Adventurebilt hats - anyone ordered from?

Panamabob said:

If there's a nicer man on Earth than Marc, I'd like to meet him.

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Thats kinda the pot calling the kettle... aint it???

Graemsay said:

My brother and I are both waiting on Adventurebilt Deluxes from Marc. The orders were place in Spring (April and May respectively, I think) last year, and are slowly making their way through the queue.

He asked for measurements a few weeks ago, so I think that we're getting towards delivery.

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So am i. I ordered mine end of May last year, and Marc recently informed me that work on my hat should be this winter. November/December hopefully.

Looking very much forward to receiving it. Hopefully his new hatboxes should also be available at that time.

Hello peeps. I've just read through the entire forum issue here and the thing discussed most here is the long wait time caused by the many that have ordered a fedora from mr. Delk. Well, that wait time is also caused by the weather, cause high humidity is something you don't want with hat making. When I asked Steve about the delayed delivery time of my hat, this was what he said about it:
"Hi. I am finished with the hat. All of that rain we got for the last two weeks has been the holdup. I don't make hats when the humidity is high, like when it rains. Others do, I refuse to do so because this will cause the hat to taper prematurely. Also, I have to have 8 hours of no rain for my naptha based water and stain repellant to dry. (the fumes will kill ya) And that is what I am waiting on now, for the rain to move out. It is supposed to do so late today, which means I can treat the hat and mail it late Friday."

So before mailing him to often, consider there's a lot more to deal with in hat-making then just the amount of orders. His delivery times might be half of what the are now if the sun was shining all day long. Steve is a professional hatmaker that won't go for a quick buck to earn. When you order from him, you order quality, nothing more nothing less and quality takes time. For me the wait is almost over now

And well worth the wait!

I can attest to the rain,and to the quality of the AB hats. I spent the weekend in Oxford, MS, just up from Mr. Delk's hometown of Columbus, MS. On Friday I got caught in a good old-fashioned Mississipppi downpour while wearing my Adventurebilt hat. It took a good soaking, but kept my head dry. October set an all-time record for rainfall in northern Mississippi!

Cheers,

RC

That was very interesting thanks for the post .

Sounds like Mr. Delk could use a dehumidifier and air filtration system. It's not that big of a hassle if you know where to look for the equipment and how to do basic house project types of tasks. I would also recommend a humidity meter (I forget what they're called) and a thermometer. You can fine tune your interior environment to exactly how you want it...year round.

That might be a small issue for his long wait and I do mean small. last year he had a record amount of orders. Thats the big reason for the long wait. Yes he does everything possible to give you the best hat possible. I also know how many hats he makes per week and it is amazing. He works very long days. many more than he should but he does it. He makes by hand more than any 3 -4 handmade hatters.

Interesting about the humidity problems.

For beaver hats using the same Winchester felt as the Adventurebilt. Do Art Fawcett and Buckaroo Hatters have these issues preventing them from making hats, too? I've seen some great Vintage Silhouettes being posted but I wonder that the weather might be affecting them all? Though, now that I think about it, Major Moore's been delivering hats as well, recently. Maybe that humidity will die down soon and get Adventurebilts back in production for those who've been waiting so long.

Again I will state that its a small issue. He can work on other parts of the hats. prep the felt, prep and put together ribbon ( bow ) and cut and sew sweats together while waiting. Its not like he sits there and does nothing. Lets be clear.

Long wait time - Order placed March 11th 2008

Hey guys,

I've been reading this forum over the past year or so and I just wanted to add that I placed my order for my Indiana Jones Crystal Skull fedora on March 11th of 2008 and STILL haven't received my hat. About 6 months ago I received a reply from Steve saying he was "around 2 months from making the hat" but I'm still waiting. So I'm starting to get really worried since its now been around 22 months since my order now, which seems like forever. Perhaps mine was lost in the mail or maybe he lost my order, I dont know, but there seem to be members on here who've received their hats already even tho their orders were placed after mine.

Has anyone tried calling Steve directly? There is a number on the adventurebilt site but I'm afriad to bug him. Just wish I knew what was up and how much longer I have to wait. Is anyone else still waiting?

