my Fed IV Deluxe myself, but if your Fed IV can take a licking, maybe I should just suck it up and do it to my hat. The other thing I've been trying to do with mine was get a more pronounced swoop on the brim from the front, and noticeable swoop upwards on the sides. I guess I need to shape it more regularly to get the look I want. Do you have any pics of your Fed IV posted somewhere?
 

HenryJunior

New member
I don't have any formal pictures with it, but here's some screen caps from my fan film (boy scout Indy costume)

capcap2_zpsfb556e3d.jpg


capcap1_zps386fc6a8.jpg


Yeah do be careful, you can risk messing with the liner. If you have the deluxe version though you should be good to go, give it a little tough love and dirt. I have a very light sandy dirt here in Arizona, I think it really helped improve the color contrast of the felt and ribbon.

The instinct is to baby these, but getting rid of that factory new look makes it look so much more legit.
 

Total_BullWhip

New member
HenryJunior said:
The instinct is to baby these, but getting rid of that factory new look makes it look so much more legit.

I whole heatedly agree. I'm excited to try and give my Adventurer the ol' kick through the sand.

The jacket I'm still fearful off. I'll give it a go anyway and see how it turns out..


I'll get pics posted when it arrives (Thursday) any hints on how to accomplish the "Indy turn" is appreciated.
 

jsarino

New member
@HenryJunior--looks like your brim has about the same amount of swooping as mine, but yours has more character thanks to that Arizona dust. (y) I also pinched the top of my crown a bit more.

@Total_BullWhip--on the "Indy turn", I managed to shape where I pull down on the front part of the brim, and I made the habit of putting on the hat much like HF did, holding the pinch and tucking down more to my right of the front of the brim. Now, if I can get more swoop on the sides... :D
 

Total_BullWhip

New member
It Arrived!

This is the open crown... Straight out the box onto my head
IMG_20141030_111938759_HDR.jpg


Then I tried to bash with no steam..
IMG_20141030_112346297_HDR.jpg


Came out okay so I decided to tighten up the bash and then do my best to apply the turn and the slight up turn along the sides and back edge.
IMG_20141030_112735203.jpg


And here are a few natural light pictures so you can judge color and texture...
IMG_20141030_113752584.jpg


IMG_20141030_113747121_HDR.jpg



IMG_20141030_113824891.jpg



Hope you like my pictures! And put up with my ugly mug... But I generally think it's hard to judge a hats shape and size without it on a head!... Glad I chose the wider brimmed adventurer. If it was any shorter I would have a complex that th front brim wasn't bent over enough and would end up pulling it all day. If push comes to shove and I end up wanting a narrower brim... I can cut it! Can always take away... Cannot add.

Thanks guys! Hopefully I've done you proud ha!
 

jsarino

New member
Pretty good hat shaping so far! If you keep shaping it, you'll eventually get the turn the way you want it. :)
 

Drones33

New member
Looks tremendous so far. The great thing about the hat, and the jacket, is that the more you wear it, the better it'll look.(y)
 
Top