HNC Hatworks (formerly known as Agnoulita Hats)

[Melkat88]

Rabbit fur felt colors available:

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Hi everyone
I did order 1-2 hats because of the amazing colors. But is there any way to get those stiff for a classic western hat?
Or is it unrealistic?
I’m also still looking for a stiffener that makes NO STAINS
I bought powder in the states and mixed with alcohol and also tried with water...
But it makes always ugly stains unfortunately.

If there would be a way to get those hats from Agnoulita stiff, this would be Christmas for me
Thanks

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Hi everyone
I did order 1-2 hats because of the amazing colors. But is there any way to get those stiff for a classic western hat?
Or is it unrealistic?
I’m also still looking for a stiffener that makes NO STAINS
I bought powder in the states and mixed with alcohol and also tried with water...
But it makes always ugly stains unfortunately.

If there would be a way to get those hats from Agnoulita stiff, this would be Christmas for me
Thanks

It’s a lot more common to complain that felt is too stiff. You can stiffen any felt, but if you want a stiff western felt you’re better off buying a western hat body. Taking a relatively thin and light dress-weight felt and trying to make it into a western felt sounds like a lot of work compared with simply buying a western weight hat body to start with. I also doubt if your results will be as good as if you just started with the western felt.

I think that real shellac dissolved in alcohol is still the best option for stiffening felt. You need to use pale/blonde shellac chips, but there shouldn’t be any discoloration.

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/to-shellac-or-not-to-shellac.102971/

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/the-trials-and-tribulations-of-hat-stiffener.80376/page-4

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/hat-stiffeners.52850/page-2

 

[Melkat88]

It’s a lot more common to complain that felt is too stiff. You can stiffen any felt, but if you want a stiff western felt you’re better off buying a western hat body. Taking a relatively thin and light dress-weight felt and trying to make it into a western felt sounds like a lot of work compared with simply buying a western weight hat body to start with. I also doubt if your results will be as good as if you just started with the western felt.

I think that real shellac dissolved in alcohol is still the best option for stiffening felt. You need to use pale/blonde shellac chips, but there shouldn’t be any discoloration.

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/to-shellac-or-not-to-shellac.102971/

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/the-trials-and-tribulations-of-hat-stiffener.80376/page-4

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/hat-stiffeners.52850/page-2

Thanks for the quick reply
I would buy a western quality but wasn’t able to find a supplier with this amount of colors.
I already get some from millinerywarehouse and such but there is no raspberry or pistachio, and crazy colors like this.
This is the problem.
I got my shellac from Leko so I think this should be a great quality...
So I’m still wondering why I get all these stains...
It’s not easy to get a great color range for my western felts

 

[Scooterz]

Thanks for the quick reply
I would buy a western quality but wasn’t able to find a supplier with this amount of colors.
I already get some from millinerywarehouse and such but there is no raspberry or pistachio, and crazy colors like this.
This is the problem.
I got my shellac from Leko so I think this should be a great quality...
So I’m still wondering why I get all these stains...
It’s not easy to get a great color range for my western felts

If you read through this thread you will see Mr. P reportedly adds his own stiffener. If you talk to him he may be able to add more depending on how stiff you want it. He may have western weight felts too but I am not sure how many colors he has in those.

 

[belfastboy]

Hi everyone
I did order 1-2 hats because of the amazing colors. But is there any way to get those stiff for a classic western hat?
Or is it unrealistic?
I’m also still looking for a stiffener that makes NO STAINS
I bought powder in the states and mixed with alcohol and also tried with water...
But it makes always ugly stains unfortunately.

If there would be a way to get those hats from Agnoulita stiff, this would be Christmas for me
Thanks

I use the Agnoulita felts because of the colour selection and yes even for dress weight they need a little shellac. I use Shellac Flakes - Super Blonde (Amazon)and have never had a staining issue. You have to melt them using Denatured alcohol. Use the purest ethanol you can find (I use 95% ethanol) I use a very dilute mixture and put on multiple coats if needed. There is something wrong in your mix....either the shellac or the carrier is wrong. I suggest you throw away what you tried and start over.

