Sunrise Hat Company felt (nutria) and hatters’ tools

[Tukwila]

And more importantly…a pre-1964 model 1894? That’s my guess. Looks too long to be a 1892 and I don’t see signs of lug recesses at the back of the bolt. .30 WCF?

It's a fairly old 92 clone in 45 Colt made by Rossi. The new ones are labeled Model 92, this is older and came labeled Model 65. Got it good and cheap when I was working at Cabela's. Thought I'd flip it for some cash, but I shot the durn thing and now I like it too much to sell. Hits 10" steel plates at 100 yards EVERY time.

 

[Tukwila]

Do you have a modern western weight beaver custom to compare it to? I’m going back and forth with Gannon on a black western and I’m not sure if nutria or Winchester’s beaver would get me closest to what I want?

I don't, sorry. Just comparison to what was in Mike's shop.

I'd say it would come down to individual batches of hat bodies more than anything.... if they'd cut back on the lacquer/stiffening agents I bet we could get there with nutria or beaver blends. Mike couldn't go any thinner on this one without hitting lacquer deposits. But, as I say, the hand is velvety smooth.

 

[Tukwila]

That is a hat I may have to copy, Doug. Very nice.

Mike's impression is that Winchester beaver is a better bet. Balance that opinion, if you will, with the opinion of Michael Gannon, who found the nutria quite nice... see Brent's review for more precise comparisons.

But Mike did a bang up job on this one, and I'm glad I have it. It will replace my Stratton outdoor hat for sure... probably give that one to my brother.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

It's a fairly old 92 clone in 45 Colt made by Rossi. The new ones are labeled Model 92, this is older and came labeled Model 65. Got it good and cheap when I was working at Cabela's. Thought I'd flip it for some cash, but I shot the durn thing and now I like it too much to sell. Hits 10" steel plates at 100 yards EVERY time.

Really! The action looked too long to be a ‘92. Guess my eye is out of practice.

 

[Tukwila]

Really! The action looked too long to be a ‘92. Guess my eye is out of practice.

The angle, probably. It was laying in the floor, but my cell phone camera pics are pretty mediocre.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Sunrise has introduced a new 160g dress weight hat body that is larger than the old 150g body to better accommodate large hat sizes, tall crowns, and wide brims…or in my case all three. I suspect that the 150g bodies will be discontinued, but that’s just a guess. I ordered two of the new 160g bodies this morning.

From Sunrise:
The Sunrise Dress Weight 2.0 is here! Refined with your valued feedback, we've added a little more fur per body yielding wider brims and made adjustments to the stiffening specifications resulting in an incredibly soft and supple hand-feel that will still hold its shape once blocked. Remember, all you need is steam and pressure. These bodies are made with a special "old-school" natural lacquer stiffening formulation; the felt opens nicely with steam and locks into form as it cools. Avoid any contact with boiling water, or the combination of steam/water-saturation and a hot iron that can cause flash boiling!

100% Coypu Fur

Pre-Pounced

Will yield ~3.75" brim with a ~5.5" tall crown


https://www.sunrisehatsupplies.com/collections/coypu-hat-bodies/products/160-gram-coypu-hat-bodies

 

[jonesy86]

I ordered one in Cobalt.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I ordered one in Cobalt.

I ordered cobalt and plum. Came close to moss, but in a rare moment of restraint I just got two.

Which hatter are you sending the felt to?

 

[jonesy86]

I ordered cobalt and plum. Came close to moss, but in a rare moment of restraint I just got two.

Which hatter are you sending the felt to?

Have not decided yet, I'm thinking about Gannon.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

+1 for Gannon: he’s getting both of mine. He’s also working on his western skills and he thinks he can get Winchester’s 100% beaver western felt to behave more like vintage western felt…if anyone can do it he can.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Sunrise is a very customer service oriented company and they usually answer my emails within a few hours. I had a question today regarding the new 160g plum felt. The website photos show it to be a lighter shade than the western felt and lighter than I wanted. Sunrise pulled my felt and photographed it next to the western also in plum. The 160g is on the left and is actually a little darker (hurray!) than the western. The 160g also looks to have plenty of brim!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

And from their last email:

“…I think these 160 are really going to work well for you. And we should be increasing color offerings in the next batches.”

