Pouncing

[Yahoody]

Naw, good question. Better to ask than ruin a felt. I've only worked with 100% beaver blanks from Winchester. So take it for what it is worth. I go counter on top and counter on the bottom. Mostly because I am right handed and it is the easiest way for me to sand the felt. Hat class instructor said it mattered but I am not so sure it does as long as you always go in the same direction once you start. If you watch the felt as you pounce and the nap on the felt is getting really torn up...likely better go the other direction and see if that tones everything down some.

 

[crhIndyfan]

Naw, good question. Better to ask than ruin a felt. I've only worked with 100% beaver blanks from Winchester. So take it for what it is worth. I go counter on top and counter on the bottom. Mostly because I am right handed and it is the easiest way for me to sand the felt. Hat class instructor said it mattered but I am not so sure it does as long as you always go in the same direction once you start. If you watch the felt as you pounce and the nap on the felt is getting really torn up...likely better go the other direction and see if that tones everything down some.

Hi Yahoody, thanks for your reply. Some really great advice here. By the sound of things, I think I would feel better if it were you sanding the hat rather than this rookie aha. But no, thanks for your opinion!

 

[suitedcboy]

I agree 100% with Yahoody. I have Purchased some 100% and 50% beaver hats that I wanted to have more velvet like finish. I sanded with 1000 grit and I found inconsistencies with which way got the fine finish. I know some hat restorations are done by turning hat inside out. The sanding on some of these hats I ordered new from hatmakers or bought new factory made, that sanded reverse of the normal "grain" made me think that some hat bodies are turned inside out. I never asked the hatmakers if they invert the bodies to get the better color distribution or lesser flaws. I was a bit reluctant to ask since I was taking sandpaper to a hat recently obtained from their artisan hands.

 

[belfastboy]

To me the pouncing of a felt is the alchemy of hat making. It is the fun process but also the one that produces the most anxiety......I never know what will be uncovered. In a Winchester beaver I uncovered a divot that appeared to be a moth nibble but was just a void in the felt exposed when the top veneer was removed. Another, a Tonak felt revealed a flaw in the dye when I cut the brim and uncovered about a centimetre of poor dye penetration. Then there is the dreaded uncovering of the shellac layer that reveals the mottling of the colour. For this I have learned that denatured alcohol is my saviour. I have recovered felts that I thought I would have to toss as they were not saleable with that mottling but the alcohol dissolved the shellac and drove it deeper into the felt. I have resigned myself that engaging in learning the art/craft of hatting I will end up with a pile of discarded felts sitting in the corner taunting me with my failures.

 

[T Jones]

To me the pouncing of a felt is the alchemy of hat making. It is the fun process but also the one that produces the most anxiety......I never know what will be uncovered. In a Winchester beaver I uncovered a divot that appeared to be a moth nibble but was just a void in the felt exposed when the top veneer was removed. Another, a Tonak felt revealed a flaw in the dye when I cut the brim and uncovered about a centimetre of poor dye penetration. Then there is the dreaded uncovering of the shellac layer that reveals the mottling of the colour. For this I have learned that denatured alcohol is my saviour. I have recovered felts that I thought I would have to toss as they were not saleable with that mottling but the alcohol dissolved the shellac and drove it deeper into the felt. I have resigned myself that engaging in learning the art/craft of hatting I will end up with a pile of discarded felts sitting in the corner taunting me with my failures.

Send that pile of discarded felts my way. I'll make hats out of them and then sell them as "distressed"! There seems to be a sizeable market for distressed fashion these days, especially in hats. With a little imagination you can sometimes turn failures into something successful.

 

[belfastboy]

Send that pile of discarded felts my way. I'll make hats out of them and then sell them as "distressed"! There seems to be a sizeable market for distressed fashion these days, especially in hats. With a little imagination you can sometimes turn failures into something successful.

I have totally overlooked that 'distressed' marketplace.

 

[T Jones]

I have totally overlooked that 'distressed' marketplace.

I'm actually kinda liking the distressed look, as long it looks natural and not something that's noticeably artificially done. I even scavenge and save old stained and slightly tattered hat ribbons and brim bindings to reuse on conversion projects where I want to get that slightly distressed look....

Old faded out and slightly distressed '50s era 3X Stetson Western conversion. The hat ribbon and brim binding came off of two different hats....
Before:

After: (I still haven't gotten around to sewing on the brim binding yet).

Okay. Enough of me hijacking the thread.

 

[crhIndyfan]

I agree 100% with Yahoody. I have Purchased some 100% and 50% beaver hats that I wanted to have more velvet like finish. I sanded with 1000 grit and I found inconsistencies with which way got the fine finish. I know some hat restorations are done by turning hat inside out. The sanding on some of these hats I ordered new from hatmakers or bought new factory made, that sanded reverse of the normal "grain" made me think that some hat bodies are turned inside out. I never asked the hatmakers if they invert the bodies to get the better color distribution or lesser flaws. I was a bit reluctant to ask since I was taking sandpaper to a hat recently obtained from their artisan hands.

I'm not big on the finer grits outside of beaver - in my particular case I'm working with rabbit. Rabbit just doesn't seem dense enough to give that fine beavery finish. But this is a really excellent point about turning the hat inside out. And it kind of cements it for me that anti-clockwise under the brim is the "right" way (even though it's left aha). Maybe one day my grandkids will find my creation and say "Hey wasn't it good he sanded counter clockwise, we can restore this!"

