Brad Bowers
I'll Lock Up
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The following comes out of my Cavanagh Edge research,but does not directly relate to the Cavanagh Edge. I present it for your entertainment and edification.
Did the secret to Cavanagh’s exquisite felt come out of a need to cut labor costs during the Great Depression?
Even though the depression didn’t affect hat companies as much as other industries, by 1935 there was apparently a need to trim the manufacturing costs of hats at the Hat Corporation of America. John G. Cavanagh, (a son of John J., I suspect) notes that much of the cost lies in the highly skilled laborers who finish the hats. Even with the machinery then being utilized in the industry, much of the fine work was still done by hand, particularly in the final hand-ironing and pouncing. A new process of finishing the hat bodies was developed by HCA to, ostensibly, correct several shortcomings in the old process.
First, he notes, (and this is very telling, isn’t it?) that the “costly manual operations” required highly-skilled workers who added substantially to a company’s labor costs. Second was the difficulty involved in developing good color and good finish in hats. Third, their current processes did not “insure a uniform ‘smooth’ finish” because the operations of pouncing and ironing both tended to “pull out and lay down the free ends of the surface fur fibers.” Since a smooth finish was given to 90 percent of hats then being manufactured, this was very important to any hat manufacturer. Fourth, despite ventilation systems and blowers, the fur removed from the hat during pouncing was thrown into the air, leading to a dirty factory and dirty hats, not to mention the workers who inhaled the fibers. Fifth, even after clippers were used to remove the free-standing fibers, singeing was often necessary, which could lead to damage to the finish or the hat body itself. It also imparted a loose feel to the surface. Sixth, unevenness, or mottling, in the color resulted in having to smoke and/or powder the hat to even out the color, which required special care, and could also create dirty working conditions. Seventh, when a finishing substance of an oil-base was used to help protect the hat from moisture, it was only rubbed into the surface of the hat, and not deep into the felt. Finally, the final hand-ironing meant that unequal pressure was applied to the hat, again affecting the uniformity of the finish.
The new process, developed to use existing equipment, but with some modifications, meant that a lot of capital did not have to be spent on the implementation of the process. Additionally, the older machine processes, which “improved” upon hand finishing, saved a company about 33 percent, whereas the new machine process would save the company approximately 50 percent over the cost of hand-finishing, most of this in labor costs. The new process did away with the idea of ironing and pouncing altogether. Instead of ironing, the rough hat body was placed in a machine block with matching male and female dies. The female die contained a steam chamber allowing for regulation of the temperature. The two dies were pressed together, with between 50 and 200 pounds of pressure being applied to the hat body, at a temperature of 220°F. The pressure applied could be adjusted for the type of body that was needed. A lightweight body received 50 pounds, a medium weight received 100 to 150 pounds, and an “English” or heavy weight received 200 pounds. The combination of the heat and pressure helped continue the felting process beyond what was normally done, while providing the initial block for the hat.
The brim was then rounded, or trimmed to size, and the hat was put on a block and lathe so that a finishing substance could be applied to the hat. The next step in the process would normally be the pouncing, or sanding down, of the felt. Cavanagh used the same pouncing machine, but instead of a belt of sandpaper, a strip of cloth was used. This step, which he called “jiggering,” involved rubbing the cloth at 1600 to 3000 time per minute over the hat, and produced friction and heat on the felt, which did several things: it opened the pores of the felt, allowing the finishing substance to work its way deeper into the body to provide superior water-repellency and uniformity of color, and also worked the ends of the loose surface fibers back down into the hat, producing a much finer smooth finish that with pouncing. The big difference is that felt was not removed from the body during this process, as would be with pouncing. One last benefit of the jiggering is that it raised a fine nap on the surface of the felt, in which the nap stood at right angles to the felt, creating a very soft surface to the touch and a uniformity of color, or a “peach sheen,” as Cavanagh called it. If a smoother finish was required, the nap could be clipped off. Cavanagh claimed that this process reduced the mottling and obviated the need for smoking and singeing the hat.
All of these steps in the new process removed the need for highly skilled workers, which also meant, highly paid workers. Most of the manual labor could now be done by lower skilled workers, with the exception of the final trimmings applied to hats.
To what extent HCA implemented this process, I do not yet know, but it would explain why the higher-end hat companies like Cavanagh and Knox seemed to have superior felt. This makes sense, judging from what this new process tells us. Just the fact that the felt was heated and compressed to such a degree, and then its intergrity is not compromised by removing anything by pouncing, leads me to believe that they may have produced a superior product. It may also explain why modern hats are simply not up to snuff, since much of the equipment from Norwalk is long gone. This is all highly speculative, of course!
Did this process really result in lower labor costs, perhaps allowing the high-end hatters to last throughout the Great Depression? What was the union response to this new process?
Sorry to tease you with these questions, but I don’t have answers at the moment, merely speculations. Perhaps, as my research continues, I’ll be able to update this at a later date.
