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  1. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    Well, my steamer is not great so I ended up soaking the felt in water and teased out the capeline break. It ended up looking like an upside down grocery bag (think, Pac-man ghost) and pulled it over the block. It worked after giving it hell. I rolled what would have been a brim up to the block...
  2. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    Thanks @belfastboy. Here is a picture of what I mean. I steamed it beyond saturation. Put my whole body into it and it’s not even close to blocking. It’s just fanning out and warping the brim. I’m at a loss. The capeline doesn’t look smaller than others I’ve used from MH. Even my smaller blocks...
  3. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    Hi fellas, it's been a while. I have a bit of a problem. I got a 100% capeline from Millinery Warehouse and I am making a pretty big hat (62.5cm) with a 5.5 inch crown and this capeline is not covering the block. I have at least an inch until I get the capeline break down to the bottom of the...
  4. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    I made this one yesterday afternoon in Ukrainian Rabbit (Anthracite). 5.5” crown 4” brim 1/8” black ribbon
  5. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    @belfastboy It is easy for me to forget about the machines others use (like you mentioned Art’s plating machine) and wonder why they might do the other steps differently. Art seemed like a cool, helpful guy. He says in that video he was coming up on 5000 hats. Any anecdotes from him to share?
  7. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    @Yahoody Wow! Very interesting.
  8. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    This is Art blocking dress weight with minimal water and light steam at 2:00 For a Western, what he is doing is dry blocking, at least to me, as there is no saturation. Is any water use considered a wet block? I’ve never seen someone block with zero moisture/steam :) Have you? This clearly...
  9. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    @belfastboy Most poeple who are dry blocking, that I have seen, are working with dress weight and doing fedoras. From what I have read @Yahoody is working primarily with his own cowboy hats in Western weight so it makes sense he would never dry block. Dry blocking seems crazy easy on videos of...
  10. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    Thanks @belfastboy, As a work around I soaked one capeline and basically rolled up the brim taco style until the capeline was all brim and and about 2 inches of crown, then "rolled" it on to the block, then puller downer, etc. Otherwise I couldn't get that hard crease at the bottom of the block...
  11. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    So I blocked a hat today with a capeline from Millinery Wearhouse (Ukraine felt). The problem I faced was the 6” crown of the block I was using (biggest block I’ve used yet) left some room still where the brim meets the crown. I needed to get the hat body another inch down to reach the bottom of...
  13. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    Thanks for clarifying! I apologize for taking a few comments to mean your whole stance on all things hatmaker. I don’t mean any harm. Thank you for being understanding and willing to explain further. God bless Gannon for his prices! What a top man!
  14. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    @belfastboy I didn't mean you said Tim is ripping people off. The post I replied to where @deadlyhandsome said above "On the negative, his [Tim's (Fepsa)] current pricing is over $400 for a single hat body." Also, the two Michael's pricepoint on hats proves your statement that Winchester is...
  15. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    @deadlyhandsome There will always be people who do this. I would encourage you not to focus on the bad actors. I have made all of three hats, and I think they are pretty good considering @Yahoody said so(!), and I am charging people only exactly the cost of the capeline and sweatband plus the...
  16. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    @belfastboy I wonder the price for Winchester for 100% beaver. It Tim (Fespa) is charging $189 for Beaver Blend and and $405 for 100% Beaver Western that just shows the demand. If Michael and Mike are charging that low, that means they are getting a great price on felt or they are losing money...
  17. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    If a person is in the market for a 100% beaver hat from Stetson, say an El Presidente, or further a Diamante, and are willing to pay $1000+ for a hat, then I don't see paying over $400 for a hat body to be expensive especially if one has the tools to make a hat themselves, or, even more logical...
  19. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    Thank you, @Yahoody! I'm not making your favorite beavers but we are on the same page as far as use and style. Ill graduate some day. Big praise coming from you, though. Honestly, I will probably go over to Winchester and chat up Greg. One more shot at getting into the club there cannot hurt...
  20. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    Thank you, Brent. I appreciate it.
  21. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    Apologies, @belfastboy, as I am seeing responses through email and not on the website in real time. I am a few comments behind and responding as I see them. Thank you for sharing that information as it confirms what I was assuming to be true.
  22. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    Great info! Thanks. It makes sense now that Tim is a distributor for Fepsa. Millinery Warehouse is where I have gotten capelines before. Do you know if they get their capelines from Fepsa, too?
  23. M

    Making a Western hat by hand?

    I have been in contact with Tim. He is very nice and helpful. Do you know if they manufacture/felt their own capelines at Pure Beaver? I didn’t ask him directly as to not offend him. It doesn’t matter that much to me other than if Tim is getting them from Fepsa in bulk and reselling (which it...

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