My first all-new hat

[tonyb]

After a three and half decades of regular hat-wearing, a few years of avid old-hat collecting, a year or so of acquiring hat-making equipment and materials, and a few months practicing and learning by taking apart and rebuilding hats of various qualities and vintages, I finally felt confident that I could build an all-new hat and end up with something other than a waste of perfectly good materials.

The body arrived, along with two others, on Thursday. After much hemming and hawing and holding various ribbons against the three (different colored) bodies, this bone-colored one went on the block Friday evening, where it stayed until Sunday morning. By Sunday night, it was a completed hat.

This hat is far from perfect. It doesn't hold a candle to what comes out of the workshops of Art Fawcett and Steve Delk and Major Moore and all those other fine custom hat makers. But I'm not just being wishful or boastful by saying I believe it's a better hat than anything I could buy off the shelf at the local hat store. It is made of better materials, and it's more carefully put together.

I put a gray body on the block last night. Can hardly wait 'til tomorrow, when it should be ready for its next steps.

 

[tonyb]

Oh ... If any of you tech-savvy guys could make these photos, and not just the links to them, appear here, please feel free to do so.

 

[Feraud]

Very nice job!

 

[thunderw21]

It looks great! What are the dimensions? Looks like a pretty tall crown. :eusa_clap

 

[Rick Blaine]

HOLY CRAPPOLI!

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap That is beautiful!
Where dja get the felt?, the sweat, what block did you use?
That is one fantastic looking hat, no bull! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[tonyb]

Thank you, Feraud. I copied and pasted to get those images into my original post.

Thanks for kind words, guys. I am kinda proud of this one. Thunderw21, the crown, open, is pretty darned close to six inches. As it is currently bashed (or creased, take your pick), it measures just a whisker under five inches at the front, a skosh over at the rear, and about five and a half at the sides. The brim is just barely under three inches. I'd be more specific on that, but the scale on my rounding jack is in quarter-inch increments (although the tool is infinitely adjustable within its range), and measuring with a ruler or tape presents its challenges as well, due to the curl I flanged into the brim, and the measurement varies a little depending on whether one measures at the top or the bottom.

Blaine, I used the good ol' No. 52 block -- a six-inch tall size 7 3/8 (I used every bit of its height). I'm reluctant to publicly disclose where I got all my materials (send me a PM, if you wish), but I can say that the body is, well, it's a good one, about as good a body as can be had these days; the ribbon is a cotton and rayon blend; and the sweatband is the finest I could find, after getting my hands on the offerings from four different suppliers. The liner is no great shakes, but it's new and crisp and looks good for now and will be easy enough to replace when I find a better source.

 

[David Conwill]

Very sharp. Can't wait to see the gray one.

-Dave

 

[J.T.Marcus]

tonyb, Marvelous results! It's a great feeling to produce something like that with your own hands. Thanks for sharing it with us. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

It wants to be photographed on top of your head!

 

[Stoney]

Stellar job Tony. It looks great and the bone colored felt is the cats meow.
I want one too! I know how much fun you had making it and there is a great sense of pride in the accomplishment of making one's own lid that just isn't there with those that are bought. I'm sure that the folks up in your neck of the woods will be seeing a lot of it. Be prepared for their compliments that are sure to come.

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[jimmy the lid]

Outstanding, tonyb. It will feel great to be wearing that out and about, don't you think?

If you feel like sharing photos of the inside of the lid, it would be neat to take a gander at that, as well. What amazes me is how quickly you were able to pull all of this together. Great job!

Cheers,
JtL

 

[AlanC]

Very handsome. Super job--congratulations!

 

[bolthead]

Beautiful Job Tony....

To quote Rick Blaine I believe....That lid is the "Bee's Knees".
You did an amazing job on it and I love the color of the felt you chose.

I really envy you guys that can produce your own lids, I think that's something special that you have and when it's all said and done....when you put that lid on your head and walk outside, the feeling you must have when people ask you about it.
Where did you get that beautiful hat from?
"I made it myself".
What a great feeling that must be.

