Photos of hatters tools

[John Galt]

One question, are they copper or brass? They look like they might be. If so, they will corrode and leave verdigris.

 

[humanshoes]

Hey, JG. Bass Pro Shops carries Momoi's Hi-Catch monofilament leader line in .86mm that should work nicely. It comes in clear or smoke blue at $10.99 per 50 yard spool. Leko's sells clear .85mm monofilament to go with their ferrules, which are the same as the roll pins I bought at the nut and bolt shop. Hope this helps you out.

 

[Mr.Astor]

Just pulled apart an old sweat, ferrule it appears to be 30 pound salt water monofilament. I was thinking thin swizzle stirrers may work as a ferrule. Just a thought. Looking for some swizzlers HA! BTW Humanshoes your on it as to fishing line! Regards!

 

[Mr.Astor]

John & Humanshoes just dawned on me that another alternative to ferrules that is inexpensive is a fly fishing floating line available in all weights it is hollow in the middle,do the reverse and use 30 lb. test as the joiner

 

[humanshoes]

Interesting thoughts, Mr. Astor. The .86mm monofilament from Bass Pro is actually 80lb. test and is listed as leader material. Not sure I would trust a smaller diameter to exert the proper tension on the sweatband, although, being the complete hat rookie that I am, I could be completely wrong about that. Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, the 1/16 x 1/2 inch roll pins, recommended by JW at JWHats and almost identical to Leko's ferrules, worked perfectly. I purchased them from the nut & bolt suppy house in my neighborhood at a cost of less than a nickel apiece so I really have no need to experiment with anything else.

 

[John Galt]

Hey, JG. Bass Pro Shops carries Momoi's Hi-Catch monofilament leader line in .86mm that should work nicely. It comes in clear or smoke blue at $10.99 per 50 yard spool. Leko's sells clear .85mm monofilament to go with their ferrules, which are the same as the roll pins I bought at the nut and bolt shop. Hope this helps you out.

Thanks, I didn't even think about "monofilament" in this context - makes me feel silly. I'll take my ferrules down to the tackle shop & pick out an appropriate line ;-). I've used Leko's and they are fine, but I don't like their sweats or their minimum order requirement.

John

 

[John Galt]

Leko's sells clear .85mm monofilament to go with their ferrules, which are the same as the roll pins I bought at the nut and bolt shop. Hope this helps you out.

Great help! Yes, Leko's ferrules are identical to what I got from JW, which are the roll pins - also identical to what I bought online (except that I ordered stainless).

 

[John Galt]

I was thinking thin swizzle stirrers may work as a ferrule.

Probably the right size, but they are made of plastic and aren't very tough. I really don't think they would hold tightly enough to the monofilament. The steel roll pins grip pretty tight when crimped on each end.

John

 

[TheDane]

"Monofilament" is a variety of items with very different properties. A lot of different materials are used with very different processes to produce the seemingly same thing: An untwisted synthetic "string". Many fiber optics are made of monofilament, that looks exactly like fishing line - but a fishing line is not suitable as a fiber optics monofilament. You will get light through, but very inefficiently.

I haven't tried to use fishing line as reed, but I would expect it to be too soft/flexible. Absolutely worth a try, though

 

[humanshoes]

Just another tidbit of information gleaned from the more than generous JW. He recommended I put a slight crimp in the middle of the roll pin (ferrule) for the ends of the reed to butt against. The reed is definitely not going anywhere with this configuration.

 

[John Galt]

Just another tidbit of information gleaned from the more than generous JW. He recommended I put a slight crimp in the middle of the roll pin (ferrule) for the ends of the reed to butt against. The reed is definitely not going anywhere with this configuration.

He told me the same thing. I (carefully) use the cutter on a pair of needle nose pliers to do this.

------------------------------------------
Caveat - Long, boring slightly preachy & self indulgent rant follows:
------------------------------------------

I know I sing JW's praises a lot. He is not one of the darlings of the Fedora Lounge (and I truly doubt that he aspires to be), but maybe he should be. He really does embody the qualities that make this forum and some of it's participating members so great. He's been a hatter for decades and shares his knowledge and experience freely and without any expectation of compensation or accolades. That is decidedly not the prevailing tradition in this field, and some hatters who benefited from similar largess have expressly refused to "pay it forward."

