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[ManofKent]

I am interested in obtaining a hat block to work with my hats, but want to buy something useful for regular maintenance and also for reworking or eventually making hats from blanks or old bodies. I wear a 7 1/4 long oval which is fairly loose.

Should I buy a block in 7 1/4 or in 7 1/8? Do I need one of each?

Thanks in advance,

Fed

To make hats go with your size. To re-block go down a size unless you want to unstitch the sweatband.

 

[gtdean48]

fair enough sir, but dont how else you would reshape a wool hat

spray with cold distilled water, shape, let dry slowly...but don't do much with wool hats anymore...

 

[Fed in a Fedora]

To make hats go with your size. To re-block go down a size unless you want to unstitch the sweatband.

Thanks - I kind of figured that I might need two sizes but was hoping to get by with only one block.

Oh, well more toys for the collection...

Fed

 

[liten]

Thanks - I kind of figured that I might need two sizes but was hoping to get by with only one block.

Oh, well more toys for the collection...

Fed

if your looking buy a hat block the etsy site has them! new and vintage

 

[TheDane]

Thanks - I kind of figured that I might need two sizes but was hoping to get by with only one block.

Oh, well more toys for the collection...

Fed

A block is not "just a block" - and the size is just one parameter. Different hats were/are blocked on different blocks. If you don't use the block, that was used when the hat initially was blocked, it will look different. If you want to keep the hat's profile, you have to use the block with the right profile.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

If you get a block it is also best to get the matching flange for your brim. Blocks and flanges come in many sizes and shapes. Blocks use numbers to designate their shape.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?62324-Stetson-block-profile-numbers
This thread will give an idea of what I am talking about.
To make hats require quite an in vestment in blocks and flanges. Art has several thousand of them for the different hats he makes.
A block is not just a block.

 

[Mr.Astor]

It sure does! It's not a hobby for a one time hat, that you think you can make. It's a lot of trial and error!! I pay a lot of attention to hatter4! Planning to visit him in the near future, it's a lot closer than Buffalo for me. You can boost some blocks with felt overlay but it becomes tricky with your foot & brim articulation,pinch it to much you have ruined the crown,not enough no snap or it's always up ala pharrel's Grammy hat!!! a novice could have made that!! I probably have wandered off the reservation with that comment.
It take's a considerable investment to make hat's for every head! to buy one to your liking pay the money for a custom of which there are plenty plying their trade.

 

[Fed in a Fedora]

Thanks for all the help. I did read the link and learned from it.

All of the feedback is very helpful and appreciated.

I am percolating on this whole hat shaping process as an intellectual pursuit at the moment, but might jump into it for a few of my favorite hats. A prime example is my Biltmore Senator which got covered in damp snow years ago. The unusual brim has been wavy in spite of efforts to correct it. My long oval head and regular oval hat complicate the situation. I want to sort this out more because I am stubborn than anything else.

This block and flange world is difficult to break into because there is so much to learn and information is often difficult to apply to the actual hats. The vintage blocks are expensive so the learning curve could be beyond my means. These old items are often badly damaged and/or covered with odd material. The modern plastic blocks which I have seen at
http://www.hatshapers.com/Product%20Pages/Straight_Sided_Dome.htm
might be a better thought and a lot less expensive. Planning to support some CampDrafts, this looks like a good option.

Making a display block on a lathe is a future possibility. Then shaving it to my long oval might be a good idea.

Having so many hats with various crowns and brims, I was thinking of fabricating my own flanges in some manner.

What do you think about customizing a variety of inserts/covers to place over a vintage flange? This would facilitate dealing with particular shapes without buying the numbered vintage blocks. Having made flintlock guns and powder horns, the shaping of wood or other material is not all that hard to do. Using modern materials might be even easier in that some molding process could be used.

Thanks for the thoughts,

Fed

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Man there are so many angles to the blocks and flanges. It is really an whole other art to making blocks and flanges.
[video=vimeo;51998403]http://vimeo.com/51998403[/video]
Guy Morse-Bown hatblocks
With a flange you use a sand bag press and the flange stand to hold the hat and the flange.

In a well equipped hatters shop there are tons of tools everywhere an they all are used in the process of making a hat.

 

[Bugguy]

I have a 911 question... I'm looking at a very clean straw boater with this tag...

The only size reference is 6" W X 7.75" L It's beautiful and at $37 USD. I need a 7 3/8

102 minutes left in the auction!



Any guess as to the size?

 

[alanfgag]

If that is the size of the head opening, it's between US sizes 6 7/8 and 7. It would be way too small for you.

 

[Bugguy]

I was afraid of that; I'm glad I posted. It was a beaut, local, but I couldn't get to the viewing.

Tomorrow I'm taking one of my young proteges down to Batsakes in Cincinnati for a rite of passage, and a real shoeshine. Sort of a guys afternoon out.

Thanks for the quick consult!

 

[DonGF]

I would like to find a vintage grey as my first quality fedora but need to research who were the vintage hat makers. Ebay is a roll of the dice when reading seller descriptions. I've read lots of good posts already about the Akubra line but I'm not sure if the Fed IV or the Stylemaster would better suit my facial features. When is taper better than more vertical?

 

[ManofKent]

I would like to find a vintage grey as my first quality fedora but need to research who were the vintage hat makers. Ebay is a roll of the dice when reading seller descriptions. I've read lots of good posts already about the Akubra line but I'm not sure if the Fed IV or the Stylemaster would better suit my facial features. When is taper better than more vertical?

Working out the age of a hat is difficult without a bit of experience, and it tends what you mean by 'vintage'. Some sellers use 'vintage' to describe hats made in the 1990s. To compound the problem, a lot of the best makers in the 1950's have had their brand name bought and sold a few times over the years - there's a world of difference between a 1950's Dobbs and a 2013 Dobbs for example.

Regarding Akubra's The Fed has the higher crown and straighter sides. If you're narrow faced then taper can work, for squarer or wider faced people I would suggest less taper looks better. Some would argue that the Stylemaster makes less of a statement, and is therefore easier to wear in a modern setting, but personally I think wearing any kind of fedora these days will make you stand out from the crowd. It's personal preference but I much prefer the Fed.

 

[ingineer]

Yesterday I received this inexpensive straw from Hat Country.
What in tarnation is this sew in plastic stuff and how do I remove it?

TIA
Richard

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Looks like a sweatband guard cover. It should just pull off. I have not purchased I had with this shipping cover on it. Many times stores remove them before shipping to the customer. It is used during manufacturing to protect the sweatband leather.

 

[ingineer]

Thank you Mr. Wiser
I pulled it off and I see why they did not do it.
It left dozens of little pieces that had to be picked off by hand.
Or I'd suffer plastic dandruff.
Richard

 

[Fed in a Fedora]

Man there are so many angles to the blocks and flanges. It is really an whole other art to making blocks and flanges.
[video=vimeo;51998403]http://vimeo.com/51998403[/video]
Guy Morse-Bown hatblocks
With a flange you use a sand bag press and the flange stand to hold the hat and the flange.

In a well equipped hatters shop there are tons of tools everywhere an they all are used in the process of making a hat.

Guy Morse is clearly an artist. Quite impressive!

Fed

 

[John Galt]

I believe this image came from this web page - great tools, way beyond my reach...

http://www.dbarjhat.com/page30.html

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Can anyone explain the range of Stagecoach brand from Resistol?
I have seen Resistol stagecoach hats in corduroy, straw and felt. The felt is wabbit or it is a beaver blend? Some say it is wool but I can't see nothing that tells what it is.