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General hat discussion

Andykev

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
Messages
4,119
Location
The Beautiful Diablo Valley
Didn't your parents

teach you to NEVER speak poorly of the dead? GLADHATTER is Dead on this site. Unless there is a miracle and forgivness and a resurrection occurrs!!:eek:
 

Fedora

Vendor
Messages
828
Location
Mississippi
Yeah, he is dead, but I will have to raise him up, at least for one more post. I have hand picked a 100 per cent belly beaver hat in the brown, and it is currently getting an extra pouncing per my request. Soft, floppy beaver felt. I am buying just the pounced body as I will do the reblocking myself as well as the sweatband, ribbon and liner installation. Hope I don't make anyone mad for doing business with him, but I am determined in owning an all beaver hat, and of the best fur too(belly). Yeah, expensive, but worth it to me. What I like about him, business wise, is he will do anything that you want him to do to the hat. Like the extra pouncing. I want the hat to be pounced as fine as humanly possible, and I specified what I wanted the final thickness to be. I am shooting for 1.5 mm. I have no doubts that he will deliver. So there will be one more post when I show the finished pics, and my critique. I will call a spade a spade in my evaluation. For the folks that think I am nuts.....well, I have dealt with folks over the years when I had the shop that I did not particularly like. I liked what they sold me though, and this is no different. regards, Fedora
 

Dalexs

Practically Family
Messages
569
Location
Just 'nath of Baston
Well, I for one cannot wait to see the results.
I know he ticked alot of people off here and over on COW, but all that aside, if he can deliver a decent product, I'm willing to give him second chance.
If the felt winds up being as good as you hope, combine that with the block you have, the end result should be great.
And of course, don't forget... PICTURES!

goodluck


Steve
 

fedoralover

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,006
Location
Great Northwest
That was one of the things that everyone always wanted to see. A product that he actually made. Maybe now we will have the opportunity to see it. Do you have an idea of when you'll get it.

fedoralover
 

Andykev

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
Messages
4,119
Location
The Beautiful Diablo Valley
Never

An evil word. I was only amused at his tone and comments.

You as a customer have every right to spend your hard earned sawbucks whenever and wherever you choose.

I am anxiously awaiting your comments when the final item arrives.

Too much misinformation and rumor control out there.

Charlie, if you read this, some of us just didn't understant the tone of it all!:rolleyes:
 

Sergei

Gone Home
Messages
400
Location
Southern Belarus
I'm burned out on GH. I can hardly give a damn. Only because of the way he treats us "potential" customers. No disrespect to you Fedora, you must be a better man, but I just can't take it. My next 100% beaver will be from Gary White. His was truly impressive.
 

Sergei

Gone Home
Messages
400
Location
Southern Belarus
Originally posted by Marc
I know what you mean Sergei, but allow me to say that I was truly treated as if we had been friends since kindergarten.

Well he has not changed in his demeanor towards us or COW or here. Just read below. He posted this on January 20th here at:
http://pub63.ezboard.com/faustinscafeamericainfrm9.showMessage?topicID=88.topic

Below is the actual quote just a mere 5 days ago. Yeah, he has changed a lot...
Giants stones and price increases and not forget suckers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well I am so amused by your story of the giant turned to stone and all that it brings to mind for me. I am going to stoke up the fires a bit here maybe but so be it. I cannot get over the Beaver turned to Rabbit turned to Nutria story that I am often reminded of nor can I forget the price increases it brings about. A friend of mine recently told me a story of a 12.00 dollar body . someone had located. Well to make a long story shorter and saves some key strokes here and the hat circle being so small and most all knowing the others business intimately where they like it or not. I just got to wondering what them folks that bought that 400 dollar 90% beaver hat that suddenly turned to 50% beaver and then to Nutria and then to @#%$ as it was always the same 12.00 dollar body that is 1 mm thick and made of European caged rabbit from the beginning would think if they knew the truth. Well I guess they would turn like mad dogs on the man that spoke the truth and probably devise some plan of action to have a slick talking plant come in and convince all that the man that speaks truth is the liar and all would fell better and the company buying the 12.00 bodies could continue to sell them hats for 400.00 dollars and just name them Nutria now. Well in the end Giants will turn to stone but in this name seeking country we all love as the good old USA it seems a fancy name is far preferred over good quality and excellent service. It also seems that folks love to jump on the band wagon to persecute anyone that tells the truth plainly if it offends what they have been lied to about. I Guess it is hard on one to be betrayed. Well I ma off to nurse a flu and try to fill a few orders and hoping all well and glad to be able to vent occasionally as I also feel so betrayed.

