Gosh, my post was taken in the wrong way by Yohimbe. I apologize my friend. That was not my intention at all! I thought I was giving good advice for future hatters, and it comes from my own direct experience. I started out, differently than some, and I still think if anyone wants to have a better chance at success, my formulae works. That advice is actually worth something, yet, I shared freely. Just thought I was doing folks a favor, by illustrating my own sucess story. And successful it was. The good will, created by the way that I started out, still serves me today, and it is impossible to gauge just how much it has.
Way back, I gave away free hats of mine, to the less fortunate, never blew my own horn in doing so, as most was done quietly, behind the scenes. Michaelson even would mention a less fortunate person(privately offline), asking if I could help, and every time, to my memory, I did indeed help. But not just Michaelson, a couple more folks too. I would still be doing that today, IF, my lead times were not so ghastly. So, in the future, you can expect the same from me. I had several guys in the past years that wanted to own one of my hats, back when they were 225.00 but could not afford it, and after I determined these were indeed real cases, I gave away several of my hats to help these fans out. I have charged several times only my actual cost, to other people, who were disabled, but COULD afford the cost of my materials, so I gave my labor away free. Now, is this advertising? One could see it that way, but since at the time, we remained silent about these deals, it was never used to advertise my hats. And I only bring it up now, just to show the doubtful that I not only talk the talk, but walk the walk, whenever possible.
Part of my percieved contentious post just suggested that some of the new hatters, offer free reblocks prior to coming out with their own line of Indy fedoras. It serves two important facets. First, you get to see how different brands of felt require different techniques in constructing the hat. You learn important lessons by doing this. And are less apt to destroy another's hat, later on, when you get in a run of felt that is totally different than what you generally get from the same supplier. It will save you money, because you don't have to throw that body away, and start over! And throw it away, many times you must do, because no one wants to send out a hat that has flaws, created by the hatmaker, or the factory. I am currently working on a hat for Marc, in the camel color. It was going great, until I got to poucing the brim. My first pounce revealed a piece of what looked to be wood, a small chip, that ran all the way to the core of the felt. Now, sometimes you can dig out and then pounce out the trash that all hatters eventually see in some bodies. But not this one, because it ran too deep. A less experienced hatter, not wanting to throw away a hundred dollar body, might try to get by with it, thereby leaving a small area on the brim that was basicaly a low spot. I threw the body away. As any good hatter would do.
I do give my opinions, probably way too often here, but I think I have earned the right, somewhat to do so. My hatmakng started out purely as a hobby, and for years I sold pure beaver hats here, that would generally sell in the 500 to 750 dollar range, if bought from an established hatter. I did not do this with the intention of making a lot of money. I did it because at that time, the offerings from most other hatters were lacking in a big way, if you wanted a Raiders fedora. And, having spent around 7500 bucks on the various other brands, at that time, I wanted a more durable Indy fedora, and one that looked more like what we see onscreen. But, I was not trying to make a living from my hatmaking. I saw myself as helping out other Indy fedora fans who were like me, not happy with what we had bought, at that time. And my pricing reflected that until we got the Indy 4 gig. It was still nothing more than a hobby until Indy 4. That changed everything, mostly due to the demand that was greater than a one man show could handle and still have livable lead times.
So, you took my post as an attack, upon you, and perhaps other new hatters.
I feel I AM the competition that is being attacked (whether purposeful or not).
Sir, I don't see anyone here as my competition. That may sound odd, but I really don't. There are only two guys that can make exactly what we put into Indy 4, Marc and myself. That is 90 per cent of my business, today. You can copy it, and that is fine, but I did things when we made those hats, that would make them hard to replicate, exactly. And neither Marc or I use strictly traditional techniques in how we make our hats. We learned these, over years, some of it came from making thousands of hats, and some came from the help of old hatters, like the guy Marc found in Europe who had retired, but shared things you never see online, or read about. This craft is like that. You can get a general idea of how to make a hat, but there are so many small things, details, that are never told, and for good reason. Those little secrets are something all old time hatters know about, but seldom share, because they want to have their own little special secret, that makes for a better hat. But with these hatters, the main difference is in the sequence of the techniques, and not so much as something that know one else knows about.
Making hats involve a learning curve, that only time and making hats will aid in getting there. There really are no short cuts in hatmaking, if you want to make it the best that you possibly can. This applies not only to hatmaking, but also every real craft out there. And that is why I have suggested now, and in the past that a hatter needs to make many hats before he starts selling them, UNLESS you actually were trained by another hatter, who already has made all of the common and uncommon mistakes, and can save you from repeating his own experience. Do you absolutely HAVE to do it in this manner? Of course not! But, it is a very intelligent way to learn the craft. The traditional way of learning the craft, involved paying a hatmaker to teach you the craft. Then only after you had worked for him for few years and were able to make the hat correctly, you then worked for free for a period, before he would give you his blessings. At that time, you could start up your own biz. This insured that the new hatmaker could produce a well made hat, and kept the quality of hats way up there.
Can you make hats, by making a few scores, and then offering them to sale? Sure. And much depends upon the skill level of the hatter that is doing this. Some catch on faster than others. John caught on the fastest of anyone I have seen in my years of doing this. He was a "natural" but all are not born "naturals". Plus, he did have help from me and Marc, which speeded him up in reaching the level he is at. He did not have to repeat our mistakes.
