opinions on the Herbert Johnson Poet

[indybyrd24]

Is the Herbert Johnson Poet a good Indy hat? Any opinions?

[jnicktem]

Define "good."

[indyclone25]

i guess it's only as good as it makes you feel when you wear it?

[indybyrd24]

OK to define good...is it worth the money? Is it worth the 281. US dollars to drop on it? Am I just buying the HJ name or a worthy Indy fedora?

[jnicktem]

In many peoples' opinion, it is only worth that much for the name. If you want a good Indy fedora you should spend just a tad bit more and get something that will be worth it... like a Penman or even a rabbit AB ($300).

Pretty much everyone I know that has an HJ had to have work done on it to make it look like a good Indy fedora.

[indybyrd24]

Thanks a lot jnicktem! You just saved me some money!! I am just tore in between a Penman and a Steele and Jones LC. Just not sure still. I'd like to have a Penman, but the Steele and Jones looks good too.

[sammy]

go for the Penman.

[jnicktem]

When it comes to hats, please remember to consider more than what looks good. I have owned 6 Penmans- and that's because John makes some of the highest quality hats out there. John is very passionate about keeping the quality high in hat making- and to me that means a lot.

[fifthchamber]

Yup....Go for the Penman, unless you have ABSOLUTELY no more than the Steele and Jones would cost to cover for a hat...

Penman's prices are insane for the quality, and although higher than the Steele and Jones, and higher than a few others I could name, the Penman hat is also miles ahead in terms of quality....

Quite easily the Penman....No choice to make at all..

[indybyrd24]

Well I do a lot of stuff outdoors. I have an Akubra but I want something more SA than the Akubra. Thats why I want another hat that will take a beating something like my Akubra has if that makes sense.

[sammy]

Mar 11, 2012 23:35:58 GMT -5 indybyrd24 said:

Well I do a lot of stuff outdoors. I have an Akubra but I want something more SA than the Akubra. Thats why I want another hat that will take a beating something like my Akubra has if that makes sense.

I repeat...go for the Penman.

[indyclone25]

i may get chatised for saying this , but, and granted i haven't touched a penman but have only seen pics of the hats on people through out the different forums , this is my opinion ( please understand this) but many of the penman hats i have seen look large on people heads , i have even saved pictures from the different forums to prove my point , and i would say 8 out of 10 times the hat is way to big looking on people heads ,
fifthchamber : your hat looks good on you .
jnicktem : in your pic it looks a bit large.
but this could be the way the camera is taking the shot , i don't know . even my hats look different and we all know i own todd's hats . the downtowner looks better on me than say the uptowner , and in the new raiders its so- so , the hat look good in some pics and bad in others . that is why i look in the mirror when i put on my hat to see what i look like. like i said don't go all nuts on me , it was just my opinion. if you like the penman good for you . but i tend to like the downtowner , but most people don't like the stiffness.

[fifthchamber]

The whole point of the slightly older styled hats is that they are a touch more large to appearance on most people... Both in crown height, and in brim width... That's kind of what makes them stand out amongst the crowd of "ordinary" hats..

Indeed, THAT'S the very reason that the Indy style hat is so well loved, both by us here, and by the public at large... Because it's VERY standout... Not something to hide in a crowd with..

John most certainly isn't to blame for that... The hats he makes are among the best three-four I could find, and indeed, they beat off most other hatters BECAUSE they can be tailored to what you wish to wear, rather than just a "standard" hat that may or may not fit you well... It's a far more "personal" thing to buy and wear than most any other hat I've owned...

Face size and head size can certainly come into that and make the hat look smaller or larger.. But at the end of the day, that's what'll happen with one of the older styled hats that we here like so much... Not much can be done there, and indeed, if we DO want to "look like Indy", we have to accept that having a larger, taller, more boxed looking hat is the ONLY way to go (Unless we are ok with the Temple hat, in which case it differs a touch..)

I dunno....I think there can be no doubt that the Penman is the best choice here, short of an Adventurebilt (Or Deluxe), you WILL NOT find a hat better made FOR YOU..Simple as that...

