Ask a question, get an answer

[Lean'n'mean]

Why not?

Because I have decided thus. All these hat categories drive me crazy & you've got to draw the line somewhere. Others will have different guidelines & that's fine by me as long as they don't try to persuade me that apples are oranges.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Greetings All:
I’ve been following the Pork Pie discussions some.
And it dawned on me....
Life got a whole lot more peaceful when i decided i didn’t need to be right all the time.
So...lots of questions i just don’t respond to. The bear gets poked enough.
B

 

[The Jackal]

Life got a whole lot more peaceful when i decided i didn’t need to be right all the time.
So...lots of questions i just don’t respond to. The bear gets poked enough.
B

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't be coming in here with all that being reasonable. This is the internet, people are supposed to be angry and have stupid fights over nothing!

 

[JessieJames]

I'm getting a custom made by Gannon and I think I got most of the details down except when it comes to the finish of the beaver felt, what are my options? (the pouncing I think it's called).

I have 2 Vintage 1950s Stetson, one 7x one 3x I like them both and how they feel and would want my hat to mimick that, but I would also like to know what the other options are in case there is something else I didn't consider. I'm hoping it's as simple as small-medium-large type of finish.

Thanks!

 

[JessieJames]

Greetings All:
I’ve been following the Pork Pie discussions some.
And it dawned on me....
Life got a whole lot more peaceful when i decided i didn’t need to be right all the time.
So...lots of questions i just don’t respond to. The bear gets poked enough.
B

I think it's nice to know the origins of things and learn the history of the terminology, even when the terms started getting confusing and why. I think it adds to the richness of the hat story and culture

 

[drmaxtejeda]

Honestly, I’m not trying to be argumentative: How do you differentiate between a stingy brim fedora/trilby and a pork pie with a diamond crease? I have several stingy brims and some have diamond creases. If the same hat has a teardrop crease does it become something else? Yours is the first reference I’ve heard of a diamond creased hat being referred to as a pork pie

Taxonomy by its nature always has an element of the arbitrary and a heathy dose of ambiguity.

"Taxonomy by its nature always has an element of the arbitrary and a heathy dose of ambiguity"

Did you come up with that phrase yourself, Brent? If so, you should've been a writer. Wow.

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[Rmccamey]

Now we really are going to play apples and oranges! Let me start by saying there are many other Loungers who are much more knowledgeable than I on this subject. IMHO, Gannon hats are some of the very best hats made today. Please, however, do not expect them to have the same hand as the superb vintage hats you have. It is not a 1 to 1 comparison in large part because the felt bodies provided today are not of the same quality they were 50 years ago. Michael can do a great job at pouncing but, generally speaking, great, new hats today are going to be courser, heavier, and thicker than a vintage 3X or 7X. There are always exceptions, and again I am speaking generally, but you will be able to tell a difference. With that said, Gannon hats are great and Gannon has a very loyal following and many, many satisfied customers, a large part of whom I would consider hat experts and they, too, are very pleased with Gannon hats. There can be differences between any two hats and still both can be great hats. I think this is what you will find. Your 7X is a great hat and I have every expectation that your Gannon will be great, too. I know mine is!

I'm getting a custom made by Gannon and I think I got most of the details down except when it comes to the finish of the beaver felt, what are my options? (the pouncing I think it's called).

I have 2 Vintage 1950s Stetson, one 7x one 3x I like them both and how they feel and would want my hat to mimick that, but I would also like to know what the other options are in case there is something else I didn't consider. I'm hoping it's as simple as small-medium-large type of finish.

Thanks!

 

[JessieJames]

Now we really are going to play apples and oranges! Let me start by saying there are many other Loungers who are much more knowledgeable than I on this subject. IMHO, Gannon hats are some of the very best hats made today. Please, however, do not expect them to have the same hand as the superb vintage hats you have. It is not a 1 to 1 comparison in large part because the felt bodies provided today are not of the same quality they were 50 years ago. Michael can do a great job at pouncing but, generally speaking, great, new hats today are going to be courser, heavier, and thicker than a vintage 3X or 7X. There are always exceptions, and again I am speaking generally, but you will be able to tell a difference. With that said, Gannon hats are great and Gannon has a very loyal following and many, many satisfied customers, a large part of whom I would consider hat experts and they, too, are very pleased with Gannon hats. There can be differences between any two hats and still both can be great hats. I think this is what you will find. Your 7X is a great hat and I have every expectation that your Gannon will be great, too. I know mine is!

I haven't gotten to the point of being a super super discerned critic when it comes to my hats, I got very lucky with my 2 Stetsons and got them from 2 well respected Loungers here early on. I don't expect it to be a 1:1 just a quality well made hat that's nice and soft and I think Gannon more than fits the bill for what I'm looking for. Thanks for your input!

To my original question, when ordering a custom, what should be said for the finish of the felt? Is it basically long haired or velvet or finely pounced? What are the options? Is the "default" with a hatter the more finely pounced finish (like my Stetsons, although I know it won't be exactly the same for the reasons you mentioned above).

If the finish is closer to the Stetson and much farther than this type of finish I got from a local hatter (rabbit fur felt and just not great felt and not great craftsmanship or both) then I'll be very happy. You can see below it's a bit rough both in visual texture and tactile feel. The hat looks... hairy. Which is not what I was going for.

 

[belfastboy]

I'm getting a custom made by Gannon and I think I got most of the details down except when it comes to the finish of the beaver felt, what are my options? (the pouncing I think it's called).

I have 2 Vintage 1950s Stetson, one 7x one 3x I like them both and how they feel and would want my hat to mimick that, but I would also like to know what the other options are in case there is something else I didn't consider. I'm hoping it's as simple as small-medium-large type of finish.