I hope all out there in Indy land a wonderful hat seeking adventure and welcome any private email from any one that feels they have a reason to contact me. Maybe this will get some hearts pumping as the folks that know they have been lied to are not suckers but were only sucked in.

...more of the same. We are all suckers for not buying a GH fedora.

Like I said, with all due respect to you Marc and Fedora, I just don't care about him or his business. I don't care if GH becomes so great, that every movie will use his hats. My philosophy is I don't buy from anyone that calls me a sucker, idiot, whatever... I am not going to do it. Nor should anyone else expect it.

I don't want to start a war on COW, but the above quote from GH was an attack again on COW and the members here that were "sucked in" to the mystical powers of the other hatters.

-Sergei
 

Fedora

Vendor
Messages
828
Location
Mississippi
This is why I posted a disclaimer at COW with my post. ;) Actually, I don't mind being called a sucker, if I bought 1200 bucks worth of Optimo hats( which I did) and was under the impression they were primarily beaver, and they ended up being rabbit. That would qualify me as one I guess.:( That is what the GH has said from the get-go. Is it a fact? Heck, I don't know, but would love to know for sure. Now, if I am called a sucker, and the one doing the calling knows he is a liar, then that is a different matter altogether. If he has the inside info due to the fact that the hat business is small, and everything is common knowledge, then it is possible that what he has said is true, and he just doesn't care whose toes he steps on. That is the only reason I wish the hoopla at COW could have run its course, because we might have found out the facts of the matter. Perhaps Optimo would have set the record straight instead of dismissing it. Perhaps they would have sued, in which case, the facts would be public knowledge. We would know. One thing is for sure, he ain't gettin' a bunch of hat orders from the fans. If he really wanted to sell the hats, his demeanor would be totally different. This observation is what makes me listen. Regardless of what he has said of Optimo, I like their hats. I think the felt is close to vintage, and other than vintage hats, the Optimo felt is in a class by itself, regardless of the fur content, or mixture. Is it possible to get a first class finely pounced, dense rabbit hat? Sure. Most vintage hats, especially Borsalinos are rabbit, and you all know how gorgeous that felt is. I can recall the GH being attacked regarding his comments towards Optimo. It was hard to keep up with what was going on due to posts being removed from COW. If this ever is hashed out, and it turns out he was shooting us straight in his own weird way, what will we think of him then? But, if it turns out vice-versa, I know how I will feel, and I will have to be censored because my comments and opinons will not be very nice to read.:rage: I don't mind being a sucker, as long as I am a factual sucker, and as long as I discover the facts of the matter in the end. That is all that I have ever wanted. regards, Fedora
 

Pyroxene

One of the Regulars
Messages
221
Location
Central Texas
All I wanted to see was a sample of his work. I didn't think that was too much to ask.

Interestingly enough, I was shopping around on Ebay and stumbled across this.

17_1.jpg

02_1.jpg

27_1.jpg


If you do a search for "CUSTOM HAND MADE HATS" you will find it. He has good feedback.

Anyway, talking about the HJ's, I registered on Swaine, Adney & Brigg site and submitted a question about the IJ hats. I haven't heard anything back yet. When I do, I will let everyone know.

Pyro.
 

Marc

Vendor
Messages
124
Location
Germany
To be honest I didn't take any offence in the post he made on Austin's board. And I wouldn't if I hadn't ordered from him neither.

He is very straight. Maybe to straight for some of us, as he doesn't use the typical sales hype or diplomatic ways to say something on a forum. But just like us, he visits the different forums in his spare time out of private interests and not to sell any hats, so why should he?

