M.C. Gannon Hat Company

[belfastboy]

Congrats Brent. I think you look sharp in the western styl'd hats. It is truly nice to zero in on hat felt, style and characteristics that you can cherish. Gannon's work on this hat is superb. His hatting skills are at the top of the game. Did by chance Michael say how the felt was to work with?

I have been curious to get a few long haired felts or heathered felt sand commission a Gannon series with them. Brent with your experience any vendor suggestions?

Your vast experiences with the different felt vendors and offerings are fun to read about. I am always amazed at how diverse the hats on your hat rack are. You are boldly using the different felt caps and they are very cool to see. Thanks for continuing to share your efforts.

I have used Tonak heather and I like working with it and it makes a nice hat. My Black Sheep hat is a Tonak heather as well and I love it. I purchased the felt from Agnoulita out of Athens (Etsy.com site). The felt is reasonable but he charges $45 Canadian) to ship via courier so for just one felt it is expensive. I try to buy 6 at a time and the price does not go up much in total.

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

If the colour selection was better I think I would switch to Sunrise nutria. The felt is great to work with.

@deadlyhandsome nice looking hat, congratulations. I think you have convinced me to buy a nutria felt from Sunrise in the near future and see how it turns out. Just wish I could get the hat bodies in the $65 range for dress hats.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Congrats Brent. I think you look sharp in the western styl'd hats. It is truly nice to zero in on hat felt, style and characteristics that you can cherish. Gannon's work on this hat is superb. His hatting skills are at the top of the game. Did by chance Michael say how the felt was to work with?

I have been curious to get a few long haired felts or heathered felt sand commission a Gannon series with them. Brent with your experience any vendor suggestions?

Your vast experiences with the different felt vendors and offerings are fun to read about. I am always amazed at how diverse the hats on your hat rack are. You are boldly using the different felt caps and they are very cool to see. Thanks for continuing to share your efforts.

Thank you, Eric. I really value your opinion and appropriate your willingness to share with us all. I’m very eclectic in my hat collecting, and I enjoy a wide range of styles. Your collection has launched many a hat obsession.

I didn’t ask Michael how the felt was to work with and he didn’t volunteer anything.

The only new build heather or long hair finishes hats I have are from Agnoulita made using Tonak rabbit fur felt. The felts are not super impressive. I have some vintage hats in those finishes and the current Tonak felt just doesn’t come anywhere near them. You can make a decent hat with the Tonak felt, but I don’t know that it would be up to your standards. I don’t know of any other sources. I do think that you could be very happy with a dress-weight nutria felt, and they have some different colors. Maybe Michael has access to sources of felt that I’m not aware of.

 

[Robieman]

My latest Gannon:
This is a 100% nutria fur felt from Sunrise Hat Supply in Berkeley, California. The color is their version of Natural. I received the hat body from Sunrise and immediately noticed that it was a LOT less stiff than my previous two western hat bodies. The unfinished felt gave me great hope for the hat. I sent the felt to Gannon with a request that the crown thickness and feel be made more like a cross between a fedora and a typical western. Michael didn’t have a flange for the 3 1/2” brim that I wanted, so I bought the flange from the Hatters Supply House and had it shipped to Michael. The hat has an open crown of just under 6 1/2 inches and a bound brim width of 3 1/2 inches. The felt is absolutely incredible! It isn’t the clay or putty type that stays wherever you put it, but it’s soft and with gentle pressure you can crease the crown deeply and it’s also pops back to open crown without fuss and without crease lines in the felt. A little steam got it to stay in whatever crease I wanted. Michael chose the ribbon and binding, and I mostly stayed out of his way.

View attachment 300819 View attachment 300820 View attachment 300821 View attachment 300822 View attachment 300823 View attachment 300824 View attachment 300825 View attachment 300826 View attachment 300827

The felt really does change color depending on the light.

I can’t overstate how happy I am with how the hat turned out. Michael exceeded my already high expectations in every way! For my uses and preferences it’s heads and shoulders better than Winchester’s western beaver felt. This is close to great vintage western felt, and that’s saying something. My concerns are you don’t know what kind of felt you’re going to get from Sunrise until you have it in hand.

That is outstanding Brent. Congratulations.