 

[belfastboy]

Hi everyone. New to the Forum, and I understand that this is an older thread. But I was wondering if anyone would be able to clarify the direction you would sand the underside of the brim when you pounce a hat body. As I understand it, you sand anti-clockwise for the top side of the hat, crown and brim, but I was wondering whether this would be the same for the underside. I hope this isn't a silly question but if anyone could answer this I would be very appreciative

I like to use the white coloured abrasive pads as a finishing step. It removes very little of the felt but does act to polish it a bit. Not sure if this is 'accepted' in the hatter's world but I like the affect.

 

[crhIndyfan]

I'm actually kinda liking the distressed look, as long it looks natural and not something that's noticeably artificially done. I even scavenge and save old stained and slightly tattered hat ribbons and brim bindings to reuse on conversion projects where I want to get that slightly distressed look....

Old faded out and slightly distressed '50s era 3X Stetson Western conversion. The hat ribbon and brim binding came off of two different hats....
Before:

After: (I still haven't gotten around to sewing on the brim binding yet).

Okay. Enough of me hijacking the thread.

Two fine looking lids with plenty of character

 

[crhIndyfan]

I like to use the white coloured abrasive pads as a finishing step. It removes very little of the felt but does act to polish it a bit. Not sure if this is 'accepted' in the hatter's world but I like the affect.

I mean in my humble opinion I think there is a lot to be said for amateur hatters like us. With the right tools and enough nerve "profession" quality can easily be replicated so I don't think it really matters if it's accepted or not

 

[crhIndyfan]

I'm actually kinda liking the distressed look, as long it looks natural and not something that's noticeably artificially done. I even scavenge and save old stained and slightly tattered hat ribbons and brim bindings to reuse on conversion projects where I want to get that slightly distressed look....

Old faded out and slightly distressed '50s era 3X Stetson Western conversion. The hat ribbon and brim binding came off of two different hats....
Before:

After: (I still haven't gotten around to sewing on the brim binding yet).

Okay. Enough of me hijacking the thread.

I mean I cut the ribbon off an old perfectly good Akubra Adventurer to reuse on my own creation just coz I liked it and the sweatband I'm using is vintage so I figure its all about creating the character of the hat - like a novelist writing a character in a book

 

[T Jones]

Two fine looking lids with plenty of character

Thank you buddy.

 

[T Jones]

I mean I cut the ribbon off an old perfectly good Akubra Adventurer to reuse on my own creation just coz I liked it and the sweatband I'm using is vintage so I figure its all about creating the character of the hat - like a novelist writing a character in a book

I've done that with a few, myself. I call them my Frankenhats.

This Frankenhat gave me some trouble, though. I tried to pounce it but it pounced back...

 

[belfastboy]

I mean in my humble opinion I think there is a lot to be said for amateur hatters like us. With the right tools and enough nerve "profession" quality can easily be replicated so I don't think it really matters if it's accepted or not

I tend to be a mix of 'data collector' and 'ready, fire, aim. One of the great fun parts of learning the craft of hatting is making shit up, making my own tools, learning workarounds to the inevitable surprises and for better or worse I learn best from mistakes. I remember Art Fawcett saying that an aspect of being a master hatter is that his mistakes are never visited upon the client.....and after 5000+ hats he was still making the occasional mistake.

 

[crhIndyfan]

I tend to be a mix of 'data collector' and 'ready, fire, aim. One of the great fun parts of learning the craft of hatting is making shit up, making my own tools, learning workarounds to the inevitable surprises and for better or worse I learn best from mistakes. I remember Art Fawcett saying that an aspect of being a master hatter is that his mistakes are never visited upon the client.....and after 5000+ hats he was still making the occasional mistake.

I could never be a master hatter. I get too invested in the lids I start work on. Would want to keep them for myself when it came down to it haha

 

[crhIndyfan]

I've done that with a few, myself. I call them my Frankenhats.

This Frankenhat gave me some trouble, though. I tried to pounce it but it pounced back...

Looks like my ex-wife

 

[belfastboy]

I could never be a master hatter. I get too invested in the lids I start work on. Would want to keep them for myself when it came down to it haha

That is why I took the leap to hanging out my shingle as a hatter......I have no more room for hats of my own....I am maxxed out. So in order to satisfy my hat lust I am forced to make them for others. I get the thrill of a new hat but don't have to find room to store it!!! I am developing my skills at making hats for women as that takes them an arms length out and thankfully don't have to overcome the urge to keep them and wear them!!!!

 

[T Jones]

Looks like my ex-wife

I'd say something but my wife reads through FL sometimes and I'd be in for a big time a$$ whooping.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

That is why I took the leap to hanging out my shingle as a hatter......I have no more room for hats of my own....I am maxxed out. So in order to satisfy my hat lust I am forced to make them for others. I get the thrill of a new hat but don't have to find room to store it!!! I am developing my skills at making hats for women as that takes them an arms length out and thankfully don't have to overcome the urge to keep them and wear them!!!!

The better solution is to make them all in a size you can’t wear...say 7 5/8 long oval. Just trying to be helpful.