It is not my intention to start any war in here on on C.O.W. neither. People have been attacked from Charlie and vice versa. To say he or he started, would be childish and doesn't solve anything.

But if - for example - Sergei came to a board and saw that kids spend their hard earned money on a whip that he thinks is not worth the half of it, I think he'd speak up as well. Probably in another way, but I'm sure he wanted to be helpfull and advise against doing so.

Regards,

Marc
 

Matt Deckard

Man of Action
Messages
10,045
Location
A devout capitalist in Los Angeles CA.
I can't ad much here other than Optimo felt speaks for itself. They never claimed to me that their felt was all or mostly beaver, they have always used a blend because it (in my opinion and theirs) makes for a better felt in a soft hat. They also stand behind their fur coming from animals that are not caged statement.

If Gladhatter can't figure out how Optimo makes such good felt, I can only say that there are still secrets in the industry.

I await Marc's review of his Gladhatter hat when it arrives.
 

Renderking Fisk

Practically Family
Messages
742
Location
Front Desk at The Fedora Chronicles.
Speaker for The Dead...

About once a week I get either a PM or an e-mail with people giving me updates about Gland-Fatter The Bone Smoker. I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m amazed at how this chooch keeps turning up. The amount of angry COW?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s and disgruntled customers really speaks volumes. As an aside, I never get angry E-Mails from Akubra owners. I never get an email saying that someone bought an Akubra on my advice and it turned out to be a POS. But, a couple times a month I get e-mails from people complaining about GlandFatter. Ron = Good mail, CharLIE = BAD EMAIL. Do the freaking math!

What ever he?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s going to do, let him do it until he starts breaking laws or doing something immoral. You know I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m not saying anything knew when I say I just hate the guy.

I just don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t like the way he ?¢‚Ǩ?ìtalks?¢‚Ǩ? to people. The guy?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s a functional illiterate and doesn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t understand half of what he?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s reading and what people are asking, and it takes a team of Special Ed teachers and cryptologist to figure out what the #### he?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s trying to state. And what you can decipher he?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s making insults about OUR intelligence and our character because we can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t understand what a really ?¢‚Ǩ?ìgreat thing?¢‚Ǩ? he?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s got going on and that you can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t understand his ?¢‚Ǩ?ìHillside?¢‚Ǩ? mannerism. Trashing Holly because she asked about his ?¢‚Ǩ?ìGuarantee?¢‚Ǩ? was over the top and uncalled for, that was the last straw.

Originally posted by Pyroxene
All I wanted to see was a sample of his work. I didn't think that was too much to ask.


When Chooch said he was making the definitive fedora and we asked him questions, it was clear that he was overwhelmed and that he didn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t know what the #### he was talking about. ?¢‚Ǩ?ìShiite?¢‚Ǩ¬¶ these boys know more bout fee-door-heas then me does!?¢‚Ǩ? When we asked for pictures, he said he wasn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t sophisticated enough to post them on line, yet he had pictures on E-Bay and had someone working on his website with lifted images off of the Borsalino website?¢‚Ǩ¬¶ and what he did have was the Dorfman, ?¢‚Ǩ?ìThe Pin denotes style?¢‚Ǩ?. Alarms should have been going off.

Beyond the bad attitude, beyond the lying and the nonsense, it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s the incredible loss of potential. The way this guy talks about how he?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s making fedoras the way they used to be made in the golden era, using the same techniques and tools... If he would have been the real deal, and not so much of a rat it would have been a different story.
 

Marc

Vendor
Messages
124
Location
Germany
They never claimed to me that their felt was all or mostly beaver

Well, someone must have said so, because I wouldn't have ordered from them otherwise, as the 'almost pure beaver' was THE reason for me to do so.

I also specified that I wanted a 'beaver lightweight felt' and not a 'beaver blend lightweight felt'. But I don't want to trash Optimo here. So please don't take this a call to convince me about the advantages of Optimo hats.