Mark, honestly, I think if you bought a Penman, you'd see why we are all saying the same thing here... While Todd makes GREAT gear, the hats he makes aren't made to compete in the same market as the Penman, and while they may be "better" than an Akubra or a Dorfman, they aren't made to the same perfection as Penman Hats and the Adventurebilt selection...

Another thing to consider is the actual quality of the hat you buy, and it goes without saying that something handmade, by a man who KNOWS what he's doing will ALWAYS beat something machine made for a "general" size, and sewn together by people on a line.... No doubts there at all.. John's hats win hands down in both colouring, substance, and quality, and the stitch work on the ENTIRE hat is the best you'll find out there... From the bow, to the inside of the hat, he makes a PERFECT hat...

Nothing else to say...If you want a quality Indiana Jones hat, rather than something "close" or "cheap", you should choose the Penman...

(With one caveat, if people aren't looking for either of the above especially, then certainly, choosing an Akubra or a Todds would be the best selection by far.. Both of those are great for the cash, but both of those aren't a hair on a Penman... Trust me.. As someone who has owned and seen close up all the hats we're discussing, Penman is IT....)

And thanks for the "approval rating"..

[bigguedo]

My penman just came today made in beaver. A great quality hat and spending for something like this,is worth it. If you do get a penman,the wait is long. however,you will be so happy when you open that box and see it.
INDYCOLNE-I do get what your saying about the hat looking big. I think mine looks a little big on me. The hat harrison wore was custom for him and he may of had a bigger head then average(god knows my grand son does)so,on a smaller head,the hat could look bigger. Don't take this wrong,but i seen your pics and i think your hats look small on you. maybe a penman would look great on your head.The quality is amazing. Give one a shot and i think it will fit you great and you will be a happy man.

[indyclone25]

this is my (tall crown) downtowner version 1


downtowner version 2 (lower crown)


my uptowner ( which i do agree looks small on me now ,

[jnicktem]

It's tough to compare fifthchambers hat with mine- as they are two completely different hats. His is a CS and mine is a raiders- and the raiders hat had a larger brim than the CS.

Personally- I think if my raiders hat was any smaller it wouldn't suit me.

[niagrawhipco]

I had a Herbert Johnson Poet years ago and was never really happy with it. It was a decent hat, but like others have said here, it's more the name than anything else.

[fifthchamber]

Nick....

No comparison needs to be made mate.... I think Mark was speaking a little too bluntly for his own good perhaps? It's his own opinion, and not one I (nor many here I suspect, since we're all Indy fans) agree with...

A hats colour, shape, and the owners face can all play a role in making the hat seem "large" or "small", but the whole point of the Indy style Fedora is that it's a classic, wide brimmed, high topped hat... Not a more modern, smaller and more compact design... Your hats work on you mate, and look fine... Mine do on me as well...

And Mark, with all due respect, what you said was a little too blunt Sir.. I resented that comment and I'm sure I wasn't the only one... I know what you said wasn't meant to hurt anyone's feelings, but it offended me, even though you said mine was "ok" for me... I don't need to be justified by others... I wear the hats I wear because I love them, and think they suit me... And that's enough for me...

I also wouldn't comment on your choice in hats, although you could consider it safe to say that I've seen photos of yours where the hat looked smaller than it should be, and equally angles where it seemed much larger..... But here isn't the place to comment like that I feel... And I think you spoke in haste on that one somewhat...

If the Raiders hat was any smaller, it wouldn't be the "Raiders" hat...

Regards.

[indyclone25]

like i said before , i wasn't wasn't gonna be popular with what i said , but i stand by what i "think" , just as you think what you think.

[fifthchamber]

Yeah....I just choose to NOT say what I "think" out loud..Because sometimes it's offensive...

Ne?

[bendingoak]

Indyclone25, You are more than welcome for your opinion. I welcome it. Feed back is always welcome. In some cases you are right. Some hats look big on some. Sometimes its the arm length photos or the bathroom shots. Sometimes its that Im making a hat for someone I haven't seen their face. I think part of the problem is that you are used to Todd's hat and how it look to you. I think Todd's hat on you look way to small. You look like you are wearing your kids hat. I hope you don't mind my opinion.