 

[Frunobulax]

My latest Gannon:
This is a 100% nutria fur felt from Sunrise Hat Supply in Berkeley, California. The color is their version of Natural. I received the hat body from Sunrise and immediately noticed that it was a LOT less stiff than my previous two western hat bodies. The unfinished felt gave me great hope for the hat. I sent the felt to Gannon with a request that the crown thickness and feel be made more like a cross between a fedora and a typical western. Michael didn’t have a flange for the 3 1/2” brim that I wanted, so I bought the flange from the Hatters Supply House and had it shipped to Michael. The hat has an open crown of just under 6 1/2 inches and a bound brim width of 3 1/2 inches. The felt is absolutely incredible! It isn’t the clay or putty type that stays wherever you put it, but it’s soft and with gentle pressure you can crease the crown deeply and it’s also pops back to open crown without fuss and without crease lines in the felt. A little steam got it to stay in whatever crease I wanted. Michael chose the ribbon and binding, and I mostly stayed out of his way.

View attachment 300819 View attachment 300820 View attachment 300821 View attachment 300822 View attachment 300823 View attachment 300824 View attachment 300825 View attachment 300826 View attachment 300827

The felt really does change color depending on the light.

I can’t overstate how happy I am with how the hat turned out. Michael exceeded my already high expectations in every way! For my uses and preferences it’s heads and shoulders better than Winchester’s western beaver felt. This is close to great vintage western felt, and that’s saying something. My concerns are you don’t know what kind of felt you’re going to get from Sunrise until you have it in hand.

Fantastic hat, Brent. Great job by Mr. Gannon.

 

[1967Cougar390]

I have been in touch with Michael about commissioning a mid to thin ribbon fedora. I narrowed my color choices down to Camel and Granite. After examining many pictures on this thread I can’t seem to find a picture of a Camel Gannon. If anyone has a Camel Gannon, can you please post a picture? I found some absolutely great comparison pictures of his felt swatches against Akubra’s Carbon Grey and Moonstone. The two fore mentioned hat colors I have so the pictures remain a significant reference for me. So much so, I think I will pass on the Granite and go to Steel. I feel Steel is a more appropriate color for me being between Akubra’s Carbon Grey and Moonstone. The Granite has to much of a brown undertone for me, I already have Akubra’s in Regency Fawn, Tawny Fawn and Acorn Fawn.

Photos courtesy of Scuttle, I edited each with the color names of the swatches and descriptions.

Be safe and enjoy your Sunday.

Steven

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I have been in touch with Michael about commissioning a mid to thin ribbon fedora. I narrowed my color choices down to Camel and Granite. After examining many pictures on this thread I can’t seem to find a picture of a Camel Gannon. If anyone has a Camel Gannon, can you please post a picture? I found some absolutely great comparison pictures of his felt swatches against Akubra’s Carbon Grey and Moonstone. The two fore mentioned hat colors I have so the pictures remain a significant reference for me. So much so, I think I will pass on the Granite and go to Steel. I feel Steel is a more appropriate color for me being between Akubra’s Carbon Grey and Moonstone. The Granite has to much of a brown undertone for me, I already have Akubra’s in Regency Fawn, Tawny Fawn and Acorn Fawn.

Photos courtesy of Scuttle, I edited each with the color names of the swatches and descriptions.
View attachment 301837

View attachment 301838

Be safe and enjoy your Sunday.

Steven

Steven, have you looked at Sahara? It’s also a nice color and a couple years ago when I was thinking about camel I ended up choosing Sahara. I don’t have a camel hat, so I can’t help you there. However, any hat made with Winchester’s felt should be close. I say close because I have two hats in 100% beaver in granite felted by Winchester and they are distinctly different colors. Good luck.

 

[Rmccamey]

Sahara with a Copper ribbon. Not the best pic, it runs a little more towards yellow. When I ordered this one, I thought the Camel was too orange for what I wanted.

Also a Gannon Granite. This pic is a better approximation of the true color.

I have been in touch with Michael about commissioning a mid to thin ribbon fedora. I narrowed my color choices down to Camel and Granite. After examining many pictures on this thread I can’t seem to find a picture of a Camel Gannon. If anyone has a Camel Gannon, can you please post a picture? I found some absolutely great comparison pictures of his felt swatches against Akubra’s Carbon Grey and Moonstone. The two fore mentioned hat colors I have so the pictures remain a significant reference for me. So much so, I think I will pass on the Granite and go to Steel. I feel Steel is a more appropriate color for me being between Akubra’s Carbon Grey and Moonstone. The Granite has to much of a brown undertone for me, I already have Akubra’s in Regency Fawn, Tawny Fawn and Acorn Fawn.

