PB crown too tall? Whose fault was that, since Joe makes em' the height that you want em'...

Posted by Fedora from ppp-143.col.cableone.net on July 18, 2001 at 23:26:06:

In Reply to: My opinion. posted by Rundquist on July 18, 2001 at 20:58:21:

: I own or have owned a Miller, a Peter's Brothers, and a Lee Keppler hat. To me the Keppler hat has them all beat for the Raiders look. Of course, I'm not knocking any of the hats. They're all good quality. The Miller is in fact reigning champion (except for maybe a Herbie J) for the Crusade look. The PB is of the utmost quality. But I believe we are talking about the "Indy" raiders look and for that my vote goes to the Keppler. We'll disqualify the Miller right off the bat since you have one and it is never really in the running for a Raiders look. That leaves us with the PB, the Keppler, and the Fed. (which I don't own). The two reasons I choose the Keppler are: a) it looks the most right and b) you don't have to do a dang thing to it to achieve the look. In my opinion the PB has a crown that is just a little too high. I've looked at photos and compared them to the hat and it pains me to say that the crown is a little high. The ribbon that came with mine is also too narrow and not the right color for my taste. Mine is also stiff as cardboard. If you choose to get one, I recommend little to no hat stiffener. I also recommend getting as wide a brim as you can (within reason) to help offset the crown height. That being said, I recently saw one with some of those changes and it looked much better. The crown was still high for my taste, though. Lee Keppler's hat doesn't need any modifications. The color is right and the details are right. The hat is a soft beaver felt. I've heard some people (I don't think any of them actually have the hat) complain about a taper in the back of the crown. The Keppler hat looks much better in the back to me than the PB. It is very hard to explain why. The crown of the PB from a profile just doesn't look right. The ribbon of the Keppler is black. This is a point of debate, but I do know this. It looks more authentic than the shade of brown that came with my PB. I heard Joe is working on a new ribbon from someone on the forum so I'd definitely ask if I were to order one. I don't have a Federation. I hear it's a great hat and most definitely worth the price. I own a western Akubra and it's a great hat, so quality is not an issue. The thing about the Akubra is that you have to heavily modify it to get the look. A dimensionally cut brim is needed. A ribbon change is needed. And the color is a little dark for a raiders look. Of course this is only what I have heard. I may be 100% wrong. I'd start with Lee Keppler if I were you. Just my two cents. Happy Hat Hunting.

: xxxxxxxxx

:
: : I'm going on my fourth fedora but I wanted to consult all you guys first. My first one was a Disney fedora, second was the Indiana Miller, current one is a Stetson Temple. I want to make a better choice this time around. What do you think? I want to go for the Raiders look, either the scene where he fights the German mechanic, or the desert chase when he is driving the troop truck. What are some good fedora options for either of these two scenes? I definitely can't afford a Herbert Johnson. A Peter Bros.? A Lee Keppler? An Akruba Federation?

Really, you must have ordered the Patterson version. Now ole Patterson is a big guy, and this includes the size of his noggin. He requested the taller crown for the sake of proportion along with the brim width. On my head, size 71/4, the Patterson would be too tall. But you are correct about the PB being stiff, but, I like my hats to be a little stiff because they hold their shape much better over time. All that I have to go by in regards to the Keppler are the photos that I have seen. Many times photos don't do a fedora justice, but the slant on the pinch as viewed from the side of the Keppler is too severe-period. This tells me that this fedora does not have the correct block. Check out the hat worn by the Nazi in Cairo, the one with the open crown. Now that is what the Raiders hat has to be blocked like to create what we are looing for. But if you think your Keppler is dead on, that's great! The Keppler fedora reminds me of the Gary White fedora that I used to own, but at a much cheaper price. Well, to each his own. I would really love to see the Keppler fedora in hand, and I am still waiting for someone like myself who has owned many different fedoras to give us an appraisal, no disrespect to you. Best regards, Fedora

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That goes for me too! (nm) Indy30 05:24:01 7/19/2001 (0)

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: : I own or have owned a Miller, a Peter's Brothers, and a Lee Keppler hat. To me the Keppler hat has them all beat for the Raiders look. Of course, I'm not knocking any of the hats. They're all good quality. The Miller is in fact reigning champion (except for maybe a Herbie J) for the Crusade look. The PB is of the utmost quality. But I believe we are talking about the "Indy" raiders look and  for that my vote goes to the Keppler. We'll disqualify the Miller right off the bat since you have one and it  is never really in the running for a Raiders look. That leaves us with the PB, the Keppler, and the Fed. (which I don't own). The two reasons I choose the Keppler are: a) it looks the most right and b) you don't have to do a dang thing to it to achieve the look. In my opinion the PB has a crown that is just a little too high. I've looked at photos and compared them to the hat and it pains me to say that the crown is a little high. The ribbon that came with mine is also too narrow and not the right color for my taste. Mine is also stiff as cardboard. If you choose to get one, I recommend little to no hat stiffener. I also recommend getting as wide a brim as you can (within reason) to help offset the crown height. That being said, I recently saw one with some of those changes and it looked  much better. The crown was still high for my taste, though. Lee Keppler's hat doesn't need any modifications. The color is right and the details are right. The hat is a soft beaver felt. I've heard some people (I don't think any of them actually have the hat) complain about a taper in the back of the crown. The Keppler hat looks much better in the back to me than the PB. It is very hard to explain why. The crown of the PB from a profile just doesn't look right. The ribbon of the Keppler is black. This is a point of debate, but I do know this. It looks more authentic than the shade of brown that came with my PB. I heard Joe is working on a new ribbon from someone on the forum so I'd definitely ask if I were to order one. I don't have a Federation. I hear it's a great hat and most definitely worth the price. I own a western Akubra and it's a great hat, so quality is not an issue. The thing about the Akubra is that you have to heavily modify it to get the look. A dimensionally cut brim is needed. A ribbon change is needed. And the color is a little dark for a raiders look. Of course this is only what I have heard. I may be 100% wrong. I'd start with Lee Keppler if I were you. Just my two cents. Happy Hat Hunting.

: : xxxxxxxxx

: : 
: : : I'm going on my fourth fedora but I wanted to consult all you guys first. My first one was a Disney fedora, second was the Indiana Miller, current one is a Stetson Temple. I want to make a better choice this time around. What do you think? I want to go for the Raiders look, either the scene where he fights the German mechanic, or the desert chase when he is driving the troop truck. What are some good fedora options for either of these two scenes? I definitely can't afford a Herbert Johnson. A Peter Bros.? A Lee Keppler? An Akruba Federation?

:    Really, you must have ordered the Patterson version. Now ole Patterson is a big guy, and this includes the size of his noggin. He requested the taller crown for the sake of proportion along with the brim width. On my head, size 71/4, the Patterson would be too tall. But you are correct about the PB being stiff, but, I like my hats to be a little stiff because they hold their shape much better over time. All that I have to go by in regards to the Keppler are the photos that I have seen. Many times photos don't do a fedora justice, but the slant on the pinch as viewed from the side of the Keppler is too severe-period. This tells me that this fedora does not have the correct block. Check out the hat worn by the Nazi in Cairo, the one with the open crown. Now that is what the Raiders hat has to be blocked like to create what we are looing for. But if you think your Keppler is dead on, that's great! The Keppler fedora reminds me of the Gary White fedora that I used to own, but at a much cheaper price. Well, to each his own. I would really love to see the Keppler fedora in hand, and I am still waiting for someone like myself who has owned many different fedoras to give us an appraisal, no disrespect to you. Best regards, Fedora

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