An Akubra Visits Machu Picchu

May 22, 2014

Akubra is made for rugged terrain. It’s no surprise that we’ve received pictures of happy customers wearing their hats from all over the world. This is our first from Peru. Our Kiandra made it all the way to Machu Picchu.

We’d love to receive more photos of you with your Akubra. Or, if you’re a little shy, just send one of the hat, as in these photographs. We’ll post it here!

 

SouthAmerica-391

Is a spirit trying to wear the hat?

 

SouthAmerica-396

Close-up showing our very-own kangaroo leather chinstrap.

 

SouthAmerica-400

Posing against a majestic background.

LEARN MORE ABOUT:

Akubra Hats

 

 

 

Some Customer Hat Photos

December 26, 2013

We love receiving pictures of our customers wearing Akubra hats. Because Akubras are hard-wearing, we have had photos sent from all over the world: from the middle-eastern deserts to the American Southwest, from Europe and Africa to South America. Below are a few we’ve accumulated over time. As you can see, some have an artistic flair.

Enjoy the photos!

JJ. and Friends at Singapore Zoo

JJ and friends at the Singapore Zoo.

52

hats in the mountains flat

  Self Portrait and a surrealistic painting.

   Hans Dietrich in his Adventurer (from Germany)

Hans Dietrich Zimmer, from Germany sporting his Adventurer.

 

  

  

  

Akubra Slouch Featured in New Amazon Book

November 27, 2013

Stan Morse, a local customer, came into our store here in Bothell, Washington. He surprised us with the news that our Slouch is featured in his new Kindle novel.

  

It is the summer of 1969 and the Vietnam War is raging, John Wayne dominates the theater marquee, and fourteen year old Billy Ward’s world will crumble if he can’t convince his eighteen year old brother Mike and Mike’s best friend Stu to include him in a backpacking adventure. For the older boys, taking The Kid into the mountains is a burden to be avoided at all costs. Parental pressure finally forces them to offer Billy a test to see if he is worthy. Can Billy prove himself physically capable? And beyond that, how can he hope to earn the respect of the older boys?

Brothers of Summer is a window into the hearts of teenagers in the 60’s—a time when kids rode bikes, boys got drafted, parental abuse was often ignored, and the bonds of friendship between teenagers were more important than nearly anything imaginable.

   You can get his book here.

  

Brothers of Summer

  

We wish Stan the best of luck with his novel!

  

  

Tell Us About Your Leather Projects

November 1, 2013

Adam Croft, who uses our lace for his projects, posted a photo of one of his motorcycle seats on our online review for lace.

 

Croft Leathers Motorcycle Seat

Leather motorcycle seat by Adam Croft. www.croftleather.com

 

Over the years, many of you have bought lace and kangaroo skins for leather projects. We would love to see what you have done!

 

Please send a photo of your work to our email address: catalog [at] davidmorgan [dot] com. (Please replace “at” and “dot” with the correct punctuation.) Include in the subject line that it is for our blog. If you have a website where you sell your leather goods, feel free to include that.

 

We look forward to seeing your work.

 

 

 

 

Taking the Traveler into the Mountains

September 6, 2013

Over Labor Day Weekend, Will Morgan hiked five miles into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness near the city of Cle Elum, Washington. (For those interested in the details, he hiked from North Fork Teanaway Road to Lake Ingalls.)

With temperatures hitting 90 degrees, he worried that a black fur-felt hat might be too hot for the afternoon hike. Instead, the Traveler’s light felt and eyelets helped keep his head cool. The brim provided shade for his head, face and neck. 

By the time Will had taken in the stunning view of Mount Stuart, the sun was ready to set. Fall also comes early at higher elevations, and so the temperatures dropped quickly as it grew dark.  Near the bottom it was hard to see the trail and he was thinking how it was good to have a good felt hat. Even though it had soaked up a good amount of sweat, it still provided warmth. Will’s next test is to wear it with a loaded backpack frame to find out if a wide and firm brim will bump into his pack.

All in all, he reports that his Akubra Traveler was a fantastic addition to his hike and will work well for both hot and cold days.

Mountain Goats

Mountain Goats

 

Lake Ingalls

Lake Ingalls

 

Coming Down the Mountain

Coming down the mountain

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT:

 

Akubra Hats

 

 

 

It’s Never Too Early for an Akubra

August 23, 2013

A customer of ours from Yonkers sent in a photograph of his grandson in his Akubra.

He may need a little help putting it on in the right direction, but it still looks great.

Way to go, Jordan!

 

Jordan

Jordan

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures from a Friend in Japan

May 24, 2013

Our friend, Daisuke, is a whip enthusiast hailing all the way from Japan. He was a member a wild west show, so he really knows how to crack a whip!

He also practices the art of Morishige-ryuu Houjyutsu. This is a type of matchlock shooting that began in the 1500s. At the time, Portuguese traders had made it to Japan and brought with them the arquebus, a muzzle-loaded firearm with a matchlock. They became so popular that in true Japanese fashion, shooting these firearms became an art form.

The seven pictures below are from a demonstration in Tokyo with the final photo showing Daisuke with his firearms.

   

Tokyo Morishige-ryuu Houjyutsu Demonstration

 

Tokyo Morishige-ryuu Houjyutsu Demonstration

 

Tokyo Morishige-ryuu Houjyutsu Demonstration

 

Tokyo Morishige-ryuu Houjyutsu Demonstration

 

Tokyo Morishige-ryuu Houjyutsu Demonstration

 

Tokyo Morishige-ryuu Houjyutsu Demonstration

 

Daisuke with his firearms

   

Daisuke also has friends in New Mexico. Tom and Jennifer Curtis are famous silversmiths. Here are some photos of his visit there:

   

Daisuke with Tom and Jennifer Curtis

 

Daisuke with Tom Curtis

 

Daisuke with Jennifer Curtis

   

Demonstration at a school in Albuquerque:

   

Demonstration in Albuquerque school

The Indian Market in Santa Fe:

   

With Jennifer and Tom Curtis

Daisuke in front of beautiful Mt. Fuji with his Jeep CJ-7.