Thanks,
Tom

1BAT4U said:

Hey guys,

I've been reading this forum over the past year or so and I just wanted to add that I placed my order for my Indiana Jones Crystal Skull fedora on March 11th of 2008 and STILL haven't received my hat. About 6 months ago I received a reply from Steve saying he was "around 2 months from making the hat" but I'm still waiting. So I'm starting to get really worried since its now been around 22 months since my order now, which seems like forever. Perhaps mine was lost in the mail or maybe he lost my order, I dont know, but there seem to be members on here who've received their hats already even tho their orders were placed after mine.

Has anyone tried calling Steve directly? There is a number on the adventurebilt site but I'm afraid to bug him. Just wish I knew what was up and how much longer I have to wait. Is anyone else still waiting?

Thanks,
Tom

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Hi 1BAT4U .......What you are "afraid to bug" someone who has your order for almost 2 years? I do not know if you paid up front for it or will pay when you receive it. However, a well placed phone call or contact would be exactly what is proper and necessary. You want your hat from this guy then "bug" him.

BTW welcome to the Lounge...

Haha true, I'll give him a call this afternoon and see whats up. And yes, I paid the whole amount up front.

1BAT4U said:

Haha true, I'll give him a call this afternoon and see whats up. And yes, I paid the whole amount up front.

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WHAT!!!!!!

yes call him...

my thoughts too

I was wondering if you paid up front or not as well. but regardless of that- you are a customer and entitled to know whats going on.

you are obligated to call and bug him.

good luck

Let me chime in. Being an idiot, I kept the same pricing for too long, and sold too many hats at the old cheap price. At the time, I was just trying to give the Indy fans a bargain, as I have always done. I used to reblock hats for free, before I started making my own line. So, that was my mindset.

I never really saw such a huge demand coming, when I should have. I mean, making Indy's last film hat brings folks out of the woodwork!

I finally got smart and increased my prices so that IF, Indy 5 happens, I won't be stuck with a huge backlog of orders again. Afterall, if you buy my CS hat, you get exactly what was made for the film, handmade, I might add. Handmade hats with a big demand is a recipe for frustrated customers. I am mostly lucky though. Most folks while hate the wait, until I can get to their name, are willing to put up with it, because they know what I send them, will be a clone of the film hat. And, unlike the Raiders fedora that is the most popular, but never was available from HJ(Swales bespoke this first hat) the CS hat can be bought, and its identical in block, crease, and materials as used in the film hat.

My hats are therefore mostly for the fans. I don't serve the regular hat market. I am a lucky guy. Regardless if there is another Indy film with Ford, I will go down in history as the last hatter to make Indy's hat. And since it is handmade, there never will be alot of them made, number wise, as compared to the other hats in the other Indy films. The TOD fedora and the Last Crusade fedora were just factory made hats, made for HJ. And neither are that popular with the Indy crowd. From what I see, the Raiders bespoke fedora is the most popular, followed by my own hat, the CS fedora. I do make both though, having reverse engineered the Raiders fedora years ago. I seldom get orders for the TOD or TLC fedoras. Most fans don't like the amount of taper in those hats. Fedora

1BAT4U said:

Haha true, I'll give him a call this afternoon and see whats up. And yes, I paid the whole amount up front.

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Did you ever get an answer, IBAT4U? Still not sure you have an answer regarding your order.

There don't look to be any AB hats coming out lately save for the few "re-do's" of older ABs sent in for corrections or reblocks which might then be shown here as if they're new or something (sometimes a resell of the old super tall versions trade hands on Ebay here and there), but;

have there really been "new AB" customer hats ordered after you that are arriving before yours? You sure it's not existing customer fixes and things?
TWO YEARS, though?!!! Anyway, what's the status on your order?

I think I answered the wait time issue in my first post here.

And, I do not actually make a hat, when the humidity is high, i.e rain. If I were making a regular hat, rain would not matter. Instead, I make hats that are resistant to the shrinkage/taper issue that new felt is blessed with. I use certain techniques that cannot be used when it is raining. That may make no sense, and I would have to give away my own secrets if I explained the why. So, I will desist from explaining.

I also use a naptha based water repellant treatment that is not topical in nature. This requires the hats to be set outside to dry. I don't want explosions going off in my hat shop. :eusa_doh: Plus, the fumes are not good for anyone.

With my customers, the hat has to be Indy accurate, but they also want a hat that will resist tapering. And, a real straight sided hat is more prone to this, than one that is made, using a tapered block. Over the years I have learned how to make taper resistant hats, and quite a bit of the time in making a hat, addresses this issue. It adds to the time it takes to make a hat, but, I get few hats back in for reblocks, and I have made thousands to date. So, the extra time is worth it, in the long run to my customers.

