Penman Hat Co.'s Screen Accurate Handmade Indy Fedora

Johnny Fedora

New member
Hey everybody! For those who don't know I'm Johnny Fedora over at CoW, and I've had this hat for about oh...a month now. I just wanted to review my new beaver Indy lid, hand made by John Penman. Anyway the Penman hat is too cool and uses the...well read on...

NewLid1.jpg

I thought I would start with some pictures and then get to a proper review. Everybody ready? Then lets go...
NewLidPacking.jpg

NewLidLogos.jpg

NewLid4.jpg

NewLid3.jpg

NewLid2.jpg

NewLidBow.jpg


Ok. Review time kids! (and oh yeah, this is my original review from CoW)
First, I want to thank John yet again for making me a terrific Raiders fedora! It's exactly what I wanted and pictured in my head. It's perfect in everyway, and could only ever be surpassed (and I hope you'll forgive me for this John...by my Magnoli/AdventureBilt/Herbert Johnson, but then you of all people know how much I love that hat :eek:ops: ) At the same time, this hat, the hat you've made for me, will go on adventures that particular rabbit can't go, and will take on a life of it's own. Again, thank you sir.:)
Ok, let?s see...where to start...ok, what I ordered.
I ordered a Penman Hat Co. Fedora in Indy Brown, styled in the manner of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Now, after talking at length with John about style, I found that he and I share a somewhat similar view on the style elements that make a great Raiders fedora, and so I simply asked John for his best Raiders fedora, and that?s what I received.
First, I gotta' say I loved the packaging. Now, I can't remember if John told me he was going to use the logo on a custom printed box, but it certainly was fun to see when it arrived. It was also fun to open up the box and find not only my hat but the pamphlet, and several business cards to boot. On a personal note, it was a thrill to pull away the plastic and see the bicycle logo in gold against white satin on the liner. John wanted something very "Him" to represent The Penman Hat Co. and I wanted something very old fashioned, that I could believe "could" have been on the liner of Indiana Jones' actual hat. I think we nailed both requirements, and finally being able to see it in person, in a hat, well, that was cool moment.
Ok, on to the hat. Wow! Is that soft! I knew going into it that being beaver, it wouldn't be as floppy as my rabbit hat, but I was unprepared for how buttery soft the feel of the felt is. I don't even want to know how long you spend pouncing this felt; I just know that it feels great!
The fit is spot on with a bit of play in the sweatband for it to shrink to fit. By the way, I did check out the stitching and it's really fine, nice work.
Color. At first, I was a little concerned that the hat looked just a bit too dark. Until I saw it outside. In sunlight, it warms right up to an awesome shade of brown with a touch of red; just like the felt of an Adventurebilt hat (in fact, if anyone out there that has an Adventurebilt and a Penman, could you compare felt thickness and color between the two. I have a feeling the felts might turn out to be closer than anybody suspects. Perhaps even the same?) Not only that, but as I understand it, this color was chosen as it would also mellow and lighten slightly with age into the perfect shade brown seen in Raiders.
And speaking of the perfect shade of brown, let's move on to the ribbon and bow. Perfect! The bow is awesome and John, I think you nailed it! It looks as if it could have been on Harrison's fedora as opposed to mine. The ribbon is a thing of beauty. Dark almost black, brown. It's just dead right, and it's exactly the same ribbon as on my Mags HJ. The only thing I can assume is that somehow you actually sourced the vintage ribbon just as Steve and Marc did. That's really the only answer, and bravo to you for finding it. I'll bet that was a real pain to track down. Good Indy hats are often brought down by a crappy ribbon, and your hats, made with that ribbon, puts you in an exclusive club with Steve and Marc being the only other members.
Block. Here is another area in which the Penman hat excels. Now, I've been wearing and scrutinizing this hat since receiving it and the only conclusion I can reach regarding the block shape of this hat is that it shares the same block shape, quirks and all, with my Mags/AB/HJ. A hat that was made using Steve's old Raiders block.
So...let's see, Adventurebilt felt? Vintage HJ ribbon? Oh yeah, same block shape as my HJ? No wonder it's a great hat, it's practically an Adventurebilt. But that stuff is only part of what makes a great hat. The rest, the craftsmanship, is all John. He put it together with all the care and attention to detail that I would expect from a hatter of no less than Steve and Marc's prowess, and I would easily throw this hat into the ring as a true successor to Adventurebilt USA when Steve retires. Not bad for a hatter who made his first hat in May!

