Club Obi Wan

Hey guys,

I've been told to brush my hats counter-clockwise more than once. I'm only assuming that when pouncing (by hand) it's counter-clockwise (top) as well? (clockwise underneath)

Does this help change the grain of the felt to help weather proofing (build static / whatever) to resist letting in moisture)?

Pouncing gradually from lower grit to ultra-high (like 60 - 2000), does that help solidify the hat?

How can one kill the felt so it no longer shrinks without quicksilver?

A lot of questions. Sorry, but fun to discuss.

I wouldn't start with 60 grit. I would start with 400 grit.

While I agree 60 is too coarse, i prefer starting with 120, then gk to 220, then 400, 600, then finer (up to 1500). If I started with 400, the hat would end up being very thick and unmalleable. Now, I'm definitely not saying the felt should be laper thin, by taking the top layer off has given me nice thickness that feels nice & soft, and holds a bash really well...

what do you hatmakers tend to do? i've yet to see two hats with identical pouncing jobs...

I e-mailed back and forth with Steve at Adventurebilt about pouncing. This is what he had to tell me and it seems relevant to this post.

"Hello Chris. Sounds like you fixed the fuzzes. Depending upon the run of felt you have, pouncing with 320 grit up to 2500 grit really depends upon the felt. Some felt looks as smooth as can be with 320 grit. Some needs finer grits. Many times the finer grits will mottle the hat. My water repellant treatment has something in it that gets rid of pounce mottle, so I am not bothered by mottle these days. So, you just use what grit is called for when pouncing. I could have originally used only 320 grit on your hat, or I could have used 400, 600, 1200, or 2500. Or I could have used all of those on the same hat. So, if what you used worked, that is what you need to stick with. I have never pounced a hat off of the block, but it sounds like yours turned out fine. Just pounce counterclockwise, looking at the hat from the top,and there isn't any damage you can do with pouncing, unless you were to use a course grit, like 150 and below. That would just tear the felt, and not smooth it out. If I can be of any help, just holler. Thanks, Steve."

I had used a sponge on an AB beaverfelt to try and get out some dirty spots and I noticed the hat looked really fuzzy after that. Penmam told me to throw that sponge away and never, ever, under any circumstances use it on a good felt. I think he actually told me to burn the sponge. Anyway I asked steve what I could do to fix the issue. After I didn't hear from him in a day or two I tried to pounce out the fuzz and I got lucky because it worked. Steve got back to me the day I actually tried it with this e-mail. It had such good info in it so I kept it. Hopefully this helps. Don't thank me however, Thank Steve Delk for being so generous with his trade secrets.

Beaverlid

I agree with Steve. Not one pounce job will work for every felt. Change the felt. Change how you pounce it. I pounce my rabbit felt different then my beaver felt. I would never go as low on what you are suggesting. You can over pounce a hat and thin it out to much. Every type of felt , every felt manufacturers has it's limits one what you can do with them.

Elaine likes the sponge... But seriously, I don't know about quicksilver or what it does to hats, but after pouncing would it help in regards to mottling to give it a naptha bath. I haven't tried it but am curious to know if it would work. I usually start with 400 grit when pouncing and haven't gone higher than 2000.

Best regards,
'81

Odd to find this today, as I was just driving in to work thinking about my FedIV "I wonder if it's possible to pounce a hat after it's left the hatter?". Finally getting happy with the bash, but the felt could be smoother (I know, I know, it'll never be an AB or Penman, but with a $125 hat instead of a $600 hat my wife won't make my hat and I sleep on the couch ), and after my recent wrestling match with it, the hat has gotten a little fuzzy in spots. Sooooo....yes? Finer and finer sandpaper and little circles, the end? Hmmmm...