There is so much more to hatmaking than just making a hat that looks accurate to Indy's. That is only a small part of hatmaking. Learning the "right" way to make a hat is more important, and in the long run, is what will determine if you are successful in your enterprise. And also, unless you have the luck of working under an experienced hatmaker, you will like me and others, have to learn by trial and error, with a little help from other experienced hatters, if you can find one that is willing to do so. Generally these guys are really close to the vest on their methods. So, you can't skip the "time" variable if self taught. And that was my main point in my percieved contentious post. And I told HOW I did it. Which I still think is the best way to get into this Indy fedora biz. But certainly NOT the only way.
No one has to take my advice, but I give it because I know that it works! And I do it, to try and help out. I do understand how, if you are not aware of my own history, some things that I do post can easily be taken in a way that was not intended, by me. I know this is the case with you, going by what you posted. And I now understand that folks that do not know me, and what I have done here, over the years, can totally misunderstand my intentions. Just trust me, when I say that my intentions are meant to help you guys out, and not trash you. My own success story speaks for itself.
In the future, I wil try and refrain from giving advice. It would actually benefit me not to give it. That I do, should show, this isn't about me trying to hurt another hatter. Once you are in this for awhile, hatmaking, you may find out that what I have said, was indeed the best advice you got when you first started making hats. 10 years from now, I doubt many new hatters will still be making hats. But the AB brand will be here for as long as Marc is alive, and long after I retire. I know our success was dependant upon the way that I started hatmaking. You can follow my example or not. But, I am proof, that my own methods from the get-go, has gotten me to where I am today. Perhaps I should have been greedy, and kept all of those methods to myself? Sometimes no good deed goes unpunished.
But seriously, my critiques and pats on the back are intended to help and to encourage. But also to point out that making great hats involves a learning curve, and alot of practice is essential. I got mine from reblocking and rebuilding my own huge hat collection at that time, followed by reblocking other brands of hats for free. Pics of these free reblocks were posted here, so that when I finally did offer my own line, I already had a market for them. I started off with a bang, and my first order for bodies were 6 dozen, or 72 hats that were sold already. From then on, the orders just increased overtime, and the Indy 4 fedora we made for the film, increased expoentially my sales. Part of this increase was from here, but most of it were from non members, who never knew what COW was. I was given a world wide market, and this all started out as free reblocks to my fellow fans here, which built good will, and that good will played a very important role in us being selected to make the Indy 4 fedoras. My formulae, while not calculated or planned, and came from me just wanting to help out my fellow fans, paid off in spades. And most of my own success, I feel, goes right back to the manner in which I started. By starting this as a hobby, with no intention of it ever being anything other than that. But it says more about my personality than anything else. I would hope it would say something about my character, that some have questioned over the years, who did not know my own personal history with this hatmaking deal I have going on.
So Yohimbe, you took my post in the worse possible way, but I can understand why. The way you percieved it was NOT the way I intended it. I thought I was giving out advice that works, which would have helped anyone who took it, as being wisdom from a guy who started out making hats as a hobby, with no income generated from it, and ended up making the Holy Grail of fedoras. The Indy 4 fedora. But, no hard feelings on my end. And I mean that. I want friends and not enemies.
Now, do I feel some here have taken shortcuts that will come back to haunt them, or complicate their business? I sure do. But that is just my opinon. And I have offered my free advice, addressing this issue that I feel is very important. But by me saying this, it is not intended to insult, or cut anyone down. It is just advice, that come from my own quest. And I would hope, would be seen for what it really is. The most capitalistic thing I could have done, was to remain silent. When I saw a hat from one hatter, who was installing sweats the wrong way, I never made an issue of it. I would never mention a name, unless it was an experience that I had back when I was buying hats from various folks. And then it would have been a complaint from me, about the hat I bought. I have seen several brands that are what I consider pretty bad craftmanship, and remained silent. But, with that said, I have been very vocal about mass produced factory hats that lacked in quality, and craftmanship. But those attacks were against a big factory, and not a real hatmaker. And certain factory like the Akubras, have gotten much praise from me. And other folks critisizing brands like Stetson, to Hatco's attention, as evidenced on TFL, and changes were made by Hatco, for the better. The main case being the luering powder Stetson used to use in some of their dress hats, that would bleed out onto your shirt collar if you got caught in a rain. They no longer use it! So by me and others bringing this to their attention, they now make a better, dress hat. I am currently even working with Hatco, on improving their hats. Very gratifying to think such a large company would ask me! If I were your run of the mill hatmaker, I would have declined their request. But I am not that typical hatmaker. If I can help them improve the breed, it serves every hat wearer who buys that brand. And that is what I do. That I would attack my competition, especially here, is ludicrous, to me, but it really helps when you know my history, and what I have done here. Only then could you totally see my posts for what they really are. We just don't all have the luxury of being old members, migrating from Indy Fan, in the Great Gearhead Exodus, that killed that great site.
So, I see this hoorah, as nothing more than a misunderstanding. And as I said, no hard feelings on my end. I am sure some of it comes from my own writing, and not being a great writer, that can easily be misconstrued. Regards, Fedora
I think that is needed. I will never be able to thank the two of you guys enough. You have given this guy a 2nd chance at a productive life. After leaving the fire department because of my neck and back problems. I really thought I would be laying around watching TV all day. This is the only thing I can do with my chronic neck and back problem. I'm able to work around the problem having the hat biz. I love you guys for what you gave me and forever in your debt. 
. More so, was answering the question "If the back of the hat is lower than the front, how does the hat look so "boxy" in the exterior temple scene at the beginning of Raiders. It measures taller from the brim on the back than the traditional turned hat. It seemed like two completely opposite affects that occupy the same spot on the block. The solution ended up being quite simple, though. Not simple in figuring it out. Just simple in how it is done.
Ok Bink, I am simple and gullible. Is this true? IF so, it don't sound so bad now using "anal".