Killer username!! Thanks! 25 years fly by,man.. I have coworkers younger than that, appreciate us taking the time to compliment me, be safe.. kev

Happy i could help!! Glad it worked, a tea kettle makes my type of work 50%-100% more dificult, so..i commend u,Sir, that isnt easy. Even for me, its like paddling upstream, so..good work!

On yeah, totally! God it takes me like an hour to do my crown and I'm getting good at it lol... I just can't afford a steamer right now, so at least this gets the job done. the worst part is that my kettle is on a fucking sensor! So it keeps shutting off when it boils! so I can only do little pieces at a time. I have to do my brim a quarter piece at a time. It's tedious, to be sure! Lol

@@user-mt4zr5kp7h find a used kettle at the salvation army thrift shop for a buck or two.. or rip out that sensor! Best of luck,my fellow hat- wearing friend

pete mancillas sure, u got it

Thx good to know! When we first got em, they werent online yet

Thanks, my boss will love that I’m selling loys of hats here for her!! Lol

KEVIN from JJ HAT CENTER 🎸HATS & GUITARS ! Excellent! Kevin I also ordered a San Sabastion but mistakenly checked pinch front. I actually would like it with an open crown. Thanks J Dillon

drifter grey always welcome, I will give u the VIP treatment if u drop by!! Kev.

@@quadrogong1111 Thanks Kevin! Hopefully someday soon 🙂

Sorry got a couple like that. The cap video too .i will redo. Thx 4 the input

KEVIN from JJ HAT CENTER - HATS & GUITARS ! In case you are using an iPhone, just import the video to iMovie and edit the volume there. Just make it louder. Then export it and upload the new exported video to KZfaq. That should do the trick. If you are using a computer, there are cheap USB microphones which are of amazing quality. I hope to be able to visit New York next year, if so, I will definitely drop by at the shop and get a new hat. :)

Great advice, that particular video was done using an IPad Pro, I will edit the sound, pump up the volume..thank you for the constructive criticism,most helpful comment I’ve gotten in a long time!🤓

The Alfonso spitfire is on half price sale, awesome quality, no button, 3 nice colors,grey herringbone,solid charcoal or blue/black tweed All great colors,nice medium sized crown,not too baggy.. Should fit the bill, it's the only one I know of that's button-less

Not personally

There is an antique machine, a crown venting press, an old, steel thing.. it makes those sunburst patterns,to vent the crown.that’s a very rare machine, I’ve only seen one in my life, we have it at the store, if u ever drop by we will do it for free. I have a video showing it kzfaq.info/get/bejne/h52SfN1yuJzRfXk.html

@@quadrogong1111 I'm in Texas. Maybe in the distinct future I will travel to New York for vacation and visit your store. I'm ordering online now.

First time I’ve heard that, sorry about that. That would be pretty out of character for them we are on a very small skeleton crew now, But They forward me emails all the time from customers, I got one today, in fact.. sometimes things wind up in a spam folder by mistake, Id just email again, info@jjhatcenter.com or call the 800 number during the day, Colin is there usually, he’s mature,responsible,calm,levelheaded and knows his stuff, I’d trust him with just about anything.. ask Colin at the shop tomorrow 800 622 1911

most felt bodies don't "ready to block and shape". They come in an unfinished state, generally,a hatmaker will get a fur felt body and buff it down by hand, to a finer, softer finish that he makes himself & an even thickness all around. Beaver felt is expensive and generally not as thick because of that, so there's less buffing and sanding needed.. But there's beaver felt bodies available if you shop around. If you haven't done any actual hat making before, I'd suggest starting with some rabbit fur felt, a double sided velour body is very soft and Velvetty..and already expensive enough to experiment on...beaver is way more $'s. It'll require way less buffing, but you will need to sand it down to a fine finish w multiple sandpapers, otherwise it won't feel like anything special..this is how the soft finish is created,by hand.. it takes time,and must be even all around. ..without the right equipment it'll be hard, you'll need a crown block,and the little stand it goes on to elevate it, a band block, and brim block (Flange) you'll need the proper rope to tie the felt down to the block, and a pusher stick to stretch the wet hat body onto the block... Without those, it'll be tough..near impossible. You'll need a spray bottle to wet the felt, and probably a brim cutter because your felt will have a huge 5" brim, without a proper brim cutter u will destroy the felt, a jury rigged brim cut looks horrible, it'll brand your hat a home made fake, u need a brim cutter, and they take practice. U will need a cheap wool body to practice on, it took me over ten times to get okay at it,I still suck at brim cutting. That's the mark of a beginner, a badly cut brim looks so bad, it'll make u hate your hat, practice this..do NOT use a scissors or u will destroy it. You'll need a sweatband, and you'll need to know how to cut it to size and sew it in. You'll need a band, and some sewing skills.. Try manhatco. Manny's millinery Frank Olive only sources I know of in NYC

U can't find an answer because ready cut,buffed and stretched felt bodies don't exist. That's SO MUCH WORK... when I has my own hat company I paid a guy to stretch,tie,and push wet felt over those blocks,dry them,band them,sew sweatbands.. all I did was shape the crown and trim the hats w feathers,bands,trimmings,ribbon.. and just trimmings the hats took time. I never block my own hats..it's soooo much work, strenuous and so easy to eff up, U would spend a day making a hat,then ruin it cutting the brim.. it is not easy.

@@quadrogong1111 awsome! This was most definatly helpful. Thank you so much!

