Tabletop Hatters of The Lounge

[humanshoes]

Anyone know of a source for corded ribbon? 2, 3, 6-cord?

View attachment 181667

I heard the rumor that M&F Western Supply carried the 2 and 3 ply ribbon. After several calls to them I was informed that I could only buy it if I had a vendor account. They referred me to my local M&F vendor, Elliot's Shoes and Boots and was told they could order it for me. I then made several calls to several different Elliot's stores and was told by several different salespersons/managers that they couldn't order the ribbon for me. I originally thought that every western hat maker/supplier in the country would have this ribbon in stock and available to purchase. I was wrong. It rankles me to give up on finding the things I need, but I'm pretty close at this point.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I heard the rumor that M&F Western Supply carried the 2 and 3 ply ribbon. After several calls to them I was informed that I could only buy it if I had a vendor account. They referred me to my local M&F vendor, Elliot's Shoes and Boots and was told they could order it for me. I then made several calls to several different Elliot's stores and was told by several different salespersons/managers that they couldn't order the ribbon for me. I originally thought that every western hat maker/supplier in the country would have this ribbon in stock and available to purchase. I was wrong. It rankles me to give up on finding the things I need, but I'm pretty close at this point.

Sounds like Elliott's doesn't want to bother with it. Thanks for the input.
Kind of hard to clone...well, never mind.

 

[BulldogsRBtrThnPeople]

Hi All - I am sure this question has been asked before, but I have been unable to find anything using the search function...
I am just beginning my hat-making journey and I am looking for a good place to buy some fur felt to start tooling around. I have found a few places that seem like logical places to start (like hatsupply.com, for example) but there doesn't seem to be much information around where the felt actually comes from or what kind of blend it is (I usually see the generic "fur felt"). I feel like there is this cloud of mystery around where all this felt comes from. I know that beaver would be pretty rare so the felt is likely rabbit but how do all the bespoke hatters out there find genuine beaver felt?
Again, apologies if this has been discussed already. Thanks in advance!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Hi All - I am sure this question has been asked before, but I have been unable to find anything using the search function...
I am just beginning my hat-making journey and I am looking for a good place to buy some fur felt to start tooling around. I have found a few places that seem like logical places to start (like hatsupply.com, for example) but there doesn't seem to be much information around where the felt actually comes from or what kind of blend it is (I usually see the generic "fur felt"). I feel like there is this cloud of mystery around where all this felt comes from. I know that beaver would be pretty rare so the felt is likely rabbit but how do all the bespoke hatters out there find genuine beaver felt?
Again, apologies if this has been discussed already. Thanks in advance!

Beaver isn’t rare, but it does sell for a premium. Most US custom made beaver dress hats use felt made by Winchester. I’ve heard a few times over the last several months that Winchester isn’t taking on any new clients. There are several European felters, but the biggest are Tonak and FEPSA. FEPSA is difficult for hatters in the US to acquire. You can try Agnoulita on Etsy for Tonak rabbit or his undisclosed sourced hare. I’d bet most of the the “fur felt” hat bodies you see elsewhere are Tonak rabbit. You can also try The Hat Maker’s Emporium, but I’m not sure he has beaver: hatmakersemporium@gmail.com

Be aware that not all felt is made equal even when it’s from the same animal. Agnoulita had some 100% nutria felts that I think ended up in a landfill after he decided he didn’t want his company associated with them; the hatter refused to make me a hat from one because he knew I would be hugely disappointed.

If you’re just starting out, maybe rabbit isn’t a bad way to go?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[BulldogsRBtrThnPeople]

deadlyhandsome - This is great info. Thank you so much for steering me in the right direction!

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

Several years ago, I purchased a vintage (40 years old) panama hat on eBay. Stripped it bare, cleaned all the dust off of it, completely removed the creases out of it and rebuilt the hat at Art's shop since he had the sculpted block I needed to use. Since that time it has seen a good amount of use and some abuse, the brim ended up getting wonky and needed to be re-flanged. So I am showing the pictures after the rebuild with the wonky brim and then the pictures after I re-flanged and steamed the brim. If I remember correctly this is an old Dobbs 5th Avenue hat.

The flange is from Hatter's Supply House, model 510 (snap brim), sized 7-1/4, brim 2-1/2 inches.

By the way I am posting this in two separate threads as I feel it applies to both, maybe these threads should be combined.

Before re-flanging:





After re-flanging:

 

[belfastboy]

Several years ago, I purchased a vintage (40 years old) panama hat on eBay. Stripped it bare, cleaned all the dust off of it, completely removed the creases out of it and rebuilt the hat at Art's shop since he had the sculpted block I needed to use. Since that time it has seen a good amount of use and some abuse, the brim ended up getting wonky and needed to be re-flanged. So I am showing the pictures after the rebuild with the wonky brim and then the pictures after I re-flanged and steamed the brim. If I remember correctly this is an old Dobbs 5th Avenue hat.

The flange is from Hatter's Supply House, model 510 (snap brim), sized 7-1/4, brim 2-1/2 inches.

By the way I am posting this in two separate threads as I feel it applies to both, maybe these threads should be combined.

Before re-flanging:
View attachment 350183 View attachment 350184 View attachment 350185 View attachment 350186




After re-flanging:
View attachment 350187 View attachment 350188 View attachment 350189 View attachment 350190

Great job. Have you ever attempted to crease a panama blank by hand off an open crown block or is it essential to have the correct block to form it on?