   

In front of Mt Fuji

Thanks, Daisuke for the great pics.

   

   

   

Kerry Thomas, Akubra Fan

April 20, 2012

We received an email from Kerry Thomas, horse training expert and founder of the Thomas Herding Technique. Kerry’s program manages equine behavior and stress management through better human/horse communication.

 

Kerry is a long-time wearer of Akubra hats and finds Akubra’s quality the best in the world.

 

 

“For many years I have been wearing Akubra hats. Whether developing a TV Show or working in the international horse industry; I’m in the outdoors on a daily basis. From wild horse research expeditions in Wyoming and Montana, along the Eastern Seaboard, to racing venues, dressage, eventing, reining and even developing emotional wellness programs for children by way of the horse. No matter where I have been or where I go it’s me and my “Boss” Akubra through it all, sharing the journey, making the memories.

 

I buy most of my gear at David Morgan including my Akubras and own several different styles. I find the quality of Akubra the very best in the world, and the quality of service and all products from David Morgan, second to none. It’s an honor to say this, as I demand high quality and rugged, long lasting products. It’s quite simple for me, when I’m under my Akubra, I know I’m covered.”

 

Kerry M Thomas/Author of “Horse Profiling: The Secret To Motivating Equine Athletes” and Founder of Thomas Herding Technique

 

Below are a few of the pictures Kerry sent us. Thanks again, Kerry for your kind words!

thomas1

thomas2

thomas3

thomas4

thomas5

thomas6

Guest Post: The Indy Cairo Bash

March 23, 2012

We received an e-mail from Richard Hanson, an Indiana Jones hat historian. Richard added a twist to the Indy Bash that gives it a more authentic look from the first movie.

 

While we cannot individually tailor the bash for each Adventurer, we encourage you to add your own tweaks to the hat. A little steam and a dedicated pair of hands is all you need. You can see how to bash your Adventurer on our YouTube video.

 

Here is Richard’s e-mail:

 

I recently received your wonderful Adventurer Hat by Akubra.  The directions you enclosed for giving it the Indiana Jones look are very nice and helpful, but I thought you might be interested in one more ‘twist’ that gives it the complete true look of the hat as worn in the first movie.

 

If you put the hat on as is and give the hat a slight twist on the head, from the left to the right, so that the middle of the bow is moved from exactly above the left ear to about an inch IN FRONT of the left ear, and THEN put in the bash and front dent, you’ll find that the hat is exactly as it appears in ‘the streets of Cairo’ in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”  The brim deforms just slightly due to the swivel and creates the precise look of Harrison Ford’s hat.  In fact, that’s exactly what he did to his.  Why?  I don’t know, but I expect it had something to do with the fact that for filming purposes, the hat had to stay on and making that slight twist virtually screws the hat onto your head.  If you watch the film or go on line and look at a few still shots from the movie, check the position of the bow.  You’ll see immediately that the bow is more forward as well as the distinct up/down deformation of the brim that comes from wearing the hat slightly off center.

 

I’ve been researching the Indiana Jones hat for more than twenty years now, and with the single exception of the crown being approximately 1/2 inch too short, your hat is THE HAT that appeared in the first movie [ironically, there are four different hats for the four movies…but it’s the first hat, the Poet Hat by Herbert Spenser of London that has become the iconic symbol of Indiana Jones].  It’s still possible to buy the original “Poet” hat from Herbert Spencer that was worn in the first movie, but the Akubra is a far more sturdy, long lasting, BETTER hat.  The actually Spenser Poet can’t handle rain without shrinking and losing its shape, as I have found to my considerable sorrow.  By way of comparison, my original Akubra Bushman, bought nearly forty years ago is in the same shape I bought it in after decades of rain, wind, snow, sleet, hail, and an occasional falling tree branch.  Sometimes I think that the motto you should adopt for Akubra hats would be something like “Man fears Time, but Time fears Akubra.”  I also own the Akubra Federation and the Federation IV.  Both wonderful hats.

 

The only other thing I would suggest is that the brim on the Adventurer should be produced rounded up and not already canted downward, the way the Federation hat comes in its unfinished state.  The original Streets of Cairo hat had a slight upsweep in the back of the brim that Ford kept so that the “Fedora Look” would be slightly retained even after the twist.  On yours, the amount of sizing in the hat makes rounding the brim upward a little difficult.  I like to think of the Jones hat as a turn of the century Fedora with a slight case of safari fever.

Thanks, Richard, for your ideas!

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT:

 

Adventurer Hat

Indiana Jones Whips

 

 

 

Write Your Own David Morgan Review

November 11, 2011

Is there something special about your David Morgan product that you want to tell others? You now have the opportunity to review it on our website!

 

The review includes an overall rating of one to five stars. You can also mention the pros and cons of the product.

 

If you want to say more, there is a comment section. Plus, add your own images and videos!

 

Will Morgan says that “We hope these reviews will not only help people find suitable products but also enable us to improve product quality.”

 

To write a review, go to the specific product on our website. Under the “Add to Cart” button, you will see a link to write a review. Click the link, and then click a second link that says, “Write a Review” under the “Review Snapshot” header.

 

Have fun!

 

 

review page