Photos courtesy of Scuttle, I edited each with the color names of the swatches and descriptions.
View attachment 301837

View attachment 301838

Be safe and enjoy your Sunday.

Steven

 

[Rmccamey]

This is a better picture of my Sahara.

 

[belfastboy]

I have been in touch with Michael about commissioning a mid to thin ribbon fedora. I narrowed my color choices down to Camel and Granite. After examining many pictures on this thread I can’t seem to find a picture of a Camel Gannon. If anyone has a Camel Gannon, can you please post a picture? I found some absolutely great comparison pictures of his felt swatches against Akubra’s Carbon Grey and Moonstone. The two fore mentioned hat colors I have so the pictures remain a significant reference for me. So much so, I think I will pass on the Granite and go to Steel. I feel Steel is a more appropriate color for me being between Akubra’s Carbon Grey and Moonstone. The Granite has to much of a brown undertone for me, I already have Akubra’s in Regency Fawn, Tawny Fawn and Acorn Fawn.

Photos courtesy of Scuttle, I edited each with the color names of the swatches and descriptions.
View attachment 301837

View attachment 301838

Be safe and enjoy your Sunday.

Steven

My humble opinion: I have 2 Granites....one is greyer and the other has strong brown undertones. I have two Steel, some hatters call it Blue Steel as it has strong blue undertones which I love. The Camel has strong yellow undertones and I don't wear it much because of that. I think the Steel is a more formal colour and my two I consider more dressy hats because of it.

 

[1967Cougar390]

Steven, have you looked at Sahara? It’s also a nice color and a couple years ago when I was thinking about camel I ended up choosing Sahara. I don’t have a camel hat, so I can’t help you there. However, any hat made with Winchester’s felt should be close. I say close because I have two hats in 100% beaver in granite felted by Winchester and they are distinctly different colors. Good luck.

Thanks Brent. I’ve asked Michael about color swatches, so I’ll have to see what he says in his reply. I think the Sahara is a nice color, but I feel it might be to similar to my Akubra fawns.

This is a better picture of my Sahara.

View attachment 301859

That’s a beautiful hat and ribbon combination. The colors work well together. When I ordered my Acorn Stylemaster, I was wanting a color more like your Sahara. Pictures of colors can be misleading and the Acorn Fawn surely fooled me.

My humble opinion: I have 2 Granites....one is greyer and the other has strong brown undertones. I have two Steel, some hatters call it Blue Steel as it has strong blue undertones which I love. The Camel has strong yellow undertones and I don't wear it much because of that. I think the Steel is a more formal colour and my two I consider more dressy hats because of it.

I like the Steel color in the swatch comparison pictures I posted. To me at least, it is lighter than both of my gray Akubra’s. I’m thinking whichever color I choose, I’m going with a thin ribbon similar to a Stratoliner or Open Road. To me the Steel looks similar to Stetson’s Caribou, which I like. I have a low end Black Creek toyo-straw that has strong yellow/orange undertones that I like. That’s what I was seeing in the Camel, at least on my phone screen. Below is a picture of my Black Creek.

I thank each of you for your replies. It helps me more than I can express.

Steven

 

[belfastboy]

Thanks Brent. I’ve asked Michael about color swatches, so I’ll have to see what he says in his reply. I think the Sahara is a nice color, but I feel it might be to similar to my Akubra fawns.



That’s a beautiful hat and ribbon combination. The colors work well together. When I ordered my Acorn Stylemaster, I was wanting a color more like your Sahara. Pictures of colors can be misleading and the Acorn Fawn surely fooled me.




I like the Steel color in the swatch comparison pictures I posted. To me at least, it is lighter than both of my gray Akubra’s. I’m thinking whichever color I choose, I’m going with a thin ribbon similar to a Stratoliner or Open Road. To me the Steel looks similar to Stetson’s Caribou, which I like. I have a low end Black Creek toyo-straw that has strong yellow/orange undertones that I like. That’s what I was seeing in the Camel, at least on my phone screen. Below is a picture of my Black Creek.


View attachment 301874

I thank each of you for your replies. It helps me more than I can express.

Steven

I have a modern Stetsonian in Cariboo....it is a very different colour than the Steel. Cariboo is a dead grey, no blue tones whereas the Steel is more accurately named Blue Steel with strong blue undertones

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Thanks Brent. I’ve asked Michael about color swatches, so I’ll have to see what he says in his reply. I think the Sahara is a nice color, but I feel it might be to similar to my Akubra fawns.



