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How to dress like a gentleman- Information on the manufacture of the gentleman's hat- gentleman's guide
MANUFACTURE
Making hat-felt was known once as the ‘mystery’, a dangerous process that destroyed the health of
many of the skilled and proud journeymen who plied this ancient trade. The nitrate of mercury used
to treat the animal hairs would raddle their brains, while the dust and fumes drove them to heavy
drinking. ‘Mad as a hatter’ was a phrase with grim meaning.
Nowadays, steam is the agent of creation: lots of it, oozing from every vent in the factory. The hat’s
mysterious journey into existence begins in a dark and sour-smelling room filled with sacks and thick
with slowly circling dust. The entire process from formless fluff to elegant fedora can take 10 to 12
days.
The raw ingredients are subject to dousing in vats, crushing, beating, rolling, steam-blasting onto
whirling cones and compacting into damp, hardening felt blobs that are tossed and tormented, sunk
in stiffening shellac, kneaded with steel hammers, moulded, pressed, ironed, drained of excess
moisture and even sanded down in showers of felt dust.
Eventually, each embryo hat is given individual form and life upon a ‘head’ of wood, the hat-block
press. After the mash of machinery comes the sleight of hand, patient and painstaking, Fingers of
steams soften and give final shape to crown and brim, while deft hands guide the welt under a
leaping needle and the hat is finished by trimming with band and lining.
MATERIALS
Hare and rabbit fur and merino wool are used to make hat felt. Some beaver fur is still used, though
it has not been a significant factor since the depletion of American supplies in the first half of the
19th century.
Making hat-felt was known once as the ‘mystery’, a dangerous process that destroyed the health of
many of the skilled and proud journeymen who plied this ancient trade. The nitrate of mercury used
to treat the animal hairs would raddle their brains, while the dust and fumes drove them to heavy
drinking. ‘Mad as a hatter’ was a phrase with grim meaning.
Nowadays, steam is the agent of creation: lots of it, oozing from every vent in the factory. The hat’s
mysterious journey into existence begins in a dark and sour-smelling room filled with sacks and thick
with slowly circling dust. The entire process from formless fluff to elegant fedora can take 10 to 12
days.
The raw ingredients are subject to dousing in vats, crushing, beating, rolling, steam-blasting onto
whirling cones and compacting into damp, hardening felt blobs that are tossed and tormented, sunk
in stiffening shellac, kneaded with steel hammers, moulded, pressed, ironed, drained of excess
moisture and even sanded down in showers of felt dust.
Eventually, each embryo hat is given individual form and life upon a ‘head’ of wood, the hat-block
press. After the mash of machinery comes the sleight of hand, patient and painstaking, Fingers of
steams soften and give final shape to crown and brim, while deft hands guide the welt under a
leaping needle and the hat is finished by trimming with band and lining.
MATERIALS
Hare and rabbit fur and merino wool are used to make hat felt. Some beaver fur is still used, though
it has not been a significant factor since the depletion of American supplies in the first half of the
19th century.
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