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

Great job. Have you ever attempted to crease a panama blank by hand off an open crown block or is it essential to have the correct block to form it on?

I believe it to be essential to have the sculpted block to do it properly. You could likely get some dents put it but I don't think you will like the outcome solely by hand, it is just a different beast than felt. I wish I had the foresight to get some from Art but Brent Black went in and bought every sculpted block that Art had.

 

[belfastboy]

I believe it to be essential to have the sculpted block to do it properly. You could likely get some dents put it but I don't think you will like the outcome solely by hand, it is just a different beast than felt. I wish I had the foresight to get some from Art but Brent Black went in and bought every sculpted block that Art had.

I would like to get into straws but not to the extent of buying ANOTHER full set of blocks. I have to learn to draw a damn line......somewhere! Thank you. Art has some nice straw blanks for sale on Ebay but in lots of 11.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Great job. Have you ever attempted to crease a panama blank by hand off an open crown block or is it essential to have the correct block to form it on?

I believe it to be essential to have the sculpted block to do it properly. You could likely get some dents put it but I don't think you will like the outcome solely by hand, it is just a different beast than felt. I wish I had the foresight to get some from Art but Brent Black went in and bought every sculpted block that Art had.

I asked Mike at Northwest Hats about a custom Panama hat but he didn’t have a Panama block in my size. He said he could make one without the proper block but it wouldn’t come out perfect. I passed; I don’t see the point of a custom hat that is a compromise and not really just what you want. If I ever see a used block in my size with a Havana crown I’ll buy it.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Kevin @ChicagoWayVito graciously agreed to make me a custom fedora. I know that he has made a large investments of time and in acquiring hat making equipment. I went into this with high expectations as Kevin was an obvious perfectionist.

The beauty of the hat is obvious, but the nuances are what make it a real stand out. The felt was blocked and pounced inside out. This allows for the crown to be thinned without risking damaging the finish. The hat was then re-blocked right-side-out and given a fine finish. The result is a very vintage-like hat that among the best I’ve ever seen. The felt is incredible and is thin and dense and is sooo easily creased. If the build quality isn’t perfect it’s darn near: I can’t find a flaw. There is a minor issue with the felt, but that was on Winchester, and doesn’t take away from the hat. I’ve had custom fedoras costing over $1,000 pass through my hands and this hat is as good or better than any of them. Kevin isn’t ready to start taking commissions, but when he does he will have all the business he can handle.

 

[Steve1857]

Kevin @ChicagoWayVito graciously agreed to make me a custom fedora. I know that he has made a large investments of time and in acquiring hat making equipment. I went into this with high expectations as Kevin was an obvious perfectionist.

The beauty of the hat is obvious, but the nuances are what make it a real stand out. The felt was blocked and pounced inside out. This allows for the crown to be thinned without risking damaging the finish. The hat was then re-blocked right-side-out and given a fine finish. The result is a very vintage-like hat that among the best I’ve ever seen. The felt is incredible and is thin and dense and is sooo easily creased. If the build quality isn’t perfect it’s darn near: I can’t find a flaw. There is a minor issue with the felt, but that was on Winchester, and doesn’t take away from the hat. I’ve had custom fedoras costing over $1,000 pass through my hands and this hat is as good or better than any of them. Kevin isn’t ready to start taking commissions, but when he does he will have all the business he can handle.

View attachment 457286 View attachment 457287 View attachment 457288 View attachment 457289 View attachment 457290 View attachment 457291 View attachment 457292 View attachment 457293 View attachment 457294

What a wonderful looking hat, Brent. Love the shape, proportions, and that ribbon and bow treatment.

If Kevin ever does get round to taking commissions, I expect there'll be a long waiting list.

 

[steur]

Kevin @ChicagoWayVito graciously agreed to make me a custom fedora. I know that he has made a large investments of time and in acquiring hat making equipment. I went into this with high expectations as Kevin was an obvious perfectionist.

The beauty of the hat is obvious, but the nuances are what make it a real stand out. The felt was blocked and pounced inside out. This allows for the crown to be thinned without risking damaging the finish. The hat was then re-blocked right-side-out and given a fine finish. The result is a very vintage-like hat that among the best I’ve ever seen. The felt is incredible and is thin and dense and is sooo easily creased. If the build quality isn’t perfect it’s darn near: I can’t find a flaw. There is a minor issue with the felt, but that was on Winchester, and doesn’t take away from the hat. I’ve had custom fedoras costing over $1,000 pass through my hands and this hat is as good or better than any of them. Kevin isn’t ready to start taking commissions, but when he does he will have all the business he can handle.

View attachment 457286 View attachment 457287 View attachment 457288 View attachment 457289 View attachment 457290 View attachment 457291 View attachment 457292 View attachment 457293 View attachment 457294

Looks gorgeous. Really like all the details, like the vents and the ribbonwork. Fabulous job by Kevin!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

What a wonderful looking hat, Brent. Love the shape, proportions, and that ribbon and bow treatment.

If Kevin ever does get round to taking commissions, I expect there'll be a long waiting list.

Looks gorgeous. Really like all the details, like the vents and the ribbonwork. Fabulous job by Kevin!

It’s not possible for me to overstate how much I like this hat. It’s just about perfect. Its hard to believe that modern felt is capable of being worked into a hat like this…I’ve had several hatters tell me it was impossible. Kevin has some serious skills!