A hat making journey, friendship , business, and Charlie's story!

For those interested:

http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=76705#76705

Regards,

Marc

Well

I just read the link and it was another long winded discourse by our friend, Charlie.

I would love to hear about the hat, and what you think, as your opinon is valued.

I still just don't get it. Why does Mr. Charlie still feel compelled to have to justify his business, his word, and his reputation?

Sometimes I think he's compensating for a deficiency in "another department".

Let his hat speak for him, and Marc I do hope you are that sage of sanity, so once and for all this bantering can end.

Marc, Grab a clue. Tell Charlie that if he knows what's good for him, he'll leave me out of his rants.

Andy's more diplomatic. Me... I'm harsh and direct. I just to never want to hear from this punk again. Period. End of story... because I'm done.

I was happier before Charlie showed up, and I was happier when we ignored each other, and I'll be happier when he drops off the face of the earth never to be heard from again. I won't ever by a fedora from him. Period. No room left for argument.

Say

I have an idea..

Either one of you considered obtaining a Court Restraining Order?
LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

Re: Say

Originally posted by Andykev
I have an idea..

Either one of you considered obtaining a Court Restraining Order?
LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

Click to expand...

I would have left it alone if Marc didn't repost what Charlie said. You and I both agree... I'm a better person to be around when Charlie stays in his hole in the woods and keeps to himself.

Another final (sure) thought

IN the time it took Charlie to type that entire "tirade", he could have made a hat! Oh does he do that? Where are the happy customers? Anyone posted a picture of his fine work?

I could post pictures of Learjets and sailing yachts...even my own web site. But that gurantees nothing more than I know enough about computers to sell used cars.

So I have no reservations, I just am patiently waiting for someone out there in the almost 300 million Americans to buy something from him and post a reply on the finished product.

Nothing personal...just "the proof is in the pudding".

Open the can, Charlie.

I've been chatting with some fellow gear-members on line and here at home (Webley drove down from Vermont for this month's "JonesStock" and is leaving in the moring.) We pretty much agree on the same thing:

Marc could be in a heap of trouble cause he reposted text from someone who was banned from COW. He was banned for a reason. (A LONG list of reasons). I don't know if the Admin's and the mods are too keen on wasting their bandwidth on this nonsense.

Marc: Had it ever occured to you that there are people who are happier with out having to deal with his issues?

Well.....

As any of you out there are old enough to remember Jack Benny saying that!

I for one love this bantering. My replies are "tounge in cheek". Charles: that means "a joke". and "not really serious".

For the rest of you mental giants, lets take off the gloves, ring the bell, and come out swinging!! HURAHHHH!

Ow.....that hurt!

I don't have any gripes with Charlie. And, I could care less about taking any sides in this little controversy. I do understand why some people do. I recall all of the posts at COW quite awhile ago. I think he is defending himself because of accusations, character attacks, and all the rest. On both sides I might add. Like Andy said, the proof is in the pudding. To me, that is all that matters. Some hatters are very likeable, easy to talk to, and.........liars. Yep, liars. The lies cost me 1200 bucks. With all that Charlie has written me, he has never just outright told me a bald faced lie. One of our favorite hatters did, and not just me, but at least one other fan. This is in regards to a hat. I was told this particular hat was 95 per cent beaver, and 5 per cent hare. I had basically stopped buying new hats at that point, but was still trying to find an all beaver hat to add to my collection. Well, this company had this hat, and being the gullible person that I am, I believed the hype. I bought 3 of them, all in a few months time. Do I like those hats? You bet I do. But, the fact still remains. They lied to me. 3 times. So, I will never do business with them again, never, ever. But, they are really nice folks. In my years of being in business, I never lied to any of my customers. I never sold them birch cabinets, maintaining that it was indeed walnut. I would have never even considered doing business like this. So, Marc and I were both told the hat in question was indeed beaver. When questioned by Marc at a later date, suddenly the composition of the blend changed, and yes they did offer a beaver hat, at 750 bucks a pop. Was this all unintentional? Pehaps if it only happened to me, but it happened to Marc as well. So, I still love the hats in question, I think they are great, and very vintage looking. But, again, that is not the point. I can't stress that enough. Marc's search for a beaver hat was a search for a hat that would hold up to the elements. He already had experienced quickly tapering hats and wanted one that would last longer between reblocks. Like me, everything that he had heard heralded pure beaver felt as the felt needed for such duty. So, he was a happy camper when the hatter told him he would sell him one for around 400 bucks. That is alot of money for a student, but he antied up, bit the bullet and went for broke. He was satisfied. Then he takes it on an outdoor trip and the hat tapered quicker than you can say scat. See, I know the whole story. That high dollar hat looked great, until he wore it the way a hat should be worn in his opinion. As protection from the elements. So, enter the Glad Hatter. Although he was rude, crude, and all of those other adjectives, he promised one thing. An all belly beaver hat. And a soft beaver hat, not one of those stiff beaver cowboy hats with the extra stiffener cooked in to suit the current western style. (and it is current, the old cowboys hats were soft as a baby's butt) You all know the rest of the story. Then there is the rest of my story. I wanted an all beaver hat too. Not for the same reasons as Marc, but because I collect hats(thanks to fedoralover, Andykev and others:rage: ) I priced them from different sites, and belly beaver, when you can find a source is expensive, and all were western bodies so they were as stiff as a board. Not what I was looking for. Charlie told me he could get beaver body that was not stiff, and after seeing personally what lengths he was going to for Marc, in sourcing ribbon, liners and sweatbands that he was not currently using, I figured regardless of what sort of character he was online, he was busting his tale to give Marc exactly what he wanted. He may as well have invented the word "custom made" in my opinion. Actions speak louder than words, and his actions were admirable in my opinion. That is what counts when I buy anything from anybody. I don't care if the guy beats his wife, smokes dope or whatever. We can't all be as perfect in character as myself. So, it was a no brainer to buy a hat body from him. If I could ever find a belly beaver fedora grade felt, this was the only guy who said he could supply it. I trusted the other hatter, so this was no big leap of faith on my part. My body is being shipped this week. I will absolutely give an honest evaluation, based upon my experience with vintage felt and new felt. Since I am receiving just a pounced body, I will be doing the blocking, and all the rest. This will also give me an insight into the nature of the beaver felt, and I will share the good and bad points. I don't have a horse in this race other than trying to find a soft fedora grade beaver hat. Stay tuned. Fedora

In the words of Smokey Robinson: I SECOND THAT EMOTION!!


fedoralover

A word from the Bartender, you've had enough

I don't want this to be another tirade page over Gladhatter.

We can talk about Glad after we see the product, until then hold off... everything being said is pretty much rehash.

I am locking this thread down.

Joseph C. Brandstetter