Thanks!

Custom hatters seem to have their own names for the different finishes they offer I imagine as a way to differentiate themselves. I suggest a conversation with Michael describing what you want. Or check out other hatter's web sites for ideas......Leon Drexler offers a few finishes and I know Bob at Black Sheep has some wonderful pics of his finishes.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I haven't gotten to the point of being a super super discerned critic when it comes to my hats, I got very lucky with my 2 Stetsons and got them from 2 well respected Loungers here early on. I don't expect it to be a 1:1 just a quality well made hat that's nice and soft and I think Gannon more than fits the bill for what I'm looking for. Thanks for your input!

To my original question, when ordering a custom, what should be said for the finish of the felt? Is it basically long haired or velvet or finely pounced? What are the options? Is the "default" with a hatter the more finely pounced finish (like my Stetsons, although I know it won't be exactly the same for the reasons you mentioned above).

If the finish is closer to the Stetson and much farther than this type of finish I got from a local hatter (rabbit fur felt and just not great felt and not great craftsmanship or both) then I'll be very happy. You can see below it's a bit rough both in visual texture and tactile feel. The hat looks... hairy. Which is not what I was going for.


View attachment 172952

A lot of the differences in finish are not the result of pouncing. Long hair, velour, suede/antelope, etc. are from felts made to have that finish. If you want a thin light dress weight fedora (city hat) then just let Michael know and he’ll take it from there.

It’s your hat, and you have the right to get exactly what you’re after, but personally I’ve found it best when I give the hatter my ideas in broad terms and leave the details to them. I’ll be picking up a custom from VS today and I don’t even know what ribbon color Art went with because I told him the style of hat I wanted and left the details to him. I don’t always do this, but I wanted to see what Art would come up with and I trust him. I’d also trust Gannon; this is also why artist are better better than engineers when it comes to making hats. A fedora is a simple thing with only a few components but together essentially the same by every hatter, but hatters like Gannon are artist who can see what I cannot and who can exceed your expectations when left to their own devices. Gannon really is one of those hatters who just get it right. You commission Michelangelo to carve the David but you don’t tell him how to do it (just my opinion, and not one I always follow myself). Sometimes all I’ve done is send them a photo(s) of what I have in mind. The hats I’ve been the most disappointed in were those I’ve had the biggest input in designing...maybe I just divulged something about my own lack of artistry.

Good luck.


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[Hat and Rehat]

I’m pretty sure the name “pork pie” came from the UK. Meat pies are still more common there than in the US. The name comes from the shape of the hat as it resembles an actual pork pie.


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And we know some other interesting stories exist around the London meat pie trade. You could even say head covering were involved.

 

[Hat and Rehat]

Interesting story.
For what it's worth; this is what Wikipedia has on Pork Pie:

"The first hat to be called a pork pie was a hat worn primarily by British and American women from around 1830 through to about 1865. It consisted of a small round hat with a narrow curled-up brim, a low flat or slightly domed crown with a crease running around the inside top edge, ....... what made them "pork pies" was the shape and crease of the crown and the narrowness of the brim (sometimes called a "stingy brim" in reference to its brevity)."

So actually a Pork Pie was orginally a Ladies hat

One complaint about history is that the victors always get to write it.
I can't imagine the fairer sex calling the prized object they so carefully arranged upon their tresses a Pork Pie.
I smell a rat. There's a man's hand somewhere in that story. ;-0

 

[Lean'n'mean]

How would you know what the original form and crown shape of a used vintage hat was, if the pre-owner did some re-shaping?

Take it to a hat whisperer of course, it's original character will soon shine through.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Life got a whole lot more peaceful when i decided i didn’t need to be right all the time.

Just some of the time.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Just some of the time.

I miss the deleted post too. Just some of the time.

 

[Weatherman]

That’s a whole lot of work. I’m sure we’d all be grateful for such a thread, but who’s going to start that huge undertaking? And I’d like similar threads for Champ, Mallory, Cavanagh, Dobbs, Resistol, Panizza, Lee, Knox, Churchill, etc. while we’re at it.


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Apparently it's already been done. I just found it thanks to another poster..

 

[belfastboy]

I'm getting a custom made by Gannon and I think I got most of the details down except when it comes to the finish of the beaver felt, what are my options? (the pouncing I think it's called).

I have 2 Vintage 1950s Stetson, one 7x one 3x I like them both and how they feel and would want my hat to mimick that, but I would also like to know what the other options are in case there is something else I didn't consider. I'm hoping it's as simple as small-medium-large type of finish.

Thanks!

I have just one Gannon beaver felt fedora. The quality is great. When I first received it was a little taken aback as it was very stiff. However with wearing it has begun to soften up very nicely. Other Loungers have told me to wear it and wait, the softness will come and yes it is beginning.

 

[Hat and Rehat]

"Taxonomy by its nature always has an element of the arbitrary and a heathy dose of ambiguity"

Did you come up with that phrase yourself, Brent? If so, you should've been a writer. Wow.

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Did he mean etymology?

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[JessieJames]

I have just one Gannon beaver felt fedora. The quality is great. When I first received it was a little taken aback as it was very stiff. However with wearing it has begun to soften up very nicely. Other Loungers have told me to wear it and wait, the softness will come and yes it is beginning.

I'm getting a western weight 3" flat brim fedora, raw edge so expect it to be stiff to hold up which I'm fine with. It goes with what I wanted actually. These are more hipster fashion hats then they will be dress hats. I wear my hats a bit different than you gents.

 

[Rmccamey]

Hip, hipster, cool, new-age, groovy, wild, rad, and laid-back, we love them all and we like to share new looks, new colors and new ideas. Keep us updated JJ, anticipation is contagious