Hornskov Hats - custom Danish hatter

[belfastboy]

The hat i had was a Stetson Firenze i believe. Dress weight. Definitely heavier than my vintage Stetsons, so I've been pretty much getting only vintage.

Hornskov hats look really sharp, and would be temptedb to spring for one. Wish i could try one on!

The FEPSA felt is far superior to any of the modern Stetson offerings except perhaps the Pure quality level. But then the Hornskov is upwards of 3 times the price of a Firenze.

 

[Pellie]

My 5 Hornskovs together.
I love them all

 

[The Shoe]

My Hornskovs arrived today. Etsuko hid the Christmas one away before I got home from work. I’m really happy with the Mogul. My first Hornskov (the wool one) was a 59 and I felt it was just a little tight. My second, a Broker, was 59 1/2 and after wearing it a while, I decided the 59 was actually the better fit (as it should be - my head measures about 58.7) and I’ve put a little padding under the sweat band of the Broker. This time, I went back to size 59, but told him I was a long oval. Bingo! Clearly my best fitting hat - just perfect! The beaver, bunny blend felt is excellent - a little softer than my 100% beaver and beautiful to the touch. And the hatband is grosgrain.
Bring on Christmas!

The head shots are closer to the true colour.

 

[Pellie]

My Hornskovs arrived today. Etsuko hid the Christmas one away before I got home from work. I’m really happy with the Mogul. My first Hornskov (the wool one) was a 59 and I felt it was just a little tight. My second, a Broker, was 59 1/2 and after wearing it a while, I decided the 59 was actually the better fit (as it should be - my head measures about 58.7) and I’ve put a little padding under the sweat band of the Broker. This time, I went back to size 59, but told him I was a long oval. Bingo! Clearly my best fitting hat - just perfect! The beaver, bunny blend felt is excellent - a little softer than my 100% beaver and beautiful to the touch. And the hatband is grosgrain.
Bring on Christmas!
View attachment 385735 View attachment 385736 View attachment 385737
The head shots are closer to the true colour. View attachment 385738 View attachment 385739 View attachment 385740

Really nice, congrats.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

My Hornskovs arrived today. Etsuko hid the Christmas one away before I got home from work. I’m really happy with the Mogul. My first Hornskov (the wool one) was a 59 and I felt it was just a little tight. My second, a Broker, was 59 1/2 and after wearing it a while, I decided the 59 was actually the better fit (as it should be - my head measures about 58.7) and I’ve put a little padding under the sweat band of the Broker. This time, I went back to size 59, but told him I was a long oval. Bingo! Clearly my best fitting hat - just perfect! The beaver, bunny blend felt is excellent - a little softer than my 100% beaver and beautiful to the touch. And the hatband is grosgrain.
Bring on Christmas!
View attachment 385735 View attachment 385736 View attachment 385737
The head shots are closer to the true colour. View attachment 385738 View attachment 385739 View attachment 385740

Beautiful hat. That’s a great style for you and you wear it well. Congratulations!

 

[sensy]

I'm just going to vent some of my current frustrations with them. This isn't to tear them down, or to say really anything bad - I'm just kinda of annoyed.

I ordered my hat within a day of The Shoe ordering two, but my hat still hasn't been shipped. I realize they might not be working 100% in the order of the queue, but you know.

Last week I got an email that the bead hat band I had picked got lost in shipping, so they asked me if I wanted to change or wait for it to arrive. I picked a different one they had in stock, and then we got to discussing the color of the fabric I wanted. We emailed a bit back and forth, and it ended with me sending this:

"Yes, those are what I had in mind - the first one (teal) in particular. If you have either of these available it would be great - but if you don't and it'd mean a longer wait I'd rather just have the leaf and possibly change it in the future."

This was a week ago, and today I was told
"I hope the fabric will arrive today or tomorrow and then your hat will be shipped out "

Again, I'm just frustrated. I'm sure the hat will be great, but I was really hoping I'd get it before I leave on xmas break and it now seems more and more unlikely. I'm sure part of the delay was them waiting for the right beads before telling me - and that's completely fine. But this last week of delays seems completely unnecessary and explicitly against my wishes.

edit: A few minutes after posting this I got a message that the hat has been shipped, which I'm very happy about.

 

[The Shoe]

I'm just going to vent some of my current frustrations with them. This isn't to tear them down, or to say really anything bad - I'm just kinda of annoyed.

I ordered my hat within a day of The Shoe ordering two, but my hat still hasn't been shipped. I realize they might not be working 100% in the order of the queue, but you know.

Last week I got an email that the bead hat band I had picked got lost in shipping, so they asked me if I wanted to change or wait for it to arrive. I picked a different one they had in stock, and then we got to discussing the color of the fabric I wanted. We emailed a bit back and forth, and it ended with me sending this:

"Yes, those are what I had in mind - the first one (teal) in particular. If you have either of these available it would be great - but if you don't and it'd mean a longer wait I'd rather just have the leaf and possibly change it in the future."

