Photos of hatters tools

[jc1]

domke and ulm hat stretcher

i found an old electric domke and ulm mfg co hat stretcher in a house i bought. it is about 12"x6" with a 12"tall split dome at one end. the dome is spread apart to stretch a hat when a crank is turned. it has a size chart on the base and a metal measuring rod that moves to show the hat size/inches as the crank is turned.
i know next to nothing about hats or hat tools. does anyone know anything about this device, if it is something that is still used and/or if it has any collectible value. thanks for any info.

 

[Stoney]

i found an old electric domke and ulm mfg co hat stretcher in a house i bought. it is about 12"x6" with a 12"tall split dome at one end. the dome is spread apart to stretch a hat when a crank is turned. it has a size chart on the base and a metal measuring rod that moves to show the hat size/inches as the crank is turned.
i know next to nothing about hats or hat tools. does anyone know anything about this device, if it is something that is still used and/or if it has any collectible value. thanks for any info.

It is indeed a hat stretcher and folks like us here on the lounge still use them.
Let me know if you want to part with it . I would be interested. You can also post pictures of it in the classifieds section, once you have made 15 posts .

 

[Jez from MHB]

Hat Blocks

Jeremy Partington at Melbourne Hat Blocks makes some wild stuff:

http://melbournehatblocks.com.au/

The pictures are gorgeous.

Check out the puzzle blocks. Is is even possible to stretch felt into all these shapes, or is he pulling our legs? "Pointy Puzzle"? "Circling Shark"?

Thank you Kabuto, it took a lot of work to make all of these styles.

Regarding blockable shapes, I don't know of you use hatter techniques or milliner techniques. Milliners pin into the block when they are stretching the material. I believe hatters usually use presses.

Most of the styles pictured on my website have been requested by milliners, including the pointy puzzle button. I wouldn't know exactly how they will block these difficult shapes, but I do know that it can be done, just not necessarily in felt.

If anyone has any questions, I am happy to answer them through my website. I can answer them here if I know there's a question.

If anyone has opinions about hat block attributes or suggestions of new styles, I would be interested to read and comment on them.

To the admin at FL - thank you for the quality site, I will have a link to you next time I update our site.

Cheers all!

Jeremy

Melbourne Hat Blocks
www.melbournehatblocks.com.au

 

[indycop]

Hello Jeremy welcome to the lounge!

 

[Vintage Betty]

Bump.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

i found this thread the other night at work & so i have decieded to bump it yet again. the best part is that all the images are still here & the links i clicked on still work!

 

[Bruce Wayne]

before i forget again. does anyone know where to get a tollicker?
thanx!!!
Charlie

 

[Panamabob]

Tollikers:

http://www.decoustudio.com/

http://www.etsy.com/search_results....earch_query=tolliker&order=date_desc&ship_to=

 

[seed]

Get a copy of the Scientific Hat Making book if you haven't already. Its on OFAS for about 12 bucks. If your making hats by hand you don't need much more than what you have listed outside of a spinner, hat brushes, a good steam source, some puller downs and runner downs maybe in addition, know how to tie a hatters/slip knot, hand sew a lock stitch, and fold and sew on a ribbon. With these basics and the ones you have listed, you are ready to start messing around. Curling shackles for pencil curls are nice to have if you want them. Jim at JW hats can sell you a new set of 3 to cover the sizes for $300. They just make that job easier if you making hats with curled brims though and not used often with most fedora styles. I would say you could get buy without an official tolliker though. The edge of an old fashioned, heavy non-steam electric iron works just as well. Tollikers are going for crazy money on OFAS and are just nice to have but not absolutely necessary as you can get the same function in other ways. Last one I watched went for more than 250 bucks. You can have one made at a foundry for less than that. You can make one out of wood as well for getting a good brim break. You can get a new rounding jack for 175.00 at B&L in Oregon. I picked one up myself a while ago from her though it seems very easy to make one if you wanted to. If you have a wood shop on base I would make it yourself. There is not much to them and they are overpriced for what they are in my book. Very simple design. Marc Kitter made his own and some other guy on here that I cant recall. You could make a traditional one like the one I've got very easily I think. I have been gearing up myself over the last few months for hand made hatmaking. PM me if you want to chat more in depth. There are others here that could be of help as well.
Fletch31

What is OFAS and B&L? I briefly searched, but did not meet with success.

 

[Lefty]

OFAS is the bane of scotrace's existence.

I don't know about the other one.

 

[jwalls]

Hatter's Tools

Just a few of the tools I have in my collection.http://www.xoopit.com/s/20um7cjq58ene5zn9min

 

[Topper]

You have I see, a "couronne" ( Halo style) Allie Maillard conformateur, and forlillion - just missing the base plot.

They look near new - have then been refurbed?


They are exceptionally rare - I have two couronne conformateurs, and yours is only the 3rd I have seen.

 

[jwalls]

The 'halo style' Is on loan to my hatter, and is used every day, the other one is just as I found it about 10 years ago.

 

[seed]

OFAS is the bane of scotrace's existence.

I don't know about the other one.

Thanks Lefty. And I can see why scotrace hates the use of this nickname. Pretty obnoxious.

Oh by the way, thanks also for helping me to find and order the book with the info you provided.

 

[PabloElFlamenco]

Here's my stretcher. Bought it on French eBay from some one in the pyrenees mountains, here's the global village for you...
Had quite a few bug holes in the wood, but I poisened them to blazes and filled the holes with wood-filler and a few coats of wax.
Works fine, neither is it rocket science...

 

[jwalls]

Hatter's Tools

Here is a 1940s Doran Bros crown iron that I helped Dave and Roland at D bar J restore.http://www.xoopit.com/s/20um7cjq58enenfldao8

 

[gtdean48]

Here is a 1940s Doran Bros crown iron that I helped Dave and Roland at D bar J restore.http://www.xoopit.com/s/20um7cjq58enenfldao8:)

The ":" of your smiley got caught in the URL giving a File Not Found error...

 

[jwalls]

gtdean48

That should take care of it. Thanks; Black Jack

 

[jwalls]

What is it?

http://www.xoopit.com/s/20um7cjq58eneymsorc1 I found this item in a box of old hatter's tools. I think I know what it's purpose is, but if you do tell us all.

 

[Brad Bowers]

At first glance it looks like a curling shackle iron, but the configuration is not one with which I'm familiar. The adjusters are usually just two screws on the inside. Do you have better angle of the business end?

Brad