Garrett
My Mail is Forwarded Here
- Messages
- 3,782
You're welcome on the ribbon - I gave Bob that spool.
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Black Sheep Hat Works
- Thread starter jlee562
- Start date
You're welcome on the ribbon - I gave Bob that spool.
Apollo
Familiar Face
- Messages
- 88
Oh, I am sorry. I meant the width of the bow wings. I don’t see smaller bow wings knots that often. Thanks
Garrett
My Mail is Forwarded Here
- Messages
- 3,782
Bill Hughes
My Mail is Forwarded Here
- Messages
- 3,207
- Location
- North Texas
How long was the wait?
quikrick
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,246
- Location
- Bay Area, California
Wholly **** Garrett! That one downright beautiful.
Delthayre
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 258
- Location
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
That's very impressive. The ribbon is a nice show of what artful folding can accomplish. It makes me excited to get the hat that I ordered from Black Sheep Hat Works, some day...
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BSHW scorched blue heather short nap. Three inch brim with the Halo + one brim trim ring. Very thin & lightweight. Wide ventilated sweat.
- Messages
- 11,311
- Location
- vancouver, canada
Is Mr Jesse back, is he taking orders again?
- Messages
- 19,446
Don’t know. My order was from 2016.
- Messages
- 11,311
- Location
- vancouver, canada
I have one of his beauties from around that time as well.
That is just superb, Jack. Ticks all the boxes. Pity we don't see more of BSHW.
- Messages
- 19,446
Thanks Stefan. Bob definitely knows style & how to build a nice hat, best components, etc.
Rmccamey
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 6,407
- Location
- Central Texas
Love that sweatband.
- Messages
- 19,446
Thanks Randy. If memory serves I think it’s 2”. So comfortable. Bob doesn’t skimp on component parts nor his labor.
Judgmentalist
Practically Family
- Messages
- 566
Does anybody have any information about Black Sheep Hat Works?
The Facebook post announcing they were pausing new orders is dated 3/31/2021. Has that pause really lasted more than five years?
I also don’t see many new hats being posted anywhere. Granted, if you’re not taking new orders, there’s less reason to be active on social media. But if I had customers waiting years, I’d probably still post the occasional finished hat just so people knew they were actually making it out the door.
Finally, for those of you who are particularly fond of BSHW, what sets them apart?
From what I’ve seen, other top-tier custom hatters quote lead times measured in months. I haven’t run across anyone else with a multi-year waiting list. Is Black Sheep Hat Works simply that much better? Better at marketing? Producing fewer hats? Something else entirely? I’d be interested in hearing from people who own one or have followed the shop for a while.
The Facebook post announcing they were pausing new orders is dated 3/31/2021. Has that pause really lasted more than five years?
I also don’t see many new hats being posted anywhere. Granted, if you’re not taking new orders, there’s less reason to be active on social media. But if I had customers waiting years, I’d probably still post the occasional finished hat just so people knew they were actually making it out the door.
Finally, for those of you who are particularly fond of BSHW, what sets them apart?
From what I’ve seen, other top-tier custom hatters quote lead times measured in months. I haven’t run across anyone else with a multi-year waiting list. Is Black Sheep Hat Works simply that much better? Better at marketing? Producing fewer hats? Something else entirely? I’d be interested in hearing from people who own one or have followed the shop for a while.
jlee562
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,245
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
Actually now that you've bumped this thread, I think Bob sent me an email that I never replied to, I'll have to go look for that because he's got a beaver/mink body with my name on it.
I dunno what's up with the wait list, I've never asked him "how long?" because I'm happy to let him do his work and he's always done right by me. That's just me though, your mileage and patience may vary.
But to answer the question, there are some things Bob does that other hatters do not. His proprietary techniques include his Halo stitching, which is a stitching around the edge of the brim that gives the effect of a sort of "micro binding" if you will. He's also developed a faux Cavanagh edge. He also has done a lot of research into long hair finishes, which not all hatters can do, especially since pre-finished FEPSA felts have become more prevalent. He has also done some hand dyed bodies, my first custom was a hand dyed Ox blood color. I also have a hand dyed Milan straw. Somebody liked the combo we came up with so much that he sold another one.
He has also rebuilt a pair of vintage Stetsons for me and a Borso, including sizing down a hat with a deep pencil roll.