To sum up...


Dutch_jones said:
so its basically an Adventurebilt at the old price withouth 12 month wait?
Dang ! People shouldbe all over this!
No kidding. My guess here is that John won't officialy go one hundred percent on record with alot of the details that go into this hat out of his (very well placed) respect for his mentors/teachers. Two master hatters who have helped guide him in his new venture and aided him every step of the way (except with sourcing the ribbon. That, I think they made him do on his own). But as a customer providing a review to my community I have to call a spade a spade (hopfully John will forgive my observations :eek:ops: ), when I say that the Penman Hat Co. is truly turning out a product that is (and read this carefully) second only to Adventurebilt, and the only thing that seperates the two companies is the name and expertise of Steve and Marc. With all due respect to all of COW's hatters, Adventurebilt has been the gold standard in our hobby (and even my beloved HJ was hand made by Steve Delk), and The Penman Hat Co. is it's child. Felt, sweat, ribbon and blockshapes don't lie. If you can afford an Adventurebilt buy one (I keep trying to save for one myself), but if you can't, by a Penman. The value is almost prepostrus. John's skills has a hatter are growing, and the materials he's using are in the opinion of this reviewer, the exact same materials and tools (AB's original blocks) as go into a hat made by Steve Delk (Marc's materials are of course diffrent).
Somthing else to take into concideration, Fedora has said this about making the hats for Indiana V...
Fedora said:
If there was to be another film, I am NOT interested. We made the CS fedora. Let another hatter get some perks.
Now Bernie has said that one of the reasons he went with AB was that they were stateside, John is not only stateside but on the west coast. With his proximity to LA, the same felt (which Bernie loved), same ribbon, nearly the same blockshape (the CS block is somewhat diffrent), and the help and instruction of the two men who made the CS fedora, who else might make the next lid for Indiana Jones? :whip: Food for thought.
 

Johnny Fedora

New member
Actually that might be the pics that I tinkered with (size wise) to make them work for message boards. ;) The crown is dead on at 5 1/4 in the front and 4 1/2 in the back (actually I lowered the back just a touch, just my taste).

Johnny
 
Really nice!! How long did it take to ship after you ordered? I bought a Peter Bros. Fedora and it took about 10-12 weeks. My crown is to thin and tall and I'm thinking about selling it and buying one of these or a different sized Peter Bros.
 

Johnny Fedora

New member
Don't get a Peter's Brothers!:gun: Wrong Block shape, felt and ribbon.(n) The turn-around time on a Penman Hat co. hat is only about 2-3 months, but that's a compleatly hand made hat like an Adventurebilt or Adventurebilt Deluxe (they're both over a year wait time now). There's only three hatters currently making 100% screen accruate Indiana Jones fedoras.

1: Steve Delk of Adventurebilt.(y) Steve makes The Adventureblit Fedora. The actual hat on Harrison's head in Crystal Skull. He also hand makes the Magnoli Herbert Johnson.

2: Marc Kitter of Adventurebilt Delux.(y) He also provided hats for Harrison in Crystal Skull.

3: And John Penman of The Penman Hat Co.(y) He didn't provide hats for Harrison Ford (Not yet anyways...;) ). But he does share the same felt as Steve's hats, the same original vintage ribbon (that ONLY Steve, Mark, and John can get! Not even HJ has this ribbon anymore!) and his hats are made using Steve's original Raiders blocks.

Current wait-times and cost break down.

Adventurebilt: (Handmade, 100% Beaver, the original Crystal Skull hat) Over a year wait time...$400.00

Magnoli Herbert Johnson (Handmade, 100% Rabbit, like the original Raiders hat): 2-3 months...$340.00...I love this hat too!:D

Adventurbilt Deluxe: (Handmade, 100% Beaver, the original Crystal Skull hat) Over a year wait time...$506.00

Adventurebilt Henry (Factory made, 20% Beaver): a month or two (? still gearing up)...$228.59

Peter's Bros: (?, 100% Beaver, diffrent block, wrong ribbon) 10-12 weeks...$405.00

The Penman Hat: (Handmade, 100% Beaver, Steve's felt, Steve and Marc's Ribbon) 2-3 months...$275.00

What do you think?;)

Johnny
 
I'll post some pics. of my Peter Bros. It's a very nice hat. It was handmade, and is rabbit fur and only cost $220. I'm pleased with the way the hat came out but the crown seems alittle to tall and thin. I'll post pics later and you guys can decide.(y)
 

