Czech Republicans: Tonak, Huckel, no name

[EstherWeis]

The second one I was tempted to buy. Merely because it had a newspaper of may 1944 tucked under the sweat. And it was from a Belgian store.
I had no use for them, and the size was so small so I let them for another person to pick up.

 

[steur]

I don't believe these are Czech, but I didnt know where to post this. Esther went to a vintage flea market today in Antwerp and sent me these liner shots. Sadly, no pics of the hats themselves. I'm just curious myself if @mayserwegener or @chepstew have any knowledge of these makers.

She said she found a newspaper stuffed in the second hat pictured that dated 1944. Apparently used as padding. Interesting.

Neither hat purchased.

Very interesting hats. The liner on the Brummels is great. I believe Brummels was actually a Belgian made hat. I have one that was made by them (a spiral stitch hat), but it's a rare brand. Here's an ad that ran in a publication about hats that was published in 1948. Interesting as well that they seem to have copied the Borsalino style size label.

 

[1mach1]

Very interesting hats. The liner on the Brummels is great. I believe Brummels was actually a Belgian made hat. I have one that was made by them (a spiral stitch hat), but it's a rare brand. Here's an ad that ran in a publication about hats that was published in 1948. Interesting as well that they seem to have copied the Borsalino style size label.

View attachment 120566

Thats good info Stefan! Thanks!

 

[Tonio]

Here's a beauty that was made in Czechoslovakia. A possible Johann Hückel Söhne @mayserwegener?

 

[mayserwegener]

Tonio, Sorry for not getting back sooner but I am still traveling.

Super find! Yes this a JHS "Extra" quality Velour. It doesn't have any indication of JHS but the format of the paper label and the quality designation are JHS. Appears the liner is missing. Is that the case?

 

[Tonio]

Hi no worries at all, thanks for the confirmation! Yes the liner missing. Here's an outdoor shot of the hat. The felt is unreal!

 

[belfastboy]

I have a Tonak branded fedora that I purchased from Mr Tanto. I assume it is modern, came very basic, no liner and a cloth sweat. The felt however is wonderful and rivals that of many of my Borsalinos, even the vintage ones. The felt is soft and malleable yet substantial and after adding a nice liner and a leather sweat it sits amongst my favourites.....now only if it wasn't in a dark charcoal

 

[Tukwila]

I have a Tonak branded fedora that I purchased from Mr Tanto. I assume it is modern, came very basic, no liner and a cloth sweat. The felt however is wonderful and rivals that of many of my Borsalinos, even the vintage ones. The felt is soft and malleable yet substantial and after adding a nice liner and a leather sweat it sits amongst my favourites.....now only if it wasn't in a dark charcoal

Yeah, my Tonak velour is jet black. I love the felt, although the hat is a bit large. I wish it was a size 60 cm in a sweet blue-grey color, grey, medium brown or something along those lines.

 

[mayserwegener]

Hi no worries at all, thanks for the confirmation! Yes the liner missing. Here's an outdoor shot of the hat. The felt is unreal!

View attachment 142260

Tonoi, Thank you for the clarification and additional photo? Can you please post in the German - Austrian thread when you have time. My guess is it is from the early 1930s. It doesn't have a JHS mark and the sweatband is unique (at least to me). I think it might be from a jobber / wholesaler. Have you found anything on Capper & Capper? Thanks!

 

[Garrett]

 

[deadlyhandsome]

This falls under the “no name” part of the thread. I posted it elsewhere when it arrived a while back, but thought it belonged here too. It’s a nice velour over a stiff core and was most likely made in the last few years as the homburg gained popularity with the hip-hop crowd (not a group I’m a part of).

The last phot shows the unbound overwelt brim treatment.



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[steur]

Another very cool one, Garrett, but for some reason I go all itchy when I see that felt.

 

[steur]

This falls under the “no name” part of the thread. I posted it elsewhere when it arrived a while back, but thought it belonged here too. It’s a nice velour over a stiff core and was most likely made in the last few years as the homburg gained popularity with the hip-hop crowd (not a group I’m a part of).

The last phot shows the unbound overwelt brim treatment.



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Good to see it posted here too, Brent. If the hip-hop crowd sport these hats, they're OK in my book.

 

[mayserwegener]

Garrett, I remember this one. It's really fantastic + plus unique! It's was made by Janyška & Cie.
Do you ever wear it?

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/194-janyška-cie/

 

[mayserwegener]

Another very cool one, Garrett, but for some reason I go all itchy when I see that felt.

Stefan, From what I can remember it has a very soft hand. Garrett can verify. This hat is really fantastic + unique made by Janyška & Cie. At least I think it is.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

My second of these hats in a short time. This is marked Hückel on the liner (hard to see except from a certain angle). This hat has a softer core that my first but the hand isn’t quite as nice. It’s a generous 7 3/8, but it isn’t going to fit me, but that’s not a surprise. Even these recent and probably inexpensive velours are quite nice. Like my first, this has an overwelt unbound brim despite the “homburg” designation. The overwelt appears to be glued rather than stitched. This is obviously not a high end hat, but it has many redeeming qualities and the price was right. I’ll find it a new home.

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[mayserwegener]

It's a Tonak. Did it come from SELCO? They are probably the importers.

 

[mayserwegener]

Tonak has better Velour. They sent some samples to me a while ago but I lost them. I was going to have them make a custom Open Crown hat based on this 1930s JHS Sigma Foulard Seal Velour (see link) but the minimum order was 60 for one color, finish (could be different sizes).

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/6-johann-hückel´s-söhne-hückel-hutfabrik-weilheim/page-2#entry194

Here are some Open Crown samples Tonak's designers put together. These are not the form, dimensions and felt I would have selected for the 1930s JHS Sigma Foulard Seal Velour but they look great and appear to easily dry crease.

Here are the dimensions and form that were decided on. Tonak said they could make the hat but as I mention the minimum order was 60 so I didn't follow through. I had selected a Steel Gray Upright Velour which I had samples of but now are lost. The comments are from Tonak.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

It's a Tonak. Did it come from SELCO? They are probably the importers.

I can only guess as to the importer as there are no other markings. Being a recent Czech hat and having “Hückel” on the liner I assumed it was Tonak. It’s not a bad hat even though it’s obviously an economy model of recent manufacture. The velour isn’t as nice as the old stuff, not by far, but it’s better than some of the other recent velour I’ve handled.


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[mayserwegener]

Tonak actually has better workmanship than Borsalino and at a much lower price point. The ribbon / liner material and sweatband could be upgraded but that would make the hats too expensive for their market.