 

[belfastboy]

Thanks for the quick reply
I would buy a western quality but wasn’t able to find a supplier with this amount of colors.
I already get some from millinerywarehouse and such but there is no raspberry or pistachio, and crazy colors like this.
This is the problem.
I got my shellac from Leko so I think this should be a great quality...
So I’m still wondering why I get all these stains...
It’s not easy to get a great color range for my western felts

Leko sells pre mixed stiffener....do you use that?

 

[belfastboy]

Hi everyone
I did order 1-2 hats because of the amazing colors. But is there any way to get those stiff for a classic western hat?
Or is it unrealistic?
I’m also still looking for a stiffener that makes NO STAINS
I bought powder in the states and mixed with alcohol and also tried with water...
But it makes always ugly stains unfortunately.

If there would be a way to get those hats from Agnoulita stiff, this would be Christmas for me
Thanks

Agnoulita mens dress weight hats are still quite floppy but the biggest issue is they are small. You cannot block on anything larger than about 58cm and still get a 3" brim. His millinery weight are much larger but they are extremely floppy and it is hard to stiffen them up much. Have you considered dyeing the felts? Dyeing would mean you have now your own colour pallette, just stock White/Ivory coloured felts and a dye selection.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Agnoulita mens dress weight hats are still quite floppy but the biggest issue is they are small. You cannot block on anything larger than about 58cm and still get a 3" brim. His millinery weight are much larger but they are extremely floppy and it is hard to stiffen them up much. Have you considered dyeing the felts? Dyeing would mean you have now your own colour pallette, just stock White/Ivory coloured felts and a dye selection.

Mr. P does have his own stiffener and I have some hats where I can tell it was used. Some of his other hats seem to be made without any added stiffeners.

Odd that I have dress weight hats from Agnoulita in standard, flecked, velour, suede/antelope, and long hair finishes and he’s been able to make them in the dimensions I’ve requested. Size 62cm, 6” open crown and some with 3” wide (or more) brims. In fact, I don’t ever recall Mr. P having a problem getting any of the hats I wanted in any dimensions I asked for. I wonder if he stretches the felts or if he has them felted larger and for some reason doesn’t offer them to his hat body customers?

 

[belfastboy]

Mr. P does have his own stiffener and I have some hats where I can tell it was used. Some of his other hats seem to be made without any added stiffeners.

Odd that I have dress weight hats from Agnoulita in standard, flecked, velour, suede/antelope, and long hair finishes and he’s been able to make them in the dimensions I’ve requested. Size 62cm, 6” open crown and some with 3” wide (or more) brims. In fact, I don’t ever recall Mr. P having a problem getting any of the hats I wanted in any dimensions I asked for. I wonder if he stretches the felts or if he has them felted larger and for some reason doesn’t offer them to his hat body customers?

The size does seem to vary. I have two hats 59cm/3" brim out of the suede/ Other shipments are smaller. This batch - 58 cm /2 1/2" brim the max I can get. Rick has had issues on size with the suede as well. Perhaps Mr P can select larger felts from his stock to suit orders.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

The size does seem to vary. I have two hats 59cm/3" brim out of the suede/ Other shipments are smaller. This batch - 58 cm /2 1/2" brim the max I can get. Rick has had issues on size with the suede as well. Perhaps Mr P can select larger felts from his stock to suit orders.

Can you specify the size of hat bodies when ordering them? I don’t know how I feel about him hand selecting larger bodies for his own use but not being willing to do the same for his hatter clients.

 

[belfastboy]

Can you specify the size of hat bodies when ordering them? I don’t know how I feel about him hand selecting larger bodies for his own use but not being willing to do the same for his hatter clients.

Rick did that for me, he spoke to Mr P directly and Mr P agreed to pick out a larger one. But when Rick received the felt it was too small to make up into my dimensions. I bought the felt from Rick so he wasn't stuck with it. I have had such terrible history trying to communicate with Mr P I never bothered to ask about size.

