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Is it a good material?Originally Posted by Aaron Hats
There are different types of material used in making "straw" hats. Shantung is generally used for western hats but sometimes you find it used on fedoras.
Aaron
Is it a good material?
Think while you still have me!
Move while you still see me!
You'll be lost, you'll be so so sorry when I'm gone.
Just like anything else there are different levels of quality. I prefer it over seagrass but it's not as good as a Montecristi. It boils down to personal style and taste.
Aaron
Shantung is made from a paper which is rolled into a yarn that looks somewhat like straw. It's produced primarily using the Manila Hemp plant (Musa Textilis, Abaca). Most of it is produced in the Phillipines.
Kevin
Shantung is a woven paper yarn...
Types of Straw
Sisal – Sisal straw constitutes stiff fiber used mainly in making rope and cordage. It is also a good looking yet strong fiber used for making hats. Sisal is a Mexican and Central American plant from the Agave Sisalana species. Sisal is named after a port and town in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Sisal cultivation began in the 19th century and its popularity quickly spread throughout the world. Nowadays, Brazil’s production of sisal straw is the largest in the world. Brazil commands approximately forty percent of the world’s market of sisal straw production. Note: Sisal straw is also obtained from the Abaca plant.
Raffia – It is native to Madagascar and grown naturally in the eastern coast of Africa. It belongs to the species monocarpic and genus Raphia. Its name is derived from the Greek word raphis meaning needle. It is in reference to the pointy needle-like fruit it bears. Its leaves are dried, stripped and used for weaving mats, baskets, bags, hats, etc. Its natural color is light brown. Raffia straw is also very flexible, strong and will not crack when it is dry. Also, raffia straw is very light weight, yielding very fashionable and comfortable hats.
Rush – Rush straw comes from marsh plants of the genus Juncus. The stem is used in making mats, baskets, bags, chair seats, hats, etc. Rush is abundant and commonly found in swamps and moist areas in the Northern Hemisphere. Rush straws generally have hollow stems and its natural colors are dark green to brown. It's straw is naturally accented with a fresh scent of grass.
Buntal – Buntal straw is used in mainly making bags and hats. Its use originated in the early 20th century in Baliuag, Philippines. The buntal straw comes from the largest palm species known as Buri. Known locally as “buntal” is the large petioles of the Buri. Its natural color is a light brown color, but after being pressed in a hat pressing machine and dipped into hat lacquer, its color changes to a beautiful golden-brown color. The buntal fiber can be stripped into very fine straws and the finished hat can fetch a handsome price. It is sought after by a number of hat enthusiasts because of it incredible fineness and grade when produced by experienced weavers and hatters.
Abaca – Abaca straw is mainly obtained from the Manila Hemp Plant (it is not actually a true hemp) from the species Musa Textilis. It is native to the Islands of the Philippines. Abaca can also be found in other parts of the world such as Borneo, Central and South America, Australia, and Indonesia. The bulk of the world’s production is from the Philippines. Abaca has been cultivated since the 16th century and is commonly used for cordage, paper, matting, rope, and also for hats. Because of its strong resistance to the waves of salt water, it is widely used for marine cordage. Some of Abaca’s characteristics are light in color, very flexible, and strong.
Seagrass – There are numerous species of seagrass (approximately 60 species) and they habitat the shallow sea coasts of every part of the world. Most seagrass straws that are woven into hats are derived from the reed-like marsh grass growing in the Chinese coast. The orients use the seagrass straw to make rugs, furniture, bags, hats, etc. The natural color is dark green to brown and its outer texture is smooth. Seagrass straw is less durable than other natural fiber such as sisal straw.
Jute – Jute straw is derived from the plants in the genus Corchorus. Natural jute fiber is a golden color with a silky shiny surface. Jute is the second most widely used fiber in the world, only next to cotton. It is used in making industrial yarn nets, fabric, bags, furniture, hats, etc. The most fertile and abundant source of Jute is from the Bengal Delta Plane in the Ganges Delta. (It is mostly occupied by Bangladesh.)
Shantung – Sometimes referred to as Shantung Panama. (Note: There is no such thing as Shantung Panama.) In actuality, Shantung is a man-made high performance paper yarn. The Japanese people named this high performance paper "Washi," which literally means "Japanese Paper." Originally three plants were used in making washi in Japan. The three plants are Kozo, Mitsumata, and Gampi. Because of quantity, availability, and tensile strength, washi is now mainly made from the Manila Hemp Plant. (Musa Textilis, Abaca) Its most amazing characteristic is that it can absorb thirty percent moisture without having the feeling of wetness. It has high tear strength and is considered to be the strongest of all natural fibers. It is great for making hats. Shantung is light weight, durable, and beautiful. It is very similar, by looks, to genuine Panama Hats.
Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.
Mark Twain
That's a sharp looking hat. You sell them ?
She had me running and hiding, like a two bit gangster running from the police.
We did last year but it has since been discontinued by Stetson.
Aaron
Wearing it as often as I can. Montecristi Panama hat.
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A sense of the fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth. - Fitzgerald
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My optimo crown.
Cheers!
Dan
"If you believe everything you read, better not read." - Japanese Proverb
One thing that I notice about Dan Jones' hat and many other panamas is the way the brim breaks as it separates from the crown, and the gentle curves in the brim itself. I noticed this first in an inexpensive panama I own.
Rather than a crip 90 degree transition from crown to brim, the transition seems to be more of a curve. In fact, the brim itself seems to curve more than to "snap" into place. It's difficult to describe, but the effect seems to be that of a material (toquilla fiber) that is fairly soft and therefore changes shape somewhat more gradually than a stiff straw or felt.
I have some Milan straws; they are quite stiff and have much more crisp transition angles, and there's more "snap" to the curve in the brim.
Does this description make sense? If so, am I observing a quality of the material itself, or does it have more to do with the quality of the hat and the way it has been blocked?
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