Mr. Fusion

Member
Nice lookin' lid.(y) I'd love to have one of John's hats. I'm not a member of COW, but John and I are both members of the Indy Lounge. His hats are rather fantastic. Congrats!
 

lazarus_arkane

New member
very nice hat, would love to have one, but it is, as well as the others you mentioned above, to be a tad bit out of my price range.

a month ago i bought the christy's london fur felt adventurer, which i wouldn't recommend. i found the brim to be entirely too floppy, just goes flapping around anytime a decent wind starts to blow. then i've heard that there are some who like the floppy brim, but just not for me.

the next hat i'm about to purchase which seems to be of good quality and within my price range is the akubra federation IV. hopefully i'll have better luck with this one.

who knows, maybe one day, one of these wonderful high end quality hats will be within my grasp. one that will actualy last a while. working on a horse ranch, i could really use a hat that can take a beating and keep on truckin.
 

Dr. Wolfwood

New member
lazarus_arkane said:
a month ago i bought the christy's london fur felt adventurer

...

the next hat i'm about to purchase which seems to be of good quality and within my price range is the akubra federation IV.

Now I see how you are making your wife crazy... :D
 

lazarus_arkane

New member
*laughs* well, the part that drives my wife crazy is when i talk about the movies, the video games and the like. i talk about it so often that she has given me the nickname *indy*, and i'm not complaining about that. :D

She doesn't mind that i'm getting another hat, she thinks i look great in a fedora. The only thing she said about getting a new hat is that i had to promise the hat would NOT be brown or sable. I have 2 brown wool felt fedora's, and a sable fur felt. and my vintage royal stetson fur felt that i found in an antique shop. so i think my next hat will be either carbon grey or moonstone.
 

penman hats

New member
hat

I just wanted to share a pic or two with everyone. JF wanted that crease job to his Indy hat I made for him.

He is what most of my Raiders look like

DSC00957.jpg


A grey Raiders

IMG_0399.jpg
 

lazarus_arkane

New member
I just ordered a Penman!!

.....but now the pain of having to wait for it begins :(

though its worth it, especially with it being handmade. :D
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
Penman Fedoras

From Ravener's experience (and yes I saw the brief, old thread of Penman displaying one of his early hats, but that's it), how good are Penman Indy hats? They seem to be close to the film hats in experience, I'm asking more how they feel? Also, is Beaver Felt or Rabbit felt more comfortable, and which is closer to the Indy felt?
 
Last edited:

Sharkey

Guest
Here's one you may have missed:

Johnny Fedora said:
Hey everybody! For those who don't know I'm Johnny Fedora over at CoW, and I've had this hat for about oh...a month now. I just wanted to review my new beaver Indy lid, hand made by John Penman. Anyway the Penman hat is too cool and uses the...well read on...

NewLid1.jpg

I thought I would start with some pictures and then get to a proper review. Everybody ready? Then lets go...
NewLidPacking.jpg