Only if u want it flat...maybe u can do it. Most brims at not flat.but if u have a messed up brim,many folks are happy with flattening it out.flat is better than floppy and wavy...I never iron, but my colleagues do it to FLAT brims only.... Careful,get some thin fabric,like a cotton pillowcase ..and keep it between the iron and hat...or just keep the iron moving.. if that hat is curling,or going nuts on u, A steam iron alone is not always going to control unruly felt, it’ll curl upward and the brim will get wavy and all crappy looking, and you did nothing wrong...it can be the felt itself needs way more stiffener to control it. or the felt is just..thin,or not great.. some felt is good, some is bad...price aside. I have $200 hats that are so frustrating...but there is always a cure. it might need to be stiffer before anything can be done. .if u have a problematic or worn hat,usually the best way to control it is to stiffen the balls off it..then go to work on it! I’m sorry 😐 the hat is fighting u,it’s not that unusual.. back in the old Boardwalk Empire days when everyone wore hats, there was big money in hats..lots of jobs,factories,stores on every block selling them,and every person wore one.the quality was crazy good, all beaver hats (like the typical gent wore back then)cost you upwards of $500 these days,nobody can afford that,(and that’s our price!) go online and google “100x beaver custom made hat”. And u see all the snake oil salesman all over the US selling them for $1000 and way more..tons of them. What was P.T. Barnum’s famous quote?..”there’s a sucker born every minute”? Beaver is not a rare, exquisite material imported from a rare island near Madagascar...Beavers are all over N America and was the norm back in the old days, everyone had a beaver hat,it was standard quality.beavers are varmints,pests..they’re abundant in North America..! These days nobody can afford to buy or sell this stuff,so they cut corners and make the felt rabbit, which is fine, if the felt is a decent thickness... but when u start cutting corners, things happen,the felt curls..but when u take it to a hat guy, we can stiffen it, put it on a hat block, steam it..fix these flaws.. as a hat wearer, u can use Scout hat stiffener, or ultra super hair spray..but if u get to nyc, i can fix it for free. It’s my pleasure. Kev

allahu snackbar try a test on one area...the back of the brim..let’s say. If it works, iron more.. I will guess it may work, but if the felt is giving u issues,stiffening it first, letting it dry, THEN ironing will be better .try it. My colleagues do it with flat brims only.

Kevin, thanks so much for the great answer. I did buy a size bigger, but it feels too big. I am testing some padding in it, but i almost feel like i will stick with the smaller 7 3/8. I might cut the seam like you said on the tight hat, and even take out the bow tie, or maybe 4 inches of the back of the band, that might give me just enough extra room so as not to pinch me in the front so bad. I will say, if i were riding a horse or out in the wind, the hat would be perfect for not blowing off. Yeah i look at these old pictures of new york city and every man, woman and child, rich and poor has a hat on. Even if you were such a poor kid that you couldnt afford shoes, you still had on a hat. I dont hunt anymore. These days i am pretty much a bunny hugger, but in the past i did shoot a beaver in the creek. Ive seen their dams and the trees they chew up. Thanks again

allahu snackbar pad it in back..like a six inch pc in back, then the same in front, padding on the sides does nothing, do the front and back..keep tightening w padding, if it isn’t enough, do what I said.. gnite bro. K

Saxons come in all the time, any weekday.theyre on order,but late, so hard to say when.. thanks for the amazing compliments..may be the most heartfelt, sincere compliments I've ever gotten here. I appreciate it

Also.. Hatco Ken's Stetson, Dobbs, Resistol and Charlie One Horse. They ate up all those companies many years ago and if they didn't,they're all probably be gone now.. they had their ups and downs, the late 90's were cheesey as hell, paper sweatbands, etc but now they are on an upswing.. great designers, and they deliver the product,where other companies can take orders but not provide the hats, Stetson has good stock,lots of Warehouses full of hats,they rarely flake on us, but delivery times can be late, erratic, at least they get here.

@@quadrogong1111 Thanks Kevin.

Hatch owns those companies, but American Hat Co, is it’s own. They are the BEST cowboy hats you will find, but they’re kinda pricey!

Nope, many brands are not shipping because of covid, Akubra is charging an extra $25 tax for shipping right now, I suggest getting them directly from the distributor, David Morgan , online. We won’t have Akubra or Stetson for ma y months

Pork pies are my specialty, I'm pretty good at it.. I've done this video three times, here u go..watch all three & it Should help. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pd6AeMyG08nKZo0.html kzfaq.info/get/bejne/m76Xf5hevb7OZGw.html kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hLySe6aStLTQiok.html

Here's how I got into it, my "story"... kzfaq.info/get/bejne/odBzaJSauKm0ZYU.html

www.jjhatcenter.com Order here, it’s very fast.. we ship the same day u order, We have a huge 25% off sale now, (ends dec 6 in two days)

Coffee overdose.. I look skitzed out in a lot of these videos because I’m kind of a workaholic, when I’m busy at the shop, I can drink 2-3 large coffees a day sometimes, and that’s the results.. I’ve cut down recently though.

KEVIN from JJ HAT CENTER 🎸HATS & GUITARS ! I’m addicted to the multi coffees

Only older videos are Like that, the audio has been fixed, thank u!

Oh yes! Remember ya! I dint think we have any Dobbs hats left, no pins.. we only sold one style, a mini homburg, and they’re gone, Still a rocker,I guess.. kind of an aging, neurotic dad rocker , but still rockin!