Men's Hats: A Discussion Thread, Questions, Opinions, Suggestions...

[suitedcboy]

If you have a particular feature to the dents that eases away after a bit then put the dents in and then push it back to open and then repeat several times. Each manipulation will ease the shellac and it should then take and hold the features of your dents. Dress hatbweight felt hat bodies usually have much less shellac than western weight felts. The shellac level does vary but manipulating the felt relaxes the shellac. If you at some classic movies you'll see men pick up their fedoras and pinch the dents backninto crown and then put it on head and adjust the brim snap at front if it is not to their liking. That soft malleability was a sign of good quality felt. Western hats shouldn't flop down into your vision on a fast ride so those need to be stiff.

 

[Miles R.]

Wow, that is a stunning hat! You may not need to steam it. A crown that accepts a bash and dents and holds them needs no steam. If it is stiff and pops back to open crown then steam will allow youbtonset the shape and then hold it. If you steam a hat tjat takes and holds the bash on top and side dents then you risk activating shellac in the felt and making it stiff.

Thank you. I don't think that the hat is shellacked at all. It is nothing like my Dobbs, Stetson, and Biltmore hats, which are stiff. It will hold a dent if I get it into shape and don't touch it, but a stray touch will change the shape. I was hesitant to go for a walk with the hat on my head for fear that it might reshape itself in some bad-looking way (e.g., losing just one front dent). I was a little bit surprised when it didn't.

I am not sure if steaming will make any difference, since it is already soft. I think I shall have to spray stiffener on it if I want to make it hold a shape. But I am not going to do that until I am confident that I have shaped it as I want it. For now, I am going to continue making little adjustments to the shape. I tried to make a teardrop indentation in the top but could not make it work. Preston at the Gentleman's Gazette has made a video on blocking one's own hats, but it seems to presume that one is starting with a stiff hat.

How To Shape A Hat At Home | Gentleman's Gazette

Love to wear classic men's hats, but wish yours had a different shape? Quickly and easily reblock your hats at home with our guide!

www.gentlemansgazette.com

 

[Munky]

My Hornskov has arrived from Copenhagen. It arrived with an open crown. I have not yet steamed it but have only pushed it into shape with my hands. My biggest hat yet! Before this, the widest brim that I had ventured was 2 1/4 inches and the highest crown 4 1/4 inches; the figures for this hat are about 2 3/4 and 5, respectively.

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That is a beautiful hat! Thanks for showing us.

 

[Miles R.]

That is a beautiful hat! Thanks for showing us.

The color that I chose for it was attractively designated by Hornskov as "mud"!

 

[Munky]

The color that I chose for it was attractively designated by Hornskov as "mud"!

Perhaps he could have given a few more minutes to naming that.

 

[Jamesbond1]

I am expecting mine to arrive sometime by the end of Feb. will post pictures when it does. I also ordered the interchangeable band option with one extra bands.

Hornskov Dapper

100% beaver dress weight

 

[Captain O]

I have my hats made exclusively by Mike Miller (Owner/Hatter of Northwest Hats). His hats are on a par with the best ever to grace any man's head.

Try him, you'll like him!

 

[suitedcboy]

I have an Art Fawcett beaver fedora, 2 westerns and a fedora from Mike, all beavers, and a beaver fedora from Gannon. I have a hard time deciding which one is may favorite as each one is while it is in my hands on the way to my head.

 

[Captain O]

I have two Mike Miller hats,

1. A "Hard Coke", Beaver Fur Felt Bowler. (Custom shellacked five times to my specification).
2. A "Double-C" crown Caribou (gray) Whippet (There's only one of these in the world, and I had it made for me).

Mike is one of, if not the best, in the world. I'll buy from him again... and again!

 

[johng70]

I also have several hats from Mike. I agree, he is top notch. Other places have skyrocketed their prices. An Optimo is almost 3 times the price of Mike's work and Mike's are just as good. I'm working on a homburg design with Mike right now.

 

[Captain O]

I also have several hats from Mike. I agree, he is top notch. Other places have skyrocketed their prices. An Optimo is almost 3 times the price of Mike's work and Mike's are just as good. I'm working on a homburg design with Mike right now.

I, too, have been thinking about a Homburg from Mike (in Caribou, of course). This would be the perfect complement to the style just above the Bowler. It has to be made from Beaver felt, don't you agree?

 

[johng70]

I, too, have been thinking about a Homburg from Mike (in Caribou, of course). This would be the perfect complement to the style just above the Bowler. It has to be made from Beaver felt, don't you agree?

To be honest, I don't have experience with rabbit so I can't say how well it compare in reality to beaver. That would be a discussion I would have with Mike if there were a particular rabbit felt he had I thought looked interesting.

 

[Captain O]

To be honest, I don't have experience with rabbit so I can't say how well it compare in reality to beaver. That would be a discussion I would have with Mike if there were a particular rabbit felt he had I thought looked interesting.

Both of my "Mike Miller" hats are made from Beaver felt. (IMHO, due to its durability, it is worth the extra cost).
I have a Christy's Of London Hard Coke, and it is a fine hat. When it comes to a bespoke hat, why not opt for the best?

 

[Rasputin13]

Thinking about getting a Dobbs fedora. I saw it at the hat store and I think it looked good on me. Only $90. Is Dobbs a good brand?

 

[Captain O]

Thinking about getting a Dobbs fedora. I saw it at the hat store and I think it looked good on me. Only $90. Is Dobbs a good brand?

There isn't really anything "bad" about The Dobbs brand. You must bear a few things in mind about mass-produced hats. These are:

a) Most of the hats under $100.00 are usually made from wool or wool/fur blend hat "blanks". Wool felt generally does NOT last as long as fur felt (either rabbit/hare or beaver fur felt).

b) Mass-produced Fur felt hat blanks manufactured after approximately 1962 (Stetson in particular) are not as "robust" as earlier fur blank bodies (demand was lower for men's dress hats, so hat quality suffered, resulting in a lower quality product).

This is why a good, modern hatter has it all over the mass-produced products on today's market. A hatter such as Mike Miller of Northwest Hats in Eugene, OR stands "head-and-shoulders" above the mass-produced competition.

Modern wool-blend hats will last about five years, then disintegrate. Rabbit/hare fur will last much longer and Beaver fur lasts the longest (it will keep its shape and withstand more repeated cleaning and blocking than either wool or rabbit fur felt. As a result, it is more expensive.

You get what you pay for.