Black Sheep Hat Works

[1mach1]

Very beautiful, Ginseng! I love the color contrast, the octagonal brim, and the dual felt construction. You wear it very well!

Bob, very nice work. Very nice.

 

[John Galt]

Great design, great implementation. It's a pleasure to see something new done with such skill and attention to detail, and the "back story" makes it even better.

 

[Rowen3]

Was wondering if anyone here owned a regulateur and what they thought of it. I'm especially interested how it behaves if it gets wet. Does the top crease stay sharp or is the watch spring susceptible to rust?

 

[Lotsahats]

I don't own a Regulateur, but my Black Sheep Shadow Hawk's crease has stayed nice and crisp despite constant, heavy wear through rain and all kinds of weather.

A

 

[navarre]

Was wondering if anyone here owned a regulateur and what they thought of it. I'm especially interested how it behaves if it gets wet. Does the top crease stay sharp or is the watch spring susceptible to rust?

Hey Rowen. The optimo creasing in the crown can hold up to a lot of weather exposure. My Standard full time hiking hat has an optimo crease and still shows well after tons of rain and even the fact that I leave outside of my tent at night, exposing it to condensation most mornings. The crease has softened a bit, but this is after full 24 hour a day exposure for sometimes weeks to months on end (this hat has been with me on more than one long distance hike).

"The Regulateur" was created with a close friend of mine that happens to be a watchmaker. He has owned the first model for about 6 years and he lives here in the Northwest. I I decided to call him about your questions. He reports that his hat is still in fabulous shape.

In regards to the watch springs themselves, they are exclusively from Rolex watches. This isn't for any particular reason other than at the time we created the hat, he had a bevy of them at his disposal. Each time a fine watch is serviced the main spring is replaced. Although he had many variations available, sticking to one brand gave me uniformity of size and shape. He informs me that the metal used in the springs is a proprietary alloy created by Rolex. While he could not give me a breakdown of what that alloy might be, he did add that he has never seen a rusted mainspring, even in the most abused of watches.

I hope that helps.

Bob-

 

[Rowen3]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for addressing my questions so promptly and thoroughly. It helped a lot. I'll probably be sending you an inquiry after the holidays.

Richard

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

Hey Bob,

Is the sweat below from JW Hats? I know you get some sweats from him but those are usually with the gold stamping. I am curious if you are doing the perforations yourself with a machine or buy them perforated. I am not referring to the word "Temple" but the larger perforations.

Any other loungers know how to do or get these kinds of sweats?

 

[mikespens]

Bump'n this thread. Kevin, I'll answer that for Bob, he perforates the sweats himself by hand. His handcraft detailing is his calling card.

I paid a visit to Bob today, our friend Garrett seems to be MIA, we're guessing domestic issues over the volume of hats he's been acquiring Sure it's a temporary setback.

Here's a business as usual shot:

 

[mikespens]

I went to pick up a mild reblock of a Huckel I got from Steve a while back. Very nice basic black hat labeled "Waterproof" with a bit more brim and lower crown than I prefer now. Bob was only able to bump the crown up a bit, the felt wouldn't stretch much, but enough to shorten the brim a bit for me. I'm very pleased with the result, all the bits are original.

Here's a before:


And now:





Typical Huckel detail, a built in hat hanger:

 

[mikespens]

FYI, Bob has acquired a bunch of vintage raw bodies and some velour Alpine style hats ready to convert into dress weight hats. There are some nice colors available, I picked a nice blue body for a future project. Visiting Bob is both pleasurable and dangerous

 

[1mach1]

FYI, Bob has acquired a bunch of vintage raw bodies and some velour Alpine style hats ready to convert into dress weight hats. There are some nice colors available, I picked a nice blue body for a future project. Visiting Bob is both pleasurable and dangerous

Oooooo. I envy you Mike. Sounds like y'all always have a blast when you get together.

 

[hatsRme]

Oooooo. I envy you Mike. Sounds like y'all always have a blast when you get together.

It always feels like we missing a great party, Mike!

 

[RJR]

FYI, Bob has acquired a bunch of vintage raw bodies and some velour Alpine style hats ready to convert into dress weight hats. There are some nice colors available, I picked a nice blue body for a future project. Visiting Bob is both pleasurable and dangerous

I truly understand the "dangerous"!

 

[mikespens]

Thanks fellas, your all spot on, glad the feeling comes across. Truly lucky to have such a kool local hat maker

 

[jlee562]

Just got a shot of my finished hat from Bob:

 

[mayserwegener]

Looks great!

 

[mayserwegener]

I went to pick up a mild reblock of a Huckel I got from Steve a while back. Very nice basic black hat labeled "Waterproof" with a bit more brim and lower crown than I prefer now. Bob was only able to bump the crown up a bit, the felt wouldn't stretch much, but enough to shorten the brim a bit for me. I'm very pleased with the result, all the bits are original.

Here's a before:


And now:





Typical Huckel detail, a built in hat hanger:

Mike, I missed this post. It looks fantastic with the higher crown. It's great Bob was able to keep all the original parts.

 

[moontheloon]

Just got a shot of my finished hat from Bob:

absolutely gorgeous !!

is that a fray on the bow ?

brim looks pretty wide ... 2 7/8 or straight up 3 ?

masterfully crafted and designed

 

[Lotsahats]

Looks great!

Awesome! I'm hoping I'm not far behind.

 

[jlee562]

absolutely gorgeous !!

is that a fray on the bow ?

brim looks pretty wide ... 2 7/8 or straight up 3 ?

masterfully crafted and designed

Good eye, 3" brim, 5 1/2" crown.

Heather gray felt with the shortest finish and frayed (hand dyed!) ribbon.