NewLidLogos.jpg

NewLid4.jpg

NewLid3.jpg

NewLid2.jpg

NewLidBow.jpg


Ok. Review time kids! (and oh yeah, this is my original review from CoW)
First, I want to thank John yet again for making me a terrific Raiders fedora! It's exactly what I wanted and pictured in my head. It's perfect in everyway, and could only ever be surpassed (and I hope you'll forgive me for this John...by my Magnoli/AdventureBilt/Herbert Johnson, but then you of all people know how much I love that hat :eek:ops: ) At the same time, this hat, the hat you've made for me, will go on adventures that particular rabbit can't go, and will take on a life of it's own. Again, thank you sir.:)
Ok, let’s see...where to start...ok, what I ordered.
I ordered a Penman Hat Co. Fedora in Indy Brown, styled in the manner of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Now, after talking at length with John about style, I found that he and I share a somewhat similar view on the style elements that make a great Raiders fedora, and so I simply asked John for his best Raiders fedora, and that’s what I received.
First, I gotta' say I loved the packaging. Now, I can't remember if John told me he was going to use the logo on a custom printed box, but it certainly was fun to see when it arrived. It was also fun to open up the box and find not only my hat but the pamphlet, and several business cards to boot. On a personal note, it was a thrill to pull away the plastic and see the bicycle logo in gold against white satin on the liner. John wanted something very "Him" to represent The Penman Hat Co. and I wanted something very old fashioned, that I could believe "could" have been on the liner of Indiana Jones' actual hat. I think we nailed both requirements, and finally being able to see it in person, in a hat, well, that was cool moment.
Ok, on to the hat. Wow! Is that soft! I knew going into it that being beaver, it wouldn't be as floppy as my rabbit hat, but I was unprepared for how buttery soft the feel of the felt is. I don't even want to know how long you spend pouncing this felt; I just know that it feels great!
The fit is spot on with a bit of play in the sweatband for it to shrink to fit. By the way, I did check out the stitching and it's really fine, nice work.
Color. At first, I was a little concerned that the hat looked just a bit too dark. Until I saw it outside. In sunlight, it warms right up to an awesome shade of brown with a touch of red; just like the felt of an Adventurebilt hat (in fact, if anyone out there that has an Adventurebilt and a Penman, could you compare felt thickness and color between the two. I have a feeling the felts might turn out to be closer than anybody suspects. Perhaps even the same?) Not only that, but as I understand it, this color was chosen as it would also mellow and lighten slightly with age into the perfect shade brown seen in Raiders.
And speaking of the perfect shade of brown, let's move on to the ribbon and bow. Perfect! The bow is awesome and John, I think you nailed it! It looks as if it could have been on Harrison's fedora as opposed to mine. The ribbon is a thing of beauty. Dark almost black, brown. It's just dead right, and it's exactly the same ribbon as on my Mags HJ. The only thing I can assume is that somehow you actually sourced the vintage ribbon just as Steve and Marc did. That's really the only answer, and bravo to you for finding it. I'll bet that was a real pain to track down. Good Indy hats are often brought down by a crappy ribbon, and your hats, made with that ribbon, puts you in an exclusive club with Steve and Marc being the only other members.
Block. Here is another area in which the Penman hat excels. Now, I've been wearing and scrutinizing this hat since receiving it and the only conclusion I can reach regarding the block shape of this hat is that it shares the same block shape, quirks and all, with my Mags/AB/HJ. A hat that was made using Steve's old Raiders block.
So...let's see, Adventurebilt felt? Vintage HJ ribbon? Oh yeah, same block shape as my HJ? No wonder it's a great hat, it's practically an Adventurebilt. But that stuff is only part of what makes a great hat. The rest, the craftsmanship, is all John. He put it together with all the care and attention to detail that I would expect from a hatter of no less than Steve and Marc's prowess, and I would easily throw this hat into the ring as a true successor to Adventurebilt USA when Steve retires. Not bad for a hatter who made his first hat in May!

To sum up...



No kidding. My guess here is that John won't officialy go one hundred percent on record with alot of the details that go into this hat out of his (very well placed) respect for his mentors/teachers. Two master hatters who have helped guide him in his new venture and aided him every step of the way (except with sourcing the ribbon. That, I think they made him do on his own). But as a customer providing a review to my community I have to call a spade a spade (hopfully John will forgive my observations :eek:ops: ), when I say that the Penman Hat Co. is truly turning out a product that is (and read this carefully) second only to Adventurebilt, and the only thing that seperates the two companies is the name and expertise of Steve and Marc. With all due respect to all of COW's hatters, Adventurebilt has been the gold standard in our hobby (and even my beloved HJ was hand made by Steve Delk), and The Penman Hat Co. is it's child. Felt, sweat, ribbon and blockshapes don't lie. If you can afford an Adventurebilt buy one (I keep trying to save for one myself), but if you can't, by a Penman. The value is almost prepostrus. John's skills has a hatter are growing, and the materials he's using are in the opinion of this reviewer, the exact same materials and tools (AB's original blocks) as go into a hat made by Steve Delk (Marc's materials are of course diffrent).
Somthing else to take into concideration, Fedora has said this about making the hats for Indiana V...

Now Bernie has said that one of the reasons he went with AB was that they were stateside, John is not only stateside but on the west coast. With his proximity to LA, the same felt (which Bernie loved), same ribbon, nearly the same blockshape (the CS block is somewhat diffrent), and the help and instruction of the two men who made the CS fedora, who else might make the next lid for Indiana Jones? :whip: Food for thought.
 
Last edited:

Mickiana

Well-known member
I got the Akubra Federation Deluxe and it's a good hat, but John's Raiders hat is spot on. The shape, the colour, the style, it's all great. I've just got to rough it up now.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
Raiders112390 said:
yes I saw the brief, old thread
Merged.

There is no such thing as an old thread. Here's how online forums work: you post something, and then it stays on the internet forever. Because someone may wish to reply 23 years later.
 
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