Ren, as I stated already, I'm aware that people from C.O.W. and here have been attacked, as well as Charlie was also attacked. All I'm saying here is, that I personally have been treated extraordinary kindly and that I - just like Fedora - feel that if the product is top notch, you don't have to like the maker of it.

So with all respect to you; I ask you to let things calm down here and let Fedora and me do our reviews, when the time has come. The discussion of days gone by won't take us anywhere right now anyway.

Regards,

Marc
 

fedoralover

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,006
Location
Great Northwest
Beaver

Not to take sides here but just to clairfy. When I bought my 2 Optimo's I was told over the phone by Kevin that their felt was 95% beaver and 5% wild hare.


regards fedoralover
 

Matt Deckard

Man of Action
Messages
10,045
Location
A devout capitalist in Los Angeles CA.
Re: Beaver

Originally posted by fedoralover
Not to take sides here but just to clairfy. When I bought my 2 Optimo's I was told over the phone by Kevin that their felt was 95% beaver and 5% wild hare.


regards fedoralover


I statement of Optimo being 95% Beaver was something someone online said. I have never heard Optimo make that claim.

Check out this thread. It discusses the subject.

http://pub63.ezboard.com/faustinscafeamericainfrm9.showMessageRange?topicID=83.topic&start=1&stop=20

Seeing as this was originally a Herbert johnson thread started by MK, I doubt he expected it to turn into a Gladhatter Vs. Optimo Debate. if you have anything else to say about Gladhatter, start a new thread.
 

Sergei

Gone Home
Messages
400
Location
Southern Belarus
Hey Marc and Fedora, I am cool. I look forward to a honest appraisal of the fedora whenever it gets done. It's almost February, and we have been asking for a custom finished product since at least last July. Any custom finished product... It doesn't have to be an Indy.

-Sergei
 

Renderking Fisk

Practically Family
Messages
742
Location
Front Desk at The Fedora Chronicles.
How is evolking lawyers ?¢‚Ǩ?ìMountain Side Justice?¢‚Ǩ??

Marc, I think you and Fedora have the patience of Saints, or you have some kind of morbid curiosity. When he used the C-Word in refrence to one of our fellow members, he crossed the line where there is no FREAKING return.

How he treats you accounts for something. But his attitude is unexsusible. How you treat people in private and how you treat people in public MEANS EVERYTHING. You know?¢‚Ǩ¬¶ Adolf Hitler was a loyal, Faithful husband and he did what he could to take care of his parents.

Check out Austin's Cafe and read his posts. While you're doing that check out his Posts on The Raven.

http://pub63.ezboard.com/baustinscafeamericain [Replica Attire]

http://www.theraider.net/theraven//showthread.php?threadid=5417
http://www.theraider.net/theraven//showthread.php?threadid=5477

You?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll notice two things?¢‚Ǩ¬¶ he?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s a thread killer and that for someone who likes to brag about Mountain Justice; he likes to throw the word ?¢‚Ǩ?ìLawyer?¢‚Ǩ? around quite a bit. He single-handedly shut down AP?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s forum when he said he was going to sue everyone who disagrees with him.

On Raven?¢‚Ǩ¬¶ I was telling folks that we should wait until The Bone Smoker produces a product before we make any rash judgements, in turn he?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s posting crap like ?¢‚Ǩ?ìYou go to hell Fisk?¢‚Ǩ¬¶ you ain?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t the boss of me!?¢‚Ǩ? Clearly?¢‚Ǩ¬¶ he?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s not reading the treads on line.

More fun and games, he embarrased his own wife by having her write a response to something based on what he told her I wrote. Somehow, CharLIE painted ME as the villian when I was asking folks to wait till he produced just as you are now..

What kind of man says he?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s going to get a lawyer or his wife when he can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t win an argument?
 

fedoralover

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,006
Location
Great Northwest
Mattdeckard

Matt, I can assure you that Kevin told me that their felt (from 02) was 95% beaver and 5% wild hare. If you heard otherwise then maybe that's why this keeps coming up. But I know what I was told on the phone.

regards fedoralover
 

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