All ya gotta do is watch Indy 5 to see how my hats held up to the water. They were saturated, and then reused in that film, many times. If I had made them in the conventional way, they would not have faired so well, and more would have been needed, instead of the 6 I made for Harrison. Because basically after you get most new felt hats saturated, all bets are off on it maintaining the original block shape, especially when one uses a very straight sided block. The key word here is saturated, not topically wet from a rain that is shed off, but may leave the felt damp, on the surface. Once the core gets wet, most new felt hats will taper like a witches hat, when they dry. This had been my own personal experience with new felt. And of many brands. I spent 7500 bucks on felt hats, new ones, and all suffered from the taper issue. Some faster than others. What I make now, outlasts anything I ever personally bought for myself, before it needs to be reblocked.

Again, reasonable price plus Indy 4 demand, plus handmade equals frustration for all. Hindsight is always 20/20. Swales who made the Raiders fedora was smarter than me. He never bespoke another one after he made the film hats for the first film. Instead, he gave us a factory made hat in its place. Which never matched up to the bespoke hat he made for Deb Landis. At least one can own the exact same bespoke hat as was seen in Indy 4. A first for film hat. But patience is needed. And the hat is worth the wait, IMO. If you are an avid fan of Indy and want to own what the character wore in his last film.

If you are just after a hat, shop with Art. I just sent a guy to him last week who wanted a bound brim. I only make Indy fedoras. And mostly these days what I made for the last film. And will do it until it is determined if Indy 5 is to be made. If not, I am closing shop. My dream of making a hat for the Indy character has been realized. I don't need the work, or the income, as this started out strictly as a hobby. I am hanging around only because of the possiblility of another installement. I like the publicity! And being able to claim I handmade Indy's last hats.

I have top men who will glady fill the vacuum. John Penman, David Garrison both of whom I trained, with David actually come over and spending a week with me to learn how I do it. And of course my friend and partner Marc Kitter of the Adventurebilt Deluxe line, from Germany. All of these guys got into hatmaking only because of that infamous Indy fedora. Because so many other brands fall way too short, not only in appearance but in durability. Only a die hard fanatical Indy fan knows the nuances that make an Indy fedora what it is. Others might be hard pressed to tell any difference. We are not catering to those folks. Although John does do other hats these days, but I doubt he will continue to do so once I retire. He won't have the time! This is a huge niche market, and is worldwide. I have sold hats in almost every country in the world, even China. So, the fandom is a worldwide deal, but mostly European, Australian, and North America. Indy 4 brought me several thousand orders, in a short time frame. If I had been working outside my hobby mindset, I would have increased the prices to 650.00 early on, to avoid this backlog. I would have sold much less, but made the same amount of money in the end. But, by offering the hat so cheap, it allows many to eventually own what one sees on screen. The deal is, you have to wait for me to get to your name. This isn't a regular hat folks. If it were, I would feel differently about the lead times. I tricked this hat out, so as to be hard to replicate exactly. From the way I blocked them, to the manner in which I installed the sweats, in a non typical fashion to get a certain look in regards to the brim. And, don't ask. I ain't tellin'. I will let other hatters try to figure out what I did. Fedora

Steve, thanks for letting people know what you go through to make your hats. There are so many people on the lounge now and more joining everyday that many newer ones don't know the history behind you and the Adventurebilt hat. I have 2 of your hats and if I ever sold off a chunk of my collection of fedora's, they would be in my "keeper" corner for sure.

As far as wait times go, I can tell everyone here that they are well worth the wait. I've known Steve around 10 years now (wow has it been that long) and I can personally attest to all that he's went through in his quest for the ultimate Indy fedora. Steve has done more to get an accurate Indy fedora to Indy fans at an affordable price than anyone else I know of and at great cost to himself. Let no one doubt that you WILL get your hat and when you do, you will be glad you waited.

fedoralover

I couldn't help but notice that Steve mentioned a Indy 5 hat. I know he can't tell what he knows but I'm excited for the next one.

handlebar bart said:

I couldn't help but notice that Steve mentioned a Indy 5 hat. I know he can't tell what he knows but I'm excited for the next one.

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I don't think it's a done deal just yet, but things like this are always kept "under one's hat" so to speak.

fedoralover