This was a week ago, and today I was told
"I hope the fabric will arrive today or tomorrow and then your hat will be shipped out "

Again, I'm just frustrated. I'm sure the hat will be great, but I was really hoping I'd get it before I leave on xmas break and it now seems more and more unlikely. I'm sure part of the delay was them waiting for the right beads before telling me - and that's completely fine. But this last week of delays seems completely unnecessary and explicitly against my wishes.

edit: A few minutes after posting this I got a message that the hat has been shipped, which I'm very happy about.

Sorry to hear you might not make Christmas. The hats I ordered were both straight out of his catalogue, but one with the crown reduced from tall to medium. I talked with Peter and Cathrine a bit before placing the order, but there were no further discussions after that, so I guess some of the delay would be due to that, but still disappointing.
I’m confident that you will love the hat, though.

 

[sensy]

Sorry to hear you might not make Christmas. The hats I ordered were both straight out of his catalogue, but one with the crown reduced from tall to medium. I talked with Peter and Cathrine a bit before placing the order, but there were no further discussions after that, so I guess some of the delay would be due to that, but still disappointing.
I’m confident that you will love the hat, though.

Yeah, some of the delays are perfectly understandable, and no fault on them for that. I'm not even blaming them for this last week too much, but it's a bit frustrating that when I specifically told them only to change one color if it they had it on hand and did not delay anything, and then they waited a week for it to arrive. It's just a misunderstanding, but still annoying.

 

[sensy]

To get back to being positive about things, they just posted some photos and man am I excited to get this bad boy.

 

[Steve1857]

I'm just going to vent some of my current frustrations with them. This isn't to tear them down, or to say really anything bad - I'm just kinda of annoyed.

I ordered my hat within a day of The Shoe ordering two, but my hat still hasn't been shipped. I realize they might not be working 100% in the order of the queue, but you know.

Last week I got an email that the bead hat band I had picked got lost in shipping, so they asked me if I wanted to change or wait for it to arrive. I picked a different one they had in stock, and then we got to discussing the color of the fabric I wanted. We emailed a bit back and forth, and it ended with me sending this:

"Yes, those are what I had in mind - the first one (teal) in particular. If you have either of these available it would be great - but if you don't and it'd mean a longer wait I'd rather just have the leaf and possibly change it in the future."

This was a week ago, and today I was told
"I hope the fabric will arrive today or tomorrow and then your hat will be shipped out "

Again, I'm just frustrated. I'm sure the hat will be great, but I was really hoping I'd get it before I leave on xmas break and it now seems more and more unlikely. I'm sure part of the delay was them waiting for the right beads before telling me - and that's completely fine. But this last week of delays seems completely unnecessary and explicitly against my wishes.

edit: A few minutes after posting this I got a message that the hat has been shipped, which I'm very happy about.

I'm still trying to get my act together and order a Hornskov hat. I've no excuses for not doing so as I live a 40 minute train ride away from them. Your frustrations, sorry to hear about them btw, have in no way put me off.

I guess Hornskov too are effected by the current supply chain problems, but perhaps more by us FL'ers. The more one of us shows one of their hats, the more the rest of us want one, thus the more orders they get.

From what I've heard from you guys, I think they're shipping dates sound reasonable. It's not exactly like they can hire more hatters. They don't grow on trees anymore, especially not here in Denmark

Your new Hornskov looks great, Sensy. Hope it matches your expectations once it arrives.

 

[Samson25]

Belfast....Where do you get your info from ?
I enjoyed your post.
I am learning alot but can you tell Me more about FEPSA felts? What makes them better than other felts? What do you/ anyone think about the Hornskov 50/50 Beaver/ Hare felts they are offering?
Seriously considering pulling the trigger on one of these.

The FEPSA felt is far superior to any of the modern Stetson offerings except perhaps the Pure quality level. But then the Hornskov is upwards of 3 times the price of a Firenze.

 

[belfastboy]

Belfast....Where do you get your info from ?
I enjoyed your post.
I am learning alot but can you tell Me more about FEPSA felts? What makes them better than other felts? What do you/ anyone think about the Hornskov 50/50 Beaver/ Hare felts they are offering?
Seriously considering pulling the trigger on one of these.

To me they are the closest modern felt that even comes close to the feel of a vintage felt. It has a density, a plushness without the stiffness of a Winchester felt. I have yet to feel/see the Fepsa 50/50 but reports here in the Lounge give it great reviews. I have a 100% beaver FEPSA to make up for myself and it is wonderful. FEPSA only sells the end users in large quantity which is a deal breaker for most small custom hat makers. It is possible to buy their felts from a reseller but they are pricey.

