Posting an Art Special

[Panamabob]

This is Sharpetoys Montecristi Royal Imperial Super Fino Fedora (his name, not mine) as sculpted by Art Fawcett.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Sweet

 

[Imahomer]

Man, I'm loving that!!!!!!

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Here is the hat before Art did his excellent block on it. Art is getting really good on blocking these super woven hats and its not easy. Thanks Art for your hard work.

http://alpacagoods.com/sharpetoys.jpg

 

[Imahomer]

Excellent before and after pictures! Yea, I'm in agreement... Art is the guy to go to!

 

[Zane]

This is Sharpetoys Montecristi Royal Imperial Super Fino Fedora (his name, not mine) as sculpted by Art Fawcett.


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Wowwwwwwwww That is some fine looking hat for a straw hat especially. I never fooled with any straw hats. Art can you tell me any thing about blocking one of this hats? Man you transformed that hat from well I do not know what to say but end result is a beautiful finished hat. Do you use hot water or steam or how do you style a hat like that? I cannot say I was ever the best stylist to begin with , passable at best. That is a work or art and no pun intended but I think I would name my shop "Works of Art".

 

[Panamabob]

Paja Toquilla is not your everyday ordinary straw.

All you had was an unblocked super Montecristi before, nothing less, and Art blocked it beautifully.


How is my buddy doing?

 

[Art Fawcett]

Wow!! Thanks for posting it Roger.
Zane, I wish I could give you the secrets but I'm still learning and discovering myself. Rogers hat sat on a block, under pressure for 10 days. The total blocking time on this one was extrordinary, but then, so was what I was working on. Overall it took 3 weeks to get it to where I was satisfied.
Welcome to the Lounge !!

 

[jamespowers]

Now that is how you style a straw hat!
As a magician never reveals his secrets, Art does not have to worry. Even if he told you exactly how he did it, none of us could duplicate it. It must be real magic! Now I understand.
This is all I can make disappear. :beer:

Regards to all,

J

 

[Zane]

Wow 3 weeks is some time for sure but the end result was well worth it .

So when you say under pressure do you meanone of the metal shell or steam and shell press blocks or am I asking for secrets here I should not ask about?

I know Luther and them guys had a blocking machine at one point but I am sure he moved it with him when he went. I do not think they ever done a straw hat on it ever but it was supposed to so fur, wool and straw.

Thank you for the welcome.

 

[Marlowe]

I've seen this hat in person and it's exquisite. The weave is so fine it looks like raw silk cloth or linen and the block is just "top drawer." VERY nice.

 

[Zane]

Well thank you for the info Marlowe. I never wore a straw hat too much but I sure could see myself in something like that . Do not know where I would wear it yet but it sure is pretty . How much does such a hat cost?

 

[Art Fawcett]

So when you say under pressure do you meanone of the metal shell or steam and shell press blocks or am I asking for secrets here I should not ask about?

No Zane, I do all my blocking by hand. I have developed a way to wrap it to keep pressure on the hat while drying. I should say that during the process of Sharptoys hat I had to go to Oregon for 6 days so I really don't know how much of a difference it made over a shorter period of time. I should also tell you that hat blocking is secondary in my life as I am a Masonry contractor during the day, hatter at night & weekends & days off. A real pro probably could have done it much faster but hopefully not much better.

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Art,
I don't know what you did to block my hat but it truly is a great looking fedora. The blue hat band that you put on it makes it look like a ole time fedora. I wish my pictures were better to really show off your work.:cool2:

 

[rayk]

I've not had an opportunity to see this hat, except in photos; however, the pics that Roger has posted showed as fine a weave as I would imgine possible, and the block is exquisite. The finest Montecristi that I've yet seen.

 

[Zane]

Art, I do not think it could have been better.

 

[Art Fawcett]

Thank you Zane, Roger & Ray, it means alot to me to have people who KNOW compliment the work. Zane, I thought of one more reason why it took so long to block his hat. Simple, I was afraid of doing something that gave a bad result and tested my thoughts on other hats before touching Sharptoys hat. This hat represents a down payment on a house in many parts of the country so I was downright terrified that i would unwittingly make a mistake without the ability to replace it if something went wrong. Nothing did, but that was a result of extreme caution. There's the whole truth!!

 

[Zane]

Art, I reckon I can as fully understand what you are saying as any one. I will never forget when I was apprenticing, I was working on a very high dollar beaver hat and it was a real custom hand made one. I never really understood the difference and I not only put it on the crown iron but also did not know the old iron had a glitch in it and did not shut off and remove on its own always. I scorched that tan belly or sand colored hat bad. You know that would have been 2 weeks wages for me or better at that time and I was petrified to the point I was dreaming up excuses and about to turn a mistake into a sin. I finally decided I rather be honest and broker and go hungry as I had to be a liar and I just told the whole truth. They moved me off the custom hand made hats then and put me back on doing hats that cost a lot less and then on the following Monday, I got my check and instead of it being a notice of what I owed them, I had a 50 dollar bonus and a thank you note for standing up to it.

I learned a lot more than how to make hats during that time. I learned why they paid on Monday and not Friday and I learned about family and friendship and a lot more. They never just taught me how to make hats they taught me about how to live a God fearing and proper life and made sure I never got money on Friday and drunk or gambled it away and not have any for may family.

I know Mk, ask if I was tight with Charlie, and the real answer Is I was on a time. He was a good Christian man and he practiced his religion not just in church on Sunday and Wednesday but in practical ways during the week. Luther was just as good a man but he was not a religious feller.

I would like to make known here that I was sent links to this and 2 other forums by Charlie back several weeks ago and I had not heard from him before that in a couple years. I read around on them forums long enough to learn that he really has changed with his talk and his manners in some ways but in others he still is just making folks think is he bad when he ain't . I have seen him do that for a half a life time. he always said it had to do with a bible scripture about not casting your pearls before swine and I never understood it then and I still do not now. He never would explain it to me.

I want to make it known to the public at large here that what ever he done on these forums is him and I have no judgement on it other than the same one I have had for years. I think he does a lot of things different than I would.

The lot of you may think I am here taking up for him or plugging his work and that also is not true. What is true is I do need work that he could provide me bad, but it will not be making hats like you folks buy on here. I never learned enough to make the very best hats for sale. The work I plan to do for him is for large order specialty hats that he sells to a particular sect of the Jewish religion.

What ever he has done on these forums I am sure he thought he had cause for but that does not involve me and I hope y'all do not hold it against me.

If any body ask me a question I will give you a truthful reply regardless of who it is about if I think it proper for me to ask.

I will even volunteer this much and then hope to drop the matter.

Charlie Swindall is as fine a man as I ever knew, period. He is the finest hat maker I ever encountered in person or seen in the end result of a hat made by any one. I know there are others that can make them as good but I really do not think they can be made better.

Art I sure hope you the best in making your down payment on your house and best in life in all things you seem like a fine man and a fine hat maker. I do not know how I could ever be of help but if there is a way then you just ask.

Same goes for any one else reading on here.

 

[Panamabob]

The hat was the finest I'd seen in 4 years in and out of Montecristi.

I hope the trip comes together next summer so you guys can meet some of these people down there.

Zane, you are an enigma.

Art, also, good luck on making that house down payment

 

[Panamabob]

The hat was the finest I'd seen in 4 years in and out of Montecristi.

I hope the trip comes together next summer so you guys can meet some of these people down there.

Zane, you seem eerily familiar.