Club Obi Wan

just finished making this hat today, my very FIRST handmade hat. good god, is that alot of work.....i just cringe when oak says he does 3 a week and i don't know how many steve can do. i'm definitely not at that pace yet nor am i planning to go into business. i just want to make some nice hats and learn the tricks of the trade.....and taking my time in doing so.

firstly, i was shipped western hat bodies in error. i decided to use them cuz i don't know the difference anyways (yes, yes - western hats are bigger, heavier and have more stiffener). now there's alot of things i am planning to do differently in my next hat (ie - stitching, flanging, ribbon work, etc), but all in all, i'm quite proud of this one. it's 100% beaver felt, with a goat sweat and ribbon (both obtained from the top-shelf of smithbilt's store....a local hattery here). the lining is just a blank beige one. it does feel like a pseudo-cowboy hat due to the weight and she is quite stiff. i did alot of pouncing to get the "hairriness" out....didn't think i could do it but took a chance on a certain technique and it gave me great results fast.





the center crease is not as deep as a raiders AB but is comperable to my CS AB.

i used a 3 piece bow/ribbon set up as i thought that would be the easiest. i may try a 2 piece bow on the next one now that i have a procedure for stitching it on.

after all the work i put into this, the crowning achievement was getting a very heartfelt compliment from my dad: "looks like a professional did this...."

i found the tutorials on this and other forums invaluable. thanks to steve, marc, and marcus brody for posting those. special thanks to mr. oak who always had time to answer my dumb questions

next stop.......a decent raiders hat in brown {just like this one ;-) }

Holy !@#$ that is one heckuva job! How much did the materials cost you? And how long, all told, did it take you to make this baby?

Extremely well done!!

That is one sweet looking lid

Nice job, G! It's a good feeling when you finish something like that, isn't it?

Extremely well done.
Your motivating me to try and make one myself...so knock it off.

Dude, LISTEN to me for a second:
I am TOTALLY with your Dad on this one... that hat DOES look like a professional did it (and I don't think you should be too quick to ruling out a little paying "Hobby" on the side...)
WELL DONE Indy G! However much time it took, you should be PROUD!
Hats OFF!
Mitch

thanks for the comments folks. as far as costs go, i made my own block out of a plank of spruce that i got from home depot.......cost me $1.01 cad

i made a brim ironing board at the correct thickness to give me the right crown height...that was under $5. i borrowed an antique industrial iron from my sister'n'law that was attached to a water pump (it's funny cause the box was the size of a tape deck). i disconnected that and just used the iron and a spray gun. steve hinted a while back that today's irons don't get nearly as hot as needed. the one i have is a household hazzard but works well with the hats. hat bodies themselves are quite cheap relative to a finished hat.....rabbit is about $25 cad, beaver $60, but the western beaver's are $90. i was also dinged with $50 customs duties for the hat bodies which is why i chose to use them and not get the delivery corrected.

the most expensive things that i purchased were the flange from lamode and a brim cutter from a very generous man ;-) .....both those items teatered me near the $400 mark. the other incidentals.....rulers, tape measure, thread, needles, are relatively cheap....too cheap to mention. i did buy a large circular craft 'frame' to help me with tracing in the dimensional cuts on the brim....works like a charm.

i realized that there's probably a million ways to make a hat....finding your way and your own style is half the fun. it truly gives me a whole new level of respect for oak, fedora, marc, etc.....those guys are good!

before i blocked my test hat on the final shape of my block, i thought of steve and uttered to myself, "all right........let's see if this dog can hunt...."

and bink........this is extremely fun....despite having needles stuck into my thumbs and bleeding all over hj felt.........gotta learn i guess.

cheers guys. i'm hoping to throw the brown hat body on the block tonite and tomorrow. haven't decided if she'll be a waterfall hat or a turned raven bar hat.

SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Way to go, G!

way to go G. Nice job.

wow!

my congrats!!

Wow! That hat looks wonderful!
You must be very proud of this amazing looking hat!

Beautiful! Let's see it on your noggin!

you did an excellent job, for the first time, I agree it looks like a pro job. Hat making seems to be a lost art yet many on this site have talent. You should be very proud of yourself.

sweeeeeeet.

That is one fantastic hat, man! Very fine work indeed.

G, if you bled on the hat, it's good luck. Or something.

I think it looks great. Being Western body you may just find it more durable and shape holding.

Did you try to obtain hat bodies from Biltmore? They are at least in Canada.

Hats off ( literally! ) on a fine fedora - that is a very pro job. You
should post some progress pics of your brown Indy, too.

Nice work G! I've got to say that is a fine looking hat.

Can I have it?

Well, you look like a pro, and the bash, excellente! You can tell you took your time and have an eye for detail.

wow! thanks for the kind comments folks

RCSignals wrote:I think it looks great. Being Western body you may just find it more durable and shape holding.

Did you try to obtain hat bodies from Biltmore? They are at least in Canada.

is there a contact for these guys? do you have experience with them? wouldn't mind sourcing canadian beaver felt from a canadian vendor......or, i can go on a site visit and hope to get some road kill along the way

my last beaver western hat body is on the block now and i'm recharging the camera batteries.....hopefully i can get some pics before i go to town on her.

hey kev.....sure you can have her....it's the least i can do ;-)

i've ordered a couple of rabbit bodies as well (made sure they were 'dress' weight).....the beaver hat thats on the block now, i'm planning to do the waterfall hat. the first rabbit will be a hat with a turn, channel and i'm hoping to get the reverse taper more prominent on the rabbit body....which worked on the test hj but not so much on this cowboy felt. the second rabbit hat, i'm hoping to make a TOD village hat....yup, the hat that eeeeeverybody hates .....but hey, i need a TOD hat to match the TOD wested that i'm gonna have to get

Here you go

http://www.biltmorehats.com/aboutus.htm

Biltmore Hats Inc.
P.O. Box 690, 139 Morris St.
Guelph, Ontario N1H 6L7
Canada

Phone Toll Free:
1-800-265-8382

They are the maker of the RCMP Stetson

Can't hurt to contact them

thank you kindly RC

maybe i can get an RCMP sweat into one of my hats....that'd be kind of neat.

Wicked hat as you know I get my hat advice from you because I'm a novice but to my eye yours looks a lot better than some and at least as good as those made by the big boys here

Congratulations

Tony

binkmeisterRick wrote:G, if you bled on the hat, it's good luck. Or something.

I'm sure Mola Ram would say 'Kali will take her blood sacrifice if it is not freely offered' every thing worth doing has its price.
That IS impressive workmanship. I sympathise with you not wanting to make em for money though; I work in arts and crafts and can tell you that when you start doing something for the money you stop doing it for love of doing it.
Besides few people will pay the fair price for hand made items - especially quality - "looks so precise, I bet he knocked it out in mimutes on some special machine"
Ho hum.
My advice - enjoy your skills for yourself in the knowledge of a a job well done

Fantastic work IG!

well folks, this hat spent 2 glorious days on my head and now it is gone...........



my dad liked it so much, i gave it to him. i wanted to make him a perfect hat once my skills were more refined, but he really liked it. it feels good knowing the first finished hat that came off my block went to someone special.

cheers,


g

- brrrrrrr, my head's cold now. i don't think i've went home without a hat on my head since the beginning of the year

Thats great that he likes it that much and you gave it to him. I still have not made myself a hat.


I believe Steve hasn't made himself a CS hat either.

Looks like you had the perfect first customer IG. That's a fine hat and I look forward to seeing some more of your work.