 

[Samson25]

Pellie...What a collection!
You and the shoe add some serious content here.
I Thank You for the sharp pictures, and for presenting examples from Hornskov.
The hats are seductive. Caught in the vortex, I might just have to order one of these.

My 5 Hornskovs together.
I love them all
View attachment 385721 View attachment 385722 View attachment 385723 View attachment 385724 View attachment 385725 View attachment 385726

 

[Samson25]

Thanks for your description/ impressions Belfast.
Don't know what vintage felt should feel like, but durability is my main concern.
Thanks

To me they are the closest modern felt that even comes close to the feel of a vintage felt. It has a density, a plushness without the stiffness of a Winchester felt. I have yet to feel/see the Fepsa 50/50 but reports here in the Lounge give it great reviews. I have a 100% beaver FEPSA to make up for myself and it is wonderful. FEPSA only sells the end users in large quantity which is a deal breaker for most small custom hat makers. It is possible to buy their felts from a reseller but they are pricey.

 

[Samson25]

So...Very individual, with the triple crown band thing going on there...
Kinda like it but I don't think that I could pull it off.

To get back to being positive about things, they just posted some photos and man am I excited to get this bad boy. View attachment 387842 View attachment 387843 View attachment 387844

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Belfast....Where do you get your info from ?
I enjoyed your post.
I am learning alot but can you tell Me more about FEPSA felts? What makes them better than other felts? What do you/ anyone think about the Hornskov 50/50 Beaver/ Hare felts they are offering?
Seriously considering pulling the trigger on one of these.

Hornskov’s 50/50 “re-shapable” line is outstanding. It’s more like vintage than the 100% beaver FEPSA felt I’ve handled.

Durability is more a function of how a hat is cared for than the type of fur used. Akubra’s rabbit and hare felt is some of the longest lasting hardest wearing felt currently available, but it won’t take long to ruin it if it’s not cared for properly. There are things I like better about FEPSA felt when compared to Winchester or the felt from modern mass produced hats, but longevity isn’t on the list. I’m sure FEPSA felt is durable, but the others have also proven their mettle there too.

 

[Samson25]

Thank You Deadly !
Appreciate your / others take on all things hat. I'm picky cause "I work hard for the money" and want a good ROI.
Thank You!

Hornskov’s 50/50 “re-shapable” line is outstanding. It’s more like vintage than the 100% beaver FEPSA felt I’ve handled.

Durability is more a function of how a hat is cared for than the type of fur used. Akubra’s rabbit and hare felt is some of the longest lasting hardest wearing felt currently available, but it won’t take long to ruin it if it’s not cared for properly. There are things I like better about FEPSA felt when compared to Winchester or the felt from modern mass produced hats, but longevity isn’t on the list. I’m sure FEPSA felt is durable, but the others have also proven their mettle there too.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Thank You Deadly !
Appreciate your / others take on all things hat. I'm picky cause "I work hard for the money" and want a good ROI.
Thank You!

I think most all felt made within the last 100+ years is acceptably durable. The build quality has generally declined, but the durability hasn’t really been impact other than the leather sweatbands. I don’t know what the change was, but the leather available in the last 70 years just isn’t as long lasting as the old leather. If properly cared for, modern sweatbands should give you years or decades of service, but they are a consumable item that usually requires replacement if you wear the hat enough. I can’t comment on the longevity of Hornskov’s sweatbands as they haven’t been around long enough.

 

[Rmccamey]

Most excellent, indeed!

My Hornskovs arrived today. Etsuko hid the Christmas one away before I got home from work. I’m really happy with the Mogul. My first Hornskov (the wool one) was a 59 and I felt it was just a little tight. My second, a Broker, was 59 1/2 and after wearing it a while, I decided the 59 was actually the better fit (as it should be - my head measures about 58.7) and I’ve put a little padding under the sweat band of the Broker. This time, I went back to size 59, but told him I was a long oval. Bingo! Clearly my best fitting hat - just perfect! The beaver, bunny blend felt is excellent - a little softer than my 100% beaver and beautiful to the touch. And the hatband is grosgrain.
Bring on Christmas!
View attachment 385735 View attachment 385736 View attachment 385737
The head shots are closer to the true colour. View attachment 385738 View attachment 385739 View attachment 385740

 

[The Shoe]

I’ve been meaning to get around to posting my Christmas Hornskov on this thread. A low (reduced crown height) Rancher. The colour is Stone. The ribbon is Dusty Rose…and it’s Petersham.
Here are the Facebook photos from Hornskov…

…and some shots of me wearing it.

As many of you will have seen on another thread, I was initially a bit unsure about the cattleman’s crease, but it’s growing on me. It stays, for now. Overall, I love the hat