kiltie
Practically Family
- Messages
- 732
- Location
- lone star state
I'm pretty excited about showing this. I know, in the HATS section, there exists the great merged crusher thread, but I want to see if I can get a sort of...more specific thread going over here in WWII where the interest may be a little more focused.
Today I received my Diamond Flighter, and I've got to say, "Holy moly!"
Objectively, it's pretty well made. The weight belies what looks to be pretty sturdy construction, when compared to handmade fedoras I have, and the materials are very nice indeed. Altogether, the guts look to match up to the Luxenburg I have ( see this thread - http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?49740-Crusher-Original-v.-Repro ).
Is it worth $300?
I think there're two answers to that, and again, objectively, the answer is 'no'. I mean, really: what are you gonna do with it?
SUBJECTIVELY: YES! - If you're looking for a mint condition WWII crusher, this is it. 100% authenticity you can wear without worrying about losing a piece of history if anything should happen to it, and nobody's gonna call you out for skimping on your kit. Moreover, it's handmade by a guy who clearly enjoys what he's doing, for people who are into this...stuff. And who can't get behind that? At the end of the day, it's always nice to support a craftsman who shares your interests, and doubly so if he's the best at what he does ( Lordy I want a Good Wear jacket!! ). THAT'S worth three hundred dollars, to me.
I didn't just pull the trigger all willy-nilly on this either. I'm not particularly flush with cash. But ultimately, I think it was a money saver. I'd already dropped seventy or so bones on the repro that Garcia is offering. Initially pretty cool, it never became more than a stop-gap. Then, there's the original I have. Of course, the best you can get, but at the risk of something happening to it, it sort of consumes your attention when you've got it out ( am I gonna hurt it? am I gonna lose it? ). Plus, you're not going to find a "straight from the tailor" crusher, anyway. Not for under $300, for sure.
I looked long and hard at the tropical Luxenburg Diamond offers - which is $75 cheaper - but decided that the OD would be better year round and for any uniform mixing and matching, even though I can go tropical nearly all year long.
And the Knox repro also came in under three bills, but just didn't look like it would sit back on the head the right way ( winkie smiley ). So, the Filghter it is. The OD Flighter, I believe, typically comes with the over-sized eagle device, but I asked for the more understated option ( which, incidentally, is the only thing I would call substandard about this cap, though still better than the staybrite crap on most repros. I would suggest scoring a real one, as I intend to do. ).
I really dig the contrasting thread; a slightly lighter OD.
Ah... so to make a long post a tad longer, the only other thing I seriously looked at was the crusher that WWII Impressions offers.
http://www.wwiiimpressions.com/images/PICT1858.JPG
It comes in at $160, I think. I'd be interested to see it if anybody has one. Also, if anyone has a Lancaster, maybe?
Really, I'd like to share this thread with anyone else who has any make of Diamond ( or even has pics not available on Diamond's website ), Lancaster, WWII Impressions, or any sort of "higher end" reproduction.
With regards to the question I asked earlier: What are you going to do with it, really? My answer is, Ive already resolved to put it on any time I might otherwise put on a baseball cap ( okay, okay - 50 per cent of those times, for sure...).
Today I received my Diamond Flighter, and I've got to say, "Holy moly!"
Objectively, it's pretty well made. The weight belies what looks to be pretty sturdy construction, when compared to handmade fedoras I have, and the materials are very nice indeed. Altogether, the guts look to match up to the Luxenburg I have ( see this thread - http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?49740-Crusher-Original-v.-Repro ).
Is it worth $300?
I think there're two answers to that, and again, objectively, the answer is 'no'. I mean, really: what are you gonna do with it?
SUBJECTIVELY: YES! - If you're looking for a mint condition WWII crusher, this is it. 100% authenticity you can wear without worrying about losing a piece of history if anything should happen to it, and nobody's gonna call you out for skimping on your kit. Moreover, it's handmade by a guy who clearly enjoys what he's doing, for people who are into this...stuff. And who can't get behind that? At the end of the day, it's always nice to support a craftsman who shares your interests, and doubly so if he's the best at what he does ( Lordy I want a Good Wear jacket!! ). THAT'S worth three hundred dollars, to me.
I didn't just pull the trigger all willy-nilly on this either. I'm not particularly flush with cash. But ultimately, I think it was a money saver. I'd already dropped seventy or so bones on the repro that Garcia is offering. Initially pretty cool, it never became more than a stop-gap. Then, there's the original I have. Of course, the best you can get, but at the risk of something happening to it, it sort of consumes your attention when you've got it out ( am I gonna hurt it? am I gonna lose it? ). Plus, you're not going to find a "straight from the tailor" crusher, anyway. Not for under $300, for sure.
I looked long and hard at the tropical Luxenburg Diamond offers - which is $75 cheaper - but decided that the OD would be better year round and for any uniform mixing and matching, even though I can go tropical nearly all year long.
And the Knox repro also came in under three bills, but just didn't look like it would sit back on the head the right way ( winkie smiley ). So, the Filghter it is. The OD Flighter, I believe, typically comes with the over-sized eagle device, but I asked for the more understated option ( which, incidentally, is the only thing I would call substandard about this cap, though still better than the staybrite crap on most repros. I would suggest scoring a real one, as I intend to do. ).
I really dig the contrasting thread; a slightly lighter OD.
Ah... so to make a long post a tad longer, the only other thing I seriously looked at was the crusher that WWII Impressions offers.
http://www.wwiiimpressions.com/images/PICT1858.JPG
It comes in at $160, I think. I'd be interested to see it if anybody has one. Also, if anyone has a Lancaster, maybe?
Really, I'd like to share this thread with anyone else who has any make of Diamond ( or even has pics not available on Diamond's website ), Lancaster, WWII Impressions, or any sort of "higher end" reproduction.
With regards to the question I asked earlier: What are you going to do with it, really? My answer is, Ive already resolved to put it on any time I might otherwise put on a baseball cap ( okay, okay - 50 per cent of those times, for sure...).
Last edited:
