Photos of hatters tools

[John Galt]

My latest additions to the hat making tool arsenal. This set of three curling shackle irons from JW Hats. They include 1/8, 3/8, and 5/8 curl sizes and look like they are built to last a lifetime. Now all I have to do is find the many hours it will surely take to master their use.

Very nice!

I believe it was Major Moore who said he'd sent his off to be powder coated upon receipt. Seemed like a good idea to me. I have a couple of shackles, including an electric one, but haven't used them yet either. Might put a roll on one of the cowboy hats I'm making for Joao if he's into it, but of course the brim will still have to reach a minimum of 3 inches ;-)

 

[John Galt]

Used my brass band block last night on a very stiff wool hat that had stubbornly resisted the creation of a good "foot" when flanging with a stretch block instead of a proper brass band block, and am very pleased with the difference.

The stretch block has worked well for most hats, but this is better.

I highly recommend them to anyone lucky enough to find one. Happily, I just sealed the deal for another, so I can do more than one hat at a time.

When I get caught up and things slow down I'm going to talk to a machinist about reproducing this and some other hard-to-find hatters tools in my collection. Wish I had a C&C router to copy the blocks & flanges.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Used my brass band block last night on a very stiff wool hat that had stubbornly resisted the creation of a good "foot" when flanging with a stretch block instead of a proper brass band block, and am very pleased with the difference.

I thought you quitted on that hat. At least it served for something
Wasn't expecting to get it back!

 

[Joao Encarnado]

I believe it was Major Moore who said he'd sent his off to be powder coated upon receipt. Seemed like a good idea to me. I have a couple of shackles, including an electric one, but haven't used them yet either. Might put a roll on one of the cowboy hats I'm making for Joao if he's into it, but of course the brim will still have to reach a minimum of 3 inches ;-)

I don't know... I only wear (rarely) my only 3 1/4" brim hat because it's a Nutria.

 

[hats'n bands]

Here are some of my hatter's tools. Yes, I know, but they work.http://s611.photobucket.com/user/chuter2/media/hatters tools 002_zpsts2ksyso.jpg.html

 

[John Galt]

Beautiful Nutria Quality, and it's looking like new again. Obviously your tools do work.

One of the great things about making hats is that although there are lots of tools and they are certainly nice to have, you can make a perfectly serviceable hat with very few tools.

The flip side of that is that no matter how great your tools are, a hat isn't ever going to be a quality piece of work for unless the fundamentals - like a good crisp "foot," a well-flared sweatband and well-executed ribbon work - are solid.

 

[John Galt]

I thought you quitted on that hat. At least it served for something
Wasn't expecting to get it back!

I had admittedly gotten frustrated trying to get a good crisp foot in the reblocked hat, and had decided to make you a new fur felt hat rather than mess with that stiff wool body, but the brass band block and a little perseverance will out, I believe.

I will still send you a from-scratch hat along with the others though, with as wide a brim as I can possibly coax out of my biggest western hat body. The wool felt hat will have about a 3 3/4" brim when finished, I think.

 

[humanshoes]

Interesting heat-shield setup on those babes, 'shoes.

I have some old, old, old ones -- wooden handles, one of which is missing. But other than the handle-less one, they're perfectly serviceable. You'd almost have to try to damage them.

So, tonyb, you're the guy who got all the old ones. I searched for years for old curling irons and finally gave up. One would think there would be thousands floating around out there since they really seem to be indestructible, but none were to be found by me. I don't get too many requests for pencil curled brims or bowler style hats, but it'll be good to be able to say yes to the folks that want them.

 

[humanshoes]

Used my brass band block last night on a very stiff wool hat that had stubbornly resisted the creation of a good "foot" when flanging with a stretch block instead of a proper brass band block, and am very pleased with the difference.

The stretch block has worked well for most hats, but this is better.

I highly recommend them to anyone lucky enough to find one. Happily, I just sealed the deal for another, so I can do more than one hat at a time.



When I get caught up and things slow down I'm going to talk to a machinist about reproducing this and some other hard-to-find hatters tools in my collection. Wish I had a C&C router to copy the blocks & flanges.

Hah! I've had one of these for years and never really knew what it was supposed to be used for. Thanks for the enlightenment.

 

[tonyb]

So, tonyb, you're the guy who got all the old ones. I searched for years for old curling irons and finally gave up. One would think there would be thousands floating around out there since they really seem to be indestructible, but none were to be found by me. I don't get too many requests for pencil curled brims or bowler style hats, but it'll be good to be able to say yes to the folks that want them.

Curled brim edges come in varieties, and having the "right" tools for each of those varieties could become a lifelong effort. One develops an appreciation for homburg flanges and adjustable rounding jacks.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

I had admittedly gotten frustrated trying to get a good crisp foot in the reblocked hat, and had decided to make you a new fur felt hat rather than mess with that stiff wool body, but the brass band block and a little perseverance will out, I believe.

I will still send you a from-scratch hat along with the others though, with as wide a brim as I can possibly coax out of my biggest western hat body. The wool felt hat will have about a 3 3/4" brim when finished, I think.

Thank you for the update.
If I recall that hat was bought for you to try something (wasn't a cow track crease?) and looks like you found the right tool to work on it.

 

[John Galt]

Joao, I'll be emailing you. I don't want to burden this thread any further.

 

[John Galt]

Hah! I've had one of these for years and never really knew what it was supposed to be used for. Thanks for the enlightenment.

I believe it is identified & discussed in either the Ermatinger or Thompson book, or maybe one of the others. There are only a few, and they are generally available electronically without charge. Feel free to email me - my address is in the thread Terry started.

 

[John Galt]

http://www.google.com/patents/US477965

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Cool!!

 

[Frunobulax]

That's very interesting! But how was the hat first cleaned? Is there supposed to be naphtha on that brush? Or are they just finishing it off?

Questions, questions...

On the plus side, building one wouldn't be too hard.

Edit: OK, should have read the link first. So it's not so much for post-cleaning (naphtha bath), as it is for finishing/polishing the surface.

 

[John Galt]

It's actually both, I believe.

I take the "ready to wear in 30 seconds" claim to refer to drying time after spinning out what we frequently call naphtha, but back then was just gasoline - used with a stiff brush to clean oils from the hat. The spinner could also be used for pouncing (sanding) - mostly with bowlers, I imagine as indicated in the ad. It would not be as useful for that purpose on soft hats. It looks like the hat in the image is bring "lured" with oil, or having shellac applied. Probably the former - most of the books say to shellac the inside of the crown & underside of the brim.

If you are interested in learning more, you should probably read the Ermatinger book "Scientific Hat Finishing...," which lays it all out (except trim work) in pretty good detail.

As previously noted, there are a few (very few) others that discuss making men's hats, and most or all of them are available for free in PDF format online.

Some old dry cleaning books also include chapters on cleaning & blocking hats.

Insurance risk assessments frequently included detailed information as well, due to the historically astronomical risk of fire associated with hatting.

There is a host of books on making women's hats, but precious little on men's hats.

Fortunately, the few books there are available on making men's hats are fairly well done, with Ermatinger being the best and most comprehensive in my opinion (for what that is worth).

 

[Frunobulax]

Thank you. It does interest me, and I'll check it out.

 

[DOGMAN]

I have the Ermatinger book.Definitely worth having if you want to do anything with hats.

 

[John Galt]

I just won this very old J.B. Mast curling shackle (~100 years old, I reckon) in an eBay auction for $29! I lost the auction for another, and a very old rounding jack that went for very reasonable prices. Did anybody else here get lucky?