How Long Is Too Long?

[hatflick1]

I called a custom hat maker today to ask about a style I liked. After all of my questions were satisfactorily answered, I inquired as to delivery. The response? "Six months, maybe longer. Some hats can take up to a year because there's only one man making them."
Is it me, or is that an unrealistic wait?
As always, Lounger thoughts and insights are welcome and appreciated.

 

[Mulceber]

I'd say no. If it's a good hatter, then there probably will be a wait time, and he is right that a lot of one-man operations have very long wait times (although I wonder if that was an oblique reference to Adventurebilt) So actually, for a custom hat, 6 months isn't that unrealistic. Maybe on the long side of average. -M

 

[Not-Bogart13]

There are shorter waits to be had out there, but the simple fact is this; anything of quality made custom can potentially have a hefty wait time, especially with a one-man operation. It's realistic, and no doubt based on numerous factors - demand being one of them.

In the end, the real answer can only come from you. Is 6 to 12 months too long for you to wait? I waited 11 months on a hat, but I knew what I was in for. I accepted it going in. But I don't think I would do it again. After 6 months, the agony starts to build. :eusa_doh:

 

[hatflick1]

Thanks, gentlemen, for the advice.
I am going to pass. My gut tells me the wait would most likely turn out to be a year. I don't know that I have the patience.
Additionally, it's not as though I saw and tried on the hat style in person. The entire transaction is over the internet based on a picture and specs. I might feel differently if I could meet the maker, feel the felt, look at samples and discuss style variations.

 

[djhatman]

I think a month is to long. Where I have my hats made it has never taken more then 3 weeks. The only reason that one took a little longer was he got sick.

 

[johnnycanuck]

I have waited 13 months for my Adventurebilt. I knew what I was getting into, its a great product, but I will never do that again. After a while I felt like I was forgotten, just to long for me to wait. VS hats (Art Fawett) usually take a few months (depending the time of year and how busy he is) and I have gone back to him time and again a very satisfied customer. Art also sends you a head conformer to make sure the hat fits you, bang on the first time. My two cents worth anyway.
Johnny

 

[Dewhurst]

When you come down to it, six months to a year is a very long time to wait for a hat to be made. Now, I know that we can talk about the end quality of the product until the proverbial cows actually do come home but it remains a long time, all the same.

There are two truths here:

1. Custom hats, by a select number of people, are worth both the time and the money you will spend on them. Most definitely, but...

2. There are amazing hats produced by companies such as Akubra, Biltmore, Stetson, Borsalino, etc., that you can purchase today, receive next week, and wear for years.

These are the two truths as I see them. Some people lean heavily on the first, perhaps to the point of error (any hat produced by a manufacturer becomes "bad" in some eyes). They are both valid ways to approach hats, both rewarding, and either way you can get quality hats that are comfortable and last a long time.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

There is a third truth that should be added, Dewhurst.

Sometimes what we want can only be gotten through a custom hatter, because modern manufacturers do not offer what we seek.

It does not invalidate what you say, but maybe explains why so many lean on the first truth, wether they realize it or not. I have found that I prefer custom hats - not because I think manufactured hats are worthless, but because they simply don't make what I want. At that point, the question becomes less about price and wait time, and more about how much time & money are my desires worth?

 

[daizawaguy]

For me, it would depend on payment terms. If it`s all upfront, 12 months would be a long wait. If it`s a queue and you pay upon completion, well - you might as well get in and get a nice surprise later. Funny how the financial element creeps in...but thats my take on this...

 

[daizawaguy]

I remember a less respected hatter on this site debiting my credit card and then purchasing the felt...and three months later I still had no idea when the hat would be finished. But the well respected ones (and I can only speak for Art, Panamabob and Optimo) have very transparent and well trusted payment terms.

 

[tonyb]

For me, it would depend on payment terms. If it`s all upfront, 12 months would be a long wait. If it`s a queue and you pay upon completion, well - you might as well get in and get a nice surprise later. Funny how the financial element creeps in...but thats my take on this...

Yup, that's about the size of it.

 

[tonyb]

I remember a less respected hatter on this site debiting my credit card and then purchasing the felt...and three months later I still had no idea when the hat would be finished. But the well respected ones (and I can only speak for Art, Panamabob and Optimo) have very transparent and well trusted payment terms.

I feel your pain.

For the life of me I can't understand how a person in business, any sort of business, can take a customer's money and leave that customer with no idea as to when he'll come through on his end of the deal.

Yeah, I know, sometimes things just kinda blow up and an overwhelmed businessperson is left with no good options. Not everyone who goes belly-up has the ethical standards of a Bernie Madoff. But man, if a businessperson has a customer's dough, he really oughta tell him what's going on.

The time it takes to actually make a hat can be measured in days, and most of that is the time the body spends on the block. The actual hands-on labor is really just a matter of hours. Still, there are quite legitimate (and obvious) reasons why a one-man hat shop might take months to fill an order.

This discussion reminds of a long-defunct hatter's shop in the local area and the apparent reason why it no longer exists. The old-timer who had run it for a number of years would hold forth on a variety of topics from his station behind the counter, but he was rarely seen doing any actual work. He would examine a hat a would-be customer brought in for refurbishment and announce that the work would be done in, oh, six months. The person who took over the business from the old guy didn't seem interested in actually working on hats, either. Shortly thereafter, the place was no longer in business.

 

[barrowjh]

Recent wait times

Thanks to the economy, which has affected all commerce including our trusted custom hatters, the wait times have been coming down - it might pay for you to call Art Fawcett and ask. Even a one-hatter operation can turn them out at a fair pace when that is their full-time job. Longer wait times can be expected in situations where the hatting is a 2nd job or hobby, and as long as you know that going into the transaction, then nothing wrong with the longer wait, you just have to decide which one to deal with.

 

[Canadian]

My grandfather made bespoke fur and leather goods till he was 80. He made me a new fur hat every few years and it took him about 20 hours, plus waiting for supplies. When he retired, it took months to do so, because he had multiple projects on the go (including several mink ladies coats, leather jackets, etc) and he retired leaving many people dissapointed, because he was the only person in Western Canada of his quality who still made such goods. He could get thousands of dollars for a coat or tunic and was a sole proprietor.

I do recall how many people considered him a grouch, and although he was always kind to me and proud I'd wear a tie every time I saw him, he could take horrendous times to turn out a hat or coat.

Keep in mind, a bespoke maker has a life. He may be in his 70s and wants to fish or go to his cabin. Tradesmen don't exist just to turn out a product, rather it's usually something they enjoy, but also do to provide for themselves and their recreational habits.

So no. Waiting a year for a hat is not unreasonable. Especially if it is of the quality my grandfather made. They're so well made, I have several left behind and my basement is full of his skins and ancillery tools.

Thomas

 

[Chinaski]

It probably does depend on the price. If money is no object, and that may be the case for someone who is able to contemplate acquiring a high-end custom hat, then why not order the hat and forget about it? If you have children, did you notice how quickly they grow up? Six months, a year will be here and gone in no time and you'll have a cool new custom lid!

 

[Dewhurst]

There is a third truth that should be added, Dewhurst.

Sometimes what we want can only be gotten through a custom hatter, because modern manufacturers do not offer what we seek.

Ah, yes. A truth that, if nothing else, should at least be a distinguished detail of the first truth.