HATMAKING : All About Felts!

[@jorgechavez4193]

I'm a hat maker in México, and i found this very instructive. Awesome video.

[@Man_Cave]

Such a shame that Herbert Johnson no longer offers hats in beaver felt.

[@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889]

@Man_Cave At present, to best handle the high demand, we have reduced our offerings down to a select collection of rabbit styles and core sizes temporarily. We hope to be able to reintroduce our wider selection of more sizes, styles, beaver felts and custom options again asap. In the meantime we have a waiting list for options not currently available. To join our wait list, please contact our team via [e-mail]. Thank you.

[@lweleven3423]

Very helpful . I’m torn between rabbit and beaver or a mix

[@TheHumbleBumbleBee1]

Thank you for uploading this video, I would love to see the process of how you make your hats.

[@Rogue_Too]

Tremendous. Absolutely fascinating.

[@eugeniuszdominikukasiak1735]

I like listening to your voice, you speak beautifully.

[@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889]

😊 Thank you my friend 🤠

[@gf4670]

Good video. I have no idea why nutria isn't used more in felt, especially here in the US. They truly do breed like rats, and the felt really is quite robust and water resistant. Not the best felt for a regular fedora but I have a Clint Eastwood Good, The Bad, and The Ugly style hat in nutria and I swear the felt would be great for Indy hats as well.

[@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889]

My hope is that nutria will become more widely available in future. The times I see any become available the problem is always how far a small purchase will have to fly to reach me and the cost makes it non viable. The more demand we see in the hat making world then the better supplies should become available so here's hoping! Additionally, at present nutria tends to only be available in western weight which is not suitable for our hats. We look forward to the market opening up and the development of more options in this type of felt.

[@9407south]

Very good Michelle! I’m learning as I go!

[@worldwideinterests1]

I don't know where HJ found you, but I'm sure glad that they did. I had one myself in the late-2000s and had to put quite a bit of work in it to make it look more like the film hat. I think it may be time to revisit the brand.

[@stevenburton6785]

Everything we need to know about hats,Beaver is expensive for some of us although rabbit felt has been good enough for daily use for myself ps are the city casual and forge trilbies the same type of hat with different hat bands ? both are very stylish although the charcoal grey forge trilby with vintage copper hat band looks stunning.A must buy for the autumn.

[@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889]

Thank you. Glad you like our Forge & City Casual styles, yes these are quite similar styles. The open crown versions of both are the same, being blocked on our Casual set of blocks. However, the ribbonwork are different on each plus the shapings are slightly different with the side dents being slightly more elongated on the Forge and the City Casuals have a slightly wider front pinch. We can of course create your hat to your bespoke preferences. To discuss a bespoke make or for assistance with ordering, please email us via [e-mail].

[@randomclips7970]

Awesome! I love my Last Crusade Poet!

[@Oangulo6952]

❤️❤️❤️ the Cosplay!!!

[@mattybrookes1]

Very informative video. Thank you. Could I ask where you source your hat blanks?

[@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889]

@mattbrookes Thank you, I'm glad you found this useful. Yes, we source the vast majority of our premium fur felt capelines from Fepsa, who are widely considered the best available in our business. We work closely with our suppliers to provide our custom felts to our exacting specifications.

[@mattybrookes1]

@@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889 thank you very much!

[@joecruz6237]

Good info, thanks. How do I know when a vintage fedora is made of beaver or rabbit fur if the hat doesn't say so? The ad says fur felt or beaver/rabbit, but the inside of the hat doesn't say beaver? Thanks.

[@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889]

If the hat hasn't specifically been marked as being made from rabbit, beaver, nutria or a specific blend of fur felt fibre, it can indeed be very difficult to tell the difference. There are different quality grades of fibre and their felts so this can further complicate things. An experienced hat/felt maker may be able to identify the felt type of a hat but the only way to be truely certain would be to have the fibres tested. Hope that helps.

[@joecruz6237]

@@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889 thank you. 😊

[@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889]

@@joecruz6237 our pleasure. 🤠

[@RayRemillard]

What exactly are you steaming with? It looks like a flat iron, but mine is nowhere near as Direct. On wide open my flat iron gives a general overall steam, so which burst steamer are you using please?

[@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889]

We use several irons both flat non steam and steam for various processes. Our hatter suggests you try out several as the weight and handling can be important depending on the Hatters strength and how frequent the usage. They recommend something light weight. Depending on budget some of the industrial level steam irons with remote reservoirs work well if you have the room and don't mind trailing cables. Hope that helps.

[@kendallcafritz8828]

Where do you get your felt hats

[@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889]

Hello. We currently handcraft all our fur felt hats bespoke to order in our in-house workshops in the UK. We use fine traditional hatting skills in handcrafting to produce our hats using only the very highest quality materials.

[@TheHumbleBumbleBee1]

Are your Raiders hats dress weight?

[@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889]

Hi there. Yes I mostly use dress weight unless I am making a travelling style crush able hat. I like using 120-130g weight blanks. They give me great shape maintenance as well as the flexibility I desire.

[@dtochoney3321]

Are the heavier weights of felt stiffer??

[@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889]

Yes. The heavier the felt weight, the more fibre and thickness, and therefore the less pliable they are.

[@kendallcafritz8828]

Are there any vegan felts?

[@christinaburton2703]

I dont know if this makes any difference, but I was given to understand that rabbits are not killed for their fur but it is combed out.

[@antigov7591]

Look up mushroom hats

[@kendallcafritz8828]

Are there any vegan felts that work

[@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889]

We are continually exploring new materials and techniques as they become available that may offer greater longevity and sustainability to our products. As producers, we believe in the importance of providing well made products of quality that will last the test of time, through generations even, that can withstand multiple refurbishments to further prolong their use is preferable and a more responsible use of resources as opposed to continually buying poorer quality short lived products that go to landfill. Efforts are made to reduce waste and use all resources responsibly in everything we do. The fur felts we use are the highest quality, the fur fibres themselves sourced from bi-product of other industries which would otherwise go to waste. Fur fibres have unique qualities making a remarkable and versatile material when felted which naturally provide inbuilt resistance to moisture. As yet these unique qualities and perfect suitability for felt hat making has not been matched by any other fibres or materials currently available. Even wool felt has many shortcomings in terms of longevity of hats produced from it. Cotton and other plant/synthetic fibres can be used to make certain cloth hat styles and certainly many innovative plant fibres are being developed into cloths and leathers currently which we are following with much interest. However, these would also need to be considered carefully for their potential environmental impacts. Please know that our research is ongoing and we are continually developing our product range with sustainability and the requirements of our clients in mind.

[@kendallcafritz8828]

@@HerbertJohnsonHatters1889 Thank you so much for your thoughtful response.

[@lexgarnier]

I’m very worried about the animal welfare of fur farms. It’s seems it’s bad to have a fur coat but ok to have a fur felt hat.