That’s a beautiful hat and ribbon combination. The colors work well together. When I ordered my Acorn Stylemaster, I was wanting a color more like your Sahara. Pictures of colors can be misleading and the Acorn Fawn surely fooled me.




I like the Steel color in the swatch comparison pictures I posted. To me at least, it is lighter than both of my gray Akubra’s. I’m thinking whichever color I choose, I’m going with a thin ribbon similar to a Stratoliner or Open Road. To me the Steel looks similar to Stetson’s Caribou, which I like. I have a low end Black Creek toyo-straw that has strong yellow/orange undertones that I like. That’s what I was seeing in the Camel, at least on my phone screen. Below is a picture of my Black Creek.


View attachment 301874

I thank each of you for your replies. It helps me more than I can express.

Steven

My steel Gannon is darker than my caribou. Felt colors can be very challenging to photograph accurately.

The ribbon is called “blue metal” and I really like the hat and the colors. Alas, my wife didn’t care for the mustache.

 

[1967Cougar390]

Michael is going to send felt samples. I have asked for Granite, Steel, Camel, and Sahara. Here is the type of hat I have in mind. It was posted earlier in this thread, does anyone have any idea of the color combination or the owner?

If anyone has a Granite and Steel Gannon’s can you post side by side comparison pictures?

Steven

 

[belfastboy]

Michael is going to send felt samples. I have asked for Granite, Steel, Camel, and Sahara. Here is the type of hat I have in mind. It was posted earlier in this thread, does anyone have any idea of the color combination or the owner?

View attachment 302042

If anyone has a Granite and Steel Gannon’s can you post side by side comparison pictures?

Steven

I have Granite and Steel Winchester beaver but not from Gannon

 

[1967Cougar390]

I have Granite and Steel Winchester beaver but not from Gannon

Forgive me, I’m not versed in the different felt suppliers. Does Gannon use Winchester felts? My Gannon so far has definitely been a learning process. Thanks for bearing with me and my questions.
Michael told me the hat I posted earlier is Charcoal. I like it, so he’s including a sample of it as well.

Steven

 

[belfastboy]

Forgive me, I’m not versed in the different felt suppliers. Does Gannon use Winchester felts? My Gannon so far has definitely been a learning process. Thanks for bearing with me and my questions.
Michael told me the hat I posted earlier is Charcoal. I like it, so he’s including a sample of it as well.

Steven

Yes, most hatters use Winchester beaver...the only US producer.....maybe only 3 in the entire world. Charcoal is a true grey whereas Steel has the Blue undertone. Generally the finished hat will be a shade or two lighter when finished due to the pouncing.

 

[Rmccamey]

Charcoal will be...well...Charcoal. Very dark grey. The ribbon will make some difference depending on whether you want the hat to be darker or lighter. A lighter ribbon will bring out more of the grey, a dark or black ribbon will swing the color toward black. This is a Northwest Hat (Winchester Charcoal) with a wide, mid-gray ribbon.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Here’s a Gannon in steel, a Gannon in Granite, and at the bottom a modern Stetson in Caribou:

Felt colors are hard for me to accurately capture. I’ve included indoor artificial lighting, outdoor direct sun light, and outdoor indirect sunlight. I’m still not completely satisfied with the color rendering. The steel in particular comes out lighter than it really is.

 

[1967Cougar390]

Yes, most hatters use Winchester beaver...the only US producer.....maybe only 3 in the entire world. Charcoal is a true grey whereas Steel has the Blue undertone. Generally the finished hat will be a shade or two lighter when finished due to the pouncing.

Thank you for the information on the felt and pouncing. That will help me decide when the samples arrive.

Charcoal will be...well...Charcoal. Very dark grey. The ribbon will make some difference depending on whether you want the hat to be darker or lighter. A lighter ribbon will bring out more of the grey, a dark or black ribbon will swing the color toward black. This is a Northwest Hat (Winchester Charcoal) with a wide, mid-gray ribbon.

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I definitely see how a ribbon can change the color of a hat. Until lately, I never gave it much thought.

Here’s a Gannon in steel, a Gannon in Granite, and at the bottom a modern Stetson in Caribou:

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Felt colors are hard for me to accurately capture. I’ve included indoor artificial lighting, outdoor direct sun light, and outdoor indirect sunlight. I’m still not completely satisfied with the color rendering. The steel in particular comes out lighter than it really is.

The pictures are a great reference for me. Pictures and the felt samples should help me narrow my selection to the final color. The one thing I am sure of, I want a thin ribbon with just a slight contrast.

Steven