Any thoughts, additions, opinions, or revisions?
Brad
Did the secret to Cavanagh’s exquisite felt come out of a need to cut labor costs during the Great Depression?
Even though the depression didn’t affect hat companies as much as other industries, by 1935 there was apparently a need to trim the manufacturing costs of hats at the Hat Corporation of America. John G. Cavanagh, (a son of John J., I suspect) notes that much of the cost lies in the highly skilled laborers who finish the hats. Even with the machinery then being utilized in the industry, much of the fine work was still done by hand, particularly in the final hand-ironing and pouncing. A new process of finishing the hat bodies was developed by HCA to, ostensibly, correct several shortcomings in the old process.
First, he notes, (and this is very telling, isn’t it?) that the “costly manual operations” required highly-skilled workers who added substantially to a company’s labor costs. Second was the difficulty involved in developing good color and good finish in hats. Third, their current processes did not “insure a uniform ‘smooth’ finish” because the operations of pouncing and ironing both tended to “pull out and lay down the free ends of the surface fur fibers.” Since a smooth finish was given to 90 percent of hats then being manufactured, this was very important to any hat manufacturer. Fourth, despite ventilation systems and blowers, the fur removed from the hat during pouncing was thrown into the air, leading to a dirty factory and dirty hats, not to mention the workers who inhaled the fibers. Fifth, even after clippers were used to remove the free-standing fibers, singeing was often necessary, which could lead to damage to the finish or the hat body itself. It also imparted a loose feel to the surface. Sixth, unevenness, or mottling, in the color resulted in having to smoke and/or powder the hat to even out the color, which required special care, and could also create dirty working conditions. Seventh, when a finishing substance of an oil-base was used to help protect the hat from moisture, it was only rubbed into the surface of the hat, and not deep into the felt. Finally, the final hand-ironing meant that unequal pressure was applied to the hat, again affecting the uniformity of the finish.
The new process, developed to use existing equipment, but with some modifications, meant that a lot of capital did not have to be spent on the implementation of the process. Additionally, the older machine processes, which “improved” upon hand finishing, saved a company about 33 percent, whereas the new machine process would save the company approximately 50 percent over the cost of hand-finishing, most of this in labor costs. The new process did away with the idea of ironing and pouncing altogether. Instead of ironing, the rough hat body was placed in a machine block with matching male and female dies. The female die contained a steam chamber allowing for regulation of the temperature. The two dies were pressed together, with between 50 and 200 pounds of pressure being applied to the hat body, at a temperature of 220°F. The pressure applied could be adjusted for the type of body that was needed. A lightweight body received 50 pounds, a medium weight received 100 to 150 pounds, and an “English” or heavy weight received 200 pounds. The combination of the heat and pressure helped continue the felting process beyond what was normally done, while providing the initial block for the hat.
The brim was then rounded, or trimmed to size, and the hat was put on a block and lathe so that a finishing substance could be applied to the hat. The next step in the process would normally be the pouncing, or sanding down, of the felt. Cavanagh used the same pouncing machine, but instead of a belt of sandpaper, a strip of cloth was used. This step, which he called “jiggering,” involved rubbing the cloth at 1600 to 3000 time per minute over the hat, and produced friction and heat on the felt, which did several things: it opened the pores of the felt, allowing the finishing substance to work its way deeper into the body to provide superior water-repellency and uniformity of color, and also worked the ends of the loose surface fibers back down into the hat, producing a much finer smooth finish that with pouncing. The big difference is that felt was not removed from the body during this process, as would be with pouncing. One last benefit of the jiggering is that it raised a fine nap on the surface of the felt, in which the nap stood at right angles to the felt, creating a very soft surface to the touch and a uniformity of color, or a “peach sheen,” as Cavanagh called it. If a smoother finish was required, the nap could be clipped off. Cavanagh claimed that this process reduced the mottling and obviated the need for smoking and singeing the hat.
All of these steps in the new process removed the need for highly skilled workers, which also meant, highly paid workers. Most of the manual labor could now be done by lower skilled workers, with the exception of the final trimmings applied to hats.
To what extent HCA implemented this process, I do not yet know, but it would explain why the higher-end hat companies like Cavanagh and Knox seemed to have superior felt. This makes sense, judging from what this new process tells us. Just the fact that the felt was heated and compressed to such a degree, and then its intergrity is not compromised by removing anything by pouncing, leads me to believe that they may have produced a superior product. It may also explain why modern hats are simply not up to snuff, since much of the equipment from Norwalk is long gone. This is all highly speculative, of course!
Did this process really result in lower labor costs, perhaps allowing the high-end hatters to last throughout the Great Depression? What was the union response to this new process?
Sorry to tease you with these questions, but I don’t have answers at the moment, merely speculations. Perhaps, as my research continues, I’ll be able to update this at a later date.
Any thoughts, additions, opinions, or revisions?
Brad
