Photos of hatters tools

[deadlyhandsome]

I wish it was wider than 2 ½”, but when you have a chance to buy a 7 ¾ flange at a good price you don’t get picky.

 

[M Hatman]

Patented in 1938 for Laundry use of stretching/re-forming, Peaked/Service cap covers.

This one is a Cavanagh Kaki officers cap disassembled, to give you the idea what is being done. Many Cap covers can be removed for cleaning........(not all, some of the officers green caps are Fur Felt, just like a hat. I do have a couple, and they are NICE.)

EDIT: Here is the complete cap.

 

[RickP]

Had seen drawings of brim ironing flanges like this in old books, but Ive never seen an old orignal in the wild... So I made one. I have several traditional flanges for my snap brim hats, but Im fond of the modest outback style curves down in front and back so I used my Akubra Lawson to figure out the curve. Made it big enough to handle a 3 1/2" brim. Works really well for ironing whomper jawed brims without causing issues to the crown (much better than a flat surface)

 

[deadlyhandsome]

This Singer 112-1 showed up on Facebook Marketplace:

 

[belfastboy]

Had seen drawings of brim ironing flanges like this in old books, but Ive never seen an old orignal in the wild... So I made one. I have several traditional flanges for my snap brim hats, but Im fond of the modest outback style curves down in front and back so I used my Akubra Lawson to figure out the curve. Made it big enough to handle a 3 1/2" brim. Works really well for ironing whomper jawed brims without causing issues to the crown (much better than a flat surface) View attachment 616272

That is a nice one. I have a number of vintage ones picked up from milliners. I made myself a 'belly board' which just a board sloped north to south. I use it to put in the 'packer' style bash to a brim

 

[RickP]

That is a nice one. I have a number of vintage ones picked up from milliners. I made myself a 'belly board' which just a board sloped north to south. I use it to put in the 'packer' style bash to a brim

Ive found a few old beater hats with stretched areas and just wouldnt respond very well to more traditional brim flanges and steaming. They often come out pretty decent on this board....not exactly the original shaping, but hey it gets them back into the rotation, and get a few comments, because folks havent seen one exactly like it before. Ive been thinking of sewing up a light canvas presser pad with a cutout for the crown. Then use a router to cut a cord groove in the side like my other flanges so I could iron, steam, snug the canvas down and leave it to dry under gentle pressure

 

[RickP]

Had seen drawings of brim ironing flanges like this in old books, but Ive never seen an old orignal in the wild... So I made one. I have several traditional flanges for my snap brim hats, but Im fond of the modest outback style curves down in front and back so I used my Akubra Lawson to figure out the curve. Made it big enough to handle a 3 1/2" brim. Works really well for ironing whomper jawed brims without causing issues to the crown (much better than a flat surface) View attachment 616272

LOL...I just looked at my picture... I know Ive worked on some troublesome hats over the years, but I promise I DO NOT use a hammer on them... I was doing something else with the mallet before I took this picture

 

[belfastboy]

LOL...I just looked at my picture... I know Ive worked on some troublesome hats over the years, but I promise I DO NOT use a hammer on them... I was doing something else with the mallet before I took this picture

I have worked on hats where I FELT like whacking the crap out of them with a hammer

 

[BobHufford]

Was happy to find this in a boutique antique shop that my wife and daughter dragged me to. There was no price and when I inquired they said “oh … how about $15”. I didn’t even counter.

 

[humanshoes]

I don't know much about this old H. Grossmann (pre 1943) machine except that I believe it's referred to as a Hearn cutter and was used to trim the under-welt on wired straw hat brims. The fact that it was advertised on Ebay as a hat brim trimmer intrigued me enough to take a chance and drop a bundle to have it in my shop. After slight modifications (reversed the guide foot and added the oak crown guide) I think I've turned it into a functional hat brim trimmer that will make my rounding jack unnecessary. Now I just need some old beater practice hats and great caution for the safety of my fingers to see if it'll do what I want it to do. At any rate, it's very cool and I'm thrilled to have this beautiful piece of hat making history hanging around the shop.

 

[Woodtroll]

I don't know much about this old H. Grossmann (pre 1943) machine except that I believe it's referred to as a Hearn cutter and was used to trim the under-welt on wired straw hat brims. The fact that it was advertised on Ebay as a hat brim trimmer intrigued me enough to take a chance and drop a bundle to have it in my shop. After slight modifications (reversed the guide foot and added the oak crown guide) I think I've turned it into a functional hat brim trimmer that will make my rounding jack unnecessary. Now I just need some old beater practice hats and great caution for the safety of my fingers to see if it'll do what I want it to do. At any rate, it's very cool and I'm thrilled to have this beautiful piece of hat making history hanging around the shop.

It's great to hear from you, Rick, and great that you're still interested in making hats, along with all the other things you do.