 

[belfastboy]

Can you specify the size of hat bodies when ordering them? I don’t know how I feel about him hand selecting larger bodies for his own use but not being willing to do the same for his hatter clients.

Mr P lists the dimensions for each type of felt and they are usually at least that large. But th last 2 shipments the felts were all under his stated dimension. The problem with buying from Greece....it is a long way and an expensive return.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Rick did that for me, he spoke to Mr P directly and Mr P agreed to pick out a larger one. But when Rick received the felt it was too small to make up into my dimensions. I bought the felt from Rick so he wasn't stuck with it. I have had such terrible history trying to communicate with Mr P I never bothered to ask about size.

Agnoulita seems to be thriving in spite of Mr. P rather than because of him. Great guy, but I’m not doing any more business with him. Honestly, I would like to visit with him in Greece one of these days.

 

[Grateful Ant]

I just wanted to speak up for the customer service I received from Agnoulita Hats as I believe people might be slightly worried about using them as some people have had a bad experience with his customer communication. A while ago I ordered a hat from them, but when I hadn’t herd from them at 5 weeks from the order. I emailed them. Within a few days later my hat arrived but in the colour that it’s advertised on the site not the ordered colour. Wich made me think my order had been lost or misplaced and they rushed out a ready made one. When I emailed him about the problem he did get straight back to me. Letting me know that the correct hat word be on it’s way and I could keep the original for free. The 2nd hat did seem a little rushed and floppy but over all he made good on his not so good customer communication.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I just wanted to speak up for the customer service I received from Agnoulita Hats as I believe people might be slightly worried about using them as some people have had a bad experience with his customer communication. A while ago I ordered a hat from them, but when I hadn’t herd from them at 5 weeks from the order. I emailed them. Within a few days later my hat arrived but in the colour that it’s advertised on the site not the ordered colour. Wich made me think my order had been lost or misplaced and they rushed out a ready made one. When I emailed him about the problem he did get straight back to me. Letting me know that the correct hat word be on it’s way and I could keep the original for free. The 2nd hat did seem a little rushed and floppy but over all he made good on his not so good customer communication.

We’d appreciate seeing photos of the two hats. Thanks!

 

[belfastboy]

I just wanted to speak up for the customer service I received from Agnoulita Hats as I believe people might be slightly worried about using them as some people have had a bad experience with his customer communication. A while ago I ordered a hat from them, but when I hadn’t herd from them at 5 weeks from the order. I emailed them. Within a few days later my hat arrived but in the colour that it’s advertised on the site not the ordered colour. Wich made me think my order had been lost or misplaced and they rushed out a ready made one. When I emailed him about the problem he did get straight back to me. Letting me know that the correct hat word be on it’s way and I could keep the original for free. The 2nd hat did seem a little rushed and floppy but over all he made good on his not so good customer communication.

And this is the issue for me. His post screw up response is great. He is most gracious in making amends. But I would like a supplier that responds quickly...not 5 weeks hence. I want a supplier that sends what I ordered not sending a second shipment to repair the initial screw up. I don't need that level of vexation in my life. Mr P seems a great guy, great heart, great intention but damn if he could only get his act together on communication and delivery.

 

[Musher]

I received my Earl homburg today. I ordered it on Amazon 2/9 and would have had it 2/24 but the dhl guy could not deal with my long, icy, and steep driveway. Mr. P upgraded it to beaver felt for no other reason than he liked the design. lol. It came with a nice box and hat bag and a nice note from Mr. P. I had extended the brim to 2 3/4 and lowered the crown to 4.5. The color is cocoa with a chocolate ribbon. I think I paid $35.00 after exhausting my Amazon points. Quite a deal.

 

[Musher]

 

[belfastboy]

View attachment 314454

Well if Mr P will start to sell FEPSA beaver felts in his Hat Makers section I may have to overlook my judgements on his customer service.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Well if Mr P will start to sell FEPSA beaver felts in his Hat Makers section I may have to overlook my judgements on his customer service.

I was thinking along those same lines.