Please note that I mean no disrespect to those hatters who _are_ the darlings of this forum - I have every reason to believe that they have each earned the respect they are given here - but JW and other talented and unsung hatters and hat scholars that share their knowledge so freely (even if not in this forum) perhaps deserve a little attention from time to time.

Hatter4, Olė, Brad, Major Moore, and a few others come to mind.

While I'm on my soapbox, I'll take this opportunity to thank the proprietor of Tumwater Hat Co. (I don't know his name, which kind of supports my point) for his brim binding tutorial - referred to me by buddy Terry Jones:

http://tumwaterhatco.tumblr.com/page/5

 

[Hatter4]

Thanks John for the compliment - I've been a Hatter for 30 years and I certainly enjoy sharing my craft with anyone willing to listen!

 

[TheDane]

Thanks John. There is actually at least one thread on Jim, his company and work - and a very fine thread, I think

Tumwater is owned by our esteemed member TonyB, and you're quite right - it's a great tutorial. I just thought you had known that tut for ages. As for myself, I'm just fooling around, primarily trying to revamp some old beaters. In the process I try to absorb as much relevant knowledge as possible, both here and elsewhere. I love to pass it on for recycling, but I'm still just an amateur, giving advice to amateurs

 

[Miamibruno]

I would just like to echo the sentiments here expressed. I am VERY new to the hatter world and I've benefited greatly from the information provided by those mentioned above. And TonyB has answered my emails without ever asking who the hell I was. So, just a big thank you to them and JG for pointing out the knowledge these august men have provided to me and the rest of us. Cheers.

 

[Miamibruno]

And JW, if I ever find myself in your neck of the woods, I'd love to drop in. Here's to that day.

 

[John Galt]

Thanks John. There is actually at least one thread on Jim, his company and work - and a very fine thread, I think

I've read it, and watched the YouTube videos, which are highly recommended.

Tumwater is owned by our esteemed member TonyB, and you're quite right - it's a great tutorial. I just thought you had known that tut for ages.

No, I had not, although it is consistent with my reading. It was nice to read, and well illustrated. TonyB is one of the "others" referred to, whose handles I could not recall at the time ;-). I did not know he owned Tumwater.

As for myself, I'm just fooling around, primarily trying to revamp some old beaters. In the process I try to absorb as much relevant knowledge as possible, both here and elsewhere. I love to pass it on for recycling, but I'm still just an amateur, giving advice to amateurs

You are very modest my friend. To be clear, I included you as a "scholar" like Brad, rather than as a professional ;-).

 

[John Galt]

Thanks John for the compliment - I've been a Hatter for 30 years and I certainly enjoy sharing my craft with anyone willing to listen!

It shows, and is very much appreciated, Oliver! You are also very modest. Your collection alone probably merits a book, and I'd love to read the text you'd include with it.

 

[T Jones]

A lot has to be said for the Craftsmen who are generous enough to share their trade with others. If you stop to think about it the people they teach are carrying on their work and legacy to the craft. There's a couple of hatters, who will remain unnamed, that are not so generous to pass on what they were taught by the craftsman they learned from. My hat's off to craftsmen like JW, Tony B, Major Moore and others who are willing and generous enough to teach others.

Also, some Loungers have also been generous enough to share their knowledge too, John Galt, Dane, DOGMAN. I'd like to express my thanks to these guys as well.

 

[John Galt]

Returning to theme a bit, with the heavy "Canton" flanging felt (I hope) that I purchased on eBay. I went with natural. Auction photo. Beats the unnamed hatter's price by tens of dollars a yard.

"FABULOUS THICK CANTON Flannel backed Twill Natural & White Fabric 100% cotton[natural on natural]"

http://bit.ly/1h5hZgO

 

[alanfgag]

Water Damage

My Jiffy steamer is my most frequently used hat purchase. Great tool. One heads up... if your hat shop is a movable affair (my favorite place to work is the kitchen counter) and you walk up and down stairs carrying a filled Jiffy steamer, remember that the water bottle is not attached. I had not calculated the gravity of 128 ozs. of water in a hard polypropylene container in a five foot free fall onto one's foot. It hurts.