 

[Benny Holiday]

You've got good reason to be proud of yourself Tonyb. The time, the effort and the care you put into making that fine hat all show in the finished product. The legendary hatters you mention all started somewhere, and this looks like a darn good start for you by anyone's measure. Congratulations on a job very well done!

 

[handlebar bart]

That is one fine looking hat. I looked at the pictures before reading the description and I thought it was a fantastic looking one. After the description I am even more impressed. Such a skill to create something so amazing from such raw materials. :eusa_clap

 

[Roadrunner]

You're being too hard on yourself. That hat is a beauty. :eusa_clap

 

[tonyb]

To quote Rick Blaine I believe....That lid is the "Bee's Knees".
You did an amazing job on it and I love the color of the felt you chose.

I really envy you guys that can produce your own lids, I think that's something special that you have and when it's all said and done....when you put that lid on your head and walk outside, the feeling you must have when people ask you about it.
Where did you get that beautiful hat from?
"I made it myself".
What a great feeling that must be.

Thanks again, guys. Please know, though, that if I can make a hat, just about any person with basic cognitive abilities and any manual dexterity to speak of can make a hat. I'm not saying that it's easy, or that there aren't an endless array of tricks and techniques to learn, or that the people who are really, really good at this somehow acquired that skill without years of hard work and a good aesthetic sense. But I am saying that there isn't all that much to a hat, and if you want to make your own, well, you can do it, provided you are willing to invest in some basic equipment -- the right block(s) and flange(s), for a start -- and accept that you'll make a bunch of mistakes on those beater hats you'll practice on, and maybe even ruin a couple of them, before you're ready to work on anything more precious. And know also that you had better enjoy the process (as well as being at least a bit nuts about hats), because it can get quite tedious and frustrating.

Those of us who have been around this joint for a couple of years or more remember when very few of us (besides the honest-to-goodness professionals) were doing anything more advanced than cleaning our hats in naphtha and rebashing our countrified Open Roads into city slickers. I took inspiration to take things to another level from some relative newcomers. Stoney comes to mind, for one, and MarkG as well.

It is a big step to go from dunking a hat in a vat of solvent to taking it entirely apart in the hopes you can do a passable job of putting it back together again. But, you know, you don't learn how to swim without getting into some deep water.

 

[bolthead]

Thanks again, guys. Please know, though, that if I can make a hat, just about any person with basic cognitive abilities and any manual dexterity to speak of can make a hat. I'm not saying that it's easy, or that there aren't an endless array of tricks and techniques to learn, or that the people who are really, really good at this somehow acquired that skill without years of hard work and a good aesthetic sense. But I am saying that there isn't all that much to a hat, and if you want to make your own, well, you can do it, provided you are willing to invest in some basic equipment -- the right block(s) and flange(s), for a start -- and accept that you'll make a bunch of mistakes on those beater hats you'll practice on, and maybe even ruin a couple of them, before you're ready to work on anything more precious. And know also that you had better enjoy the process (as well as being at least a bit nuts about hats), because it can get quite tedious and frustrating.

Those of us who have been around this joint for a couple of years or more remember when very few of us (besides the honest-to-goodness professionals) were doing anything more advanced than cleaning our hats in naphtha and rebashing our countrified Open Roads into city slickers. I took inspiration to take things to another level from some relative newcomers. Stoney comes to mind, for one, and MarkG as well.

It is a big step to go from dunking a hat in a vat of solvent to taking it entirely apart in the hopes you can do a passable job of putting it back together again. But, you know, you don't learn how to swim without getting into some deep water.

Well, you guys are definitely Inspirational....to say the least. :eusa_clap

 

[Mark G]

Bravo :eusa_clap

Love the color. It looks wonderful.

 

[tonyb]

And let's not forget fletch31. He's done some pretty impressive stuff.

 

[Art Fawcett]

Well, it's about friggin time Tony!!!! It looks good Sir. Ribbon work is right up there, tightly done. Bravo. Your bandline could use some work, I have lots of questions on your procedures and some tips for you, just call.
All in all...great start Tony..well done..now..about our friend that wants to sell his shop..