Can’t wait to see what the new colors are.

 

[Tukwila]

I'm tempted to try their natural and midnight blue....

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

+1 for Gannon: he’s getting both of mine. He’s also working on his western skills and he thinks he can get Winchester’s 100% beaver western felt to behave more like vintage western felt…if anyone can do it he can.

If you happen to ask Gannon to return the "cutting" with your hat then I would be interested in comparing it to the old black cherry color. I have an old black cherry cutting in my possession. I have in the past compared it to the swatches from Sunrise but as you mentioned the plum 160 looks different from their 220. I did see the comparison photo they sent you as well, and they seem more red than that dark plum/cherry. Still looks great, just longing for that old color

I may pick one up, I am interested in Gunmetal, Cobalt, and Midnight Blue as well.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

If you happen to ask Gannon to return the "cutting" with your hat then I would be interested in comparing it to the old black cherry color. I have an old black cherry cutting in my possession. I have in the past compared it to the swatches from Sunrise but as you mentioned the plum 160 looks different from their 220. I did see the comparison photo they sent you as well, and they seem more red than that dark plum/cherry. Still looks great, just longing for that old color

I may pick one up, I am interested in Gunmetal, Cobalt, and Midnight Blue as well.

I think part of the problem may be in the photograph. Sunrise said the color matches the felt swatches they supplied, but their photos looks more like wine than the dark cherry of their swatch. I’ve also noticed that Gannon’s photos are not very color accurate. Felt can be a real SOB to photograph accurately. I’ll definitely ask Michael to return the trimmed felt and I’ll send it on to you.

 

[Gobi]

I received my 160 gram body in natural today. I like it quite a bit. It's nicely soft and malleable. Easy to bend and snaps back into place fairly well. I'm looking forward to working with it. I'm shooting for a little under 6" crown with a little under 3 1/2" brim. There seems to be adequate material but I'll be fine of those measurements fall slightly short. I'll have a better grasp on thickness once it's blocked but as of now, it's on the thick side especially considering that it's classified as dress weight. It will thin out some with blocking but I suspect it will still take a good amount of pouncing (by hand) to get it to where I want it. (Much less than the 220 gram bodies though) The color is darker than the 220 gram bodies. I'll include a picture to compare. I'm considering ordering a #52 block since my current blocks are straight sided with rather sharp shoulder and fairly flat on top. I'm getting a little burned out on that boxy profile and I'm wanting something with just a slight touch of taper. I don't know if I can wait that long to dig in to this one though! I really like it.
I hope they include their honey color in the next batch. If not, I'll for sure be ordering another natural.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

My 160g hat bodies arrived yesterday. The cobalt is a great blue-grey that should make a great fedora. The plum is not very close to Winchester’s old black cherry and is more wine. I think it could become a great hat, but it’s also a color that you could get wrong very easily.

True to the specs, these felts have more stiffeners than the 150g dress felts I’ve handled. They aren’t overly stiff, but there’s no concern about them holding their shape.

As you can see, the colors appear different depending on the light and the surroundings:

 

[ngodbehere]

I just received my shipment in yesterday (one of each color, I hope to buy more ASAP before they run out again). I’m honestly in love and I can’t wait to get back in the shop after this popup event to block a few of them and figure out what I’m doing for the trimmings (I really need to stock up on more ribbon choices). I already have one client place a down payment on the moss green one for a pork pie.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Here’s the gunmetal juxtaposed with the cobalt. These are both the 160g dress felts.

 

[ngodbehere]

Here’s the gunmetal juxtaposed with the cobalt. These are both the 160g dress felts.

View attachment 358586 View attachment 358587 View attachment 358588

Once I have an opportunity I need to get some good photos of the felts I got shipped in recently. Is it just me or does it feel like these are pounced a little more than the 150g? I only have one more of the black 150 grams in and maybe I’m crazy but the 160 gram bodies feel just a touch softer.