The last hat I ordered was a modified version of an old Stetson posted by Alan long ago around here. We took the base dimensions of the Stetson and added Bob's Halo stitching. He also added a detachable stampede string that attaches to a button behind the sweatband. I ordered a heather felt, which he was offering in three different finish styles. I chose the scorch finish, where the long hairs are singed off. Instead of a full liner, it has a tip liner. It is not a hat that every custom hatter would be able to duplicate. There's a blue version of this hat on the lounge too.
Hand dyed Ox Blood hat (I should refresh the flange):
Stetson renovation:
I dunno what's up with the wait list, I've never asked him "how long?" because I'm happy to let him do his work and he's always done right by me. That's just me though, your mileage and patience may vary.
But to answer the question, there are some things Bob does that other hatters do not. His proprietary techniques include his Halo stitching, which is a stitching around the edge of the brim that gives the effect of a sort of "micro binding" if you will. He's also developed a faux Cavanagh edge. He also has done a lot of research into long hair finishes, which not all hatters can do, especially since pre-finished FEPSA felts have become more prevalent. He has also done some hand dyed bodies, my first custom was a hand dyed Ox blood color. I also have a hand dyed Milan straw. Somebody liked the combo we came up with so much that he sold another one.
He has also rebuilt a pair of vintage Stetsons for me and a Borso, including sizing down a hat with a deep pencil roll.
The last hat I ordered was a modified version of an old Stetson posted by Alan long ago around here. We took the base dimensions of the Stetson and added Bob's Halo stitching. He also added a detachable stampede string that attaches to a button behind the sweatband. I ordered a heather felt, which he was offering in three different finish styles. I chose the scorch finish, where the long hairs are singed off. Instead of a full liner, it has a tip liner. It is not a hat that every custom hatter would be able to duplicate. There's a blue version of this hat on the lounge too.
Hand dyed Ox Blood hat (I should refresh the flange):
Stetson renovation:
Judgmentalist
Practically Family
- Messages
- 566
Thanks for the reply. Having read backwards through several years of this thread, and swiped through even more Instagram photos, I do see signs of creativity and technique that perhaps I haven’t seen elsewhere.
I’d like to see that dyed Milan - I was thinking of a similar custom project at some point. I was also thinking of a long hair project; this is a relatively recent interest of mine, and I wasn’t aware this was less commonly available.
When you say “faux” Cavanagh edge, is that because the exact original process isn’t documented? Is the BSHW version inferior in some way in your opinion?
I’d like to see that dyed Milan - I was thinking of a similar custom project at some point. I was also thinking of a long hair project; this is a relatively recent interest of mine, and I wasn’t aware this was less commonly available.
When you say “faux” Cavanagh edge, is that because the exact original process isn’t documented? Is the BSHW version inferior in some way in your opinion?
- Messages
- 18,275
- Location
- Maryland
I have an old German Stiff Felt that Bob graciously accepted to replace the damaged Band + Bow. The Stiff Felt was badly damaged in shipping and Bob was able to bring it back to life. You can read about it here. It's two posts so make sure to scroll down after the initial post.
I had interesting offline discussions with Bob regarding Speciality Finishes.
I had interesting offline discussions with Bob regarding Speciality Finishes.
jlee562
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,245
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
For all intents and purposes, the Cavanagh edge is lost to time. Brad Bowers did a video tour of the Winchester factory and they talk about it briefly around the 12 min mark. They do actually have the attachment/doohickey that was required to create it but they don't because they are a lot more labor intensive. Very basically, during the felting process, you fold over the edge and then that gets integrated back into the brim during the rest of the felting process. But this means that each Cavanagh edged hat size and brim width has to be made individually, whereas normal hat blanks can accommodate a range of sizes. Since Winchester is the only (non Hatco) felt manufacturer left in the US, if they're not doing it, nobody is. A hat maker cannot independently do this to a hat blank because the felt is already felted.
I'm not aware of anybody else who has a technique to mimic the look. "Inferior" is maybe not the word I would use. It is not a true Cavanagh edge for reasons above, but if you want that look on a new custom, AFAIK, Bob is the only game in town.
I'm not aware of anybody else who has a technique to mimic the look. "Inferior" is maybe not the word I would use. It is not a true Cavanagh edge for reasons above, but if you want that look on a new custom, AFAIK, Bob is the only game in town.