[sammy]

granted i haven't touched a penman

If you ever do, you will be amazed! Big difference in the way it feels compared to Akubra or Todd's.

have only seen pics of the hats on people through out the different forums , this is my opinion ( please understand this) but many of the penman hats i have seen look large on people heads

Everyone's entitled to their opinion.

i have even saved pictures from the different forums to prove my point , and i would say 8 out of 10 times the hat is way to big looking on people heads

If you've saved the one picture of myself I posted in my Penman, please no shooting suction-cup darts at it. Admittedly, that hat looks too large for me because, well, it is too large for me. It's not my size but that's what I get for not double checking my hat size before bidding.

fifthchamber : your hat looks good on you.

Agreed.

jnicktem : in your pic it looks a bit large.

Disagree.

but this could be the way the camera is taking the shot , i don't know.

even my hats look different and we all know i own todd's hats .

the downtowner looks better on me than say the uptowner, and in the new raiders its so- so

Like I said, everyone's entitled to their opinion.

Takes courage to put yourself out there like that Indyclone and I don't think anyone would argue the fact that on some people's faces, some hats look large or small. It's just a matter of finding the right fit for your face. if that's what you're looking for. But in this case, the original author of this thread was asking whether or not he was getting a good deal on a Herbert Johnson, not whether or not it was too big or small for his face. Then he stated that he was torn between a Penman and a Steele&Jones and stipulated that he wanted something that was SA and durable. Since the dimensions of Todd's seem to be smaller than the actual HJ used in ROTLA, and since there isn't any field tested data in terms of durability, I believe it is safe to steer this person more towards the one hat that fits his criteria: a Penman.

[fifthchamber]

I've gotta say this, and it might be argued against, but I have to say that while I agree with "everyone being entitled to their own opinion", I still think we should all be a little more careful about voicing said opinion when it obviously hurts someone else's feelings....

Opinions are fine, and we do all have them, but sometimes, people (we respect) get hurt by what we say out loud, and we should all be making more of an attempt to not offend people... I've watched the idea grow that because opinions are an entitlement, so is voicing them above and beyond all sense... But the voicing of them should be tempered by our respect for those we like or call friends...

As soon as it isn't, we make enemies and lose respect... Which goes nowhere and does nothing but hurt and cause others to hurt us back....

Mark, your comments were badly voiced, backed up by a biased opinion and one that hasn't had the experience to comment in that fashion, and you said it so abrasively that you hurt people's feelings.... There's no need for that..

I also have opinions on things.... But sometimes, those opinions would hurt those I have them ABOUT, so I don't say them out loud.. That's called being respectful... And I gain by doing so... The fact that some (older than me indeed) haven't worked this basic rule of human relations out yet rather worries me....

On top of it all, Mark's comments were entirely uncalled for.... We were talking about Steele & Jones and Penman hats, not Todds, and not the size of the Indy hat.... So quite why you felt the need to jump up with your opinion is beyond me.

I agree with Sammy's comments above in the main, with the exception that "it takes courage to put yourself out there like Indyclone", it doesn't...What it takes is a lack of respect and a badly thought out idea backed by very little facts... We shouldn't commend that as being something to emulate...It isn't.

Let's draw a line here... Mark, an apology would be the decent thing to do Sir.. Before this goes on and causes more hurt....

Then we can stop this debate and answer the original damned question!

[indyclone25]

i do apoligize if i hurt anyones feelings , i didnt mean to put anyone down , but just making a point of what i saw in some pictures, hey whatever you want to get , it' s up to you , i like what i have , you will like what you have . so let's say that and it end's that .

[Pennsylvania Jones]

Mar 13, 2012 21:05:12 GMT -5 indyclone25 said:

i do apoligize if i hurt anyones feelings , i didnt mean to put anyone down , but just making a point of what i saw in some pictures, hey whatever you want to get , it' s up to you , i like what i have , you will like what you have . so let's say that and it end's that .

You handled it better than I did.

Steven