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American Hat Makers

Does anyone else like the offerings that American Hat Makers has?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Not Sure

    Votes: 1 100.0%
  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    1

Ruger_44-Redhawk

New in Town
Messages
7
Location
Idaho
Do any of you have experience with American Hat Makers? I recently got their Barcelona Sun Hat in cream (white) and it is an awesome hat! I wore it recently to the Jack Pine Round Up in Idaho City and love the Western look of it. Their customer service is outstanding if you have ever dealt with them. They sent me a discount coupon for the hat and answered all questions immediately that I had. I just got another e-mail from them about their Jawa wide brim felt ranch fedora. Looks like a great outdoor fall/winter hat. I might have to get it. Do any of you know about this hat or have pictures?
 

Rmccamey

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,614
Location
Central Texas
It looks like they are a retail outlet, or reseller, and not a hat maker (ie, milliner). While there are always unique and interesting hats to be discovered, you will find most discussions here will be related to millinery, materials, and companies or individuals who make hats (Stetson, Akubra, Gannon, Northwest, etc.) and less about the retail sales outlets themselves.
 

Ruger_44-Redhawk

New in Town
Messages
7
Location
Idaho
I'm pretty sure American Hat Makers makes their hats. All made in the U.S. There is a badass new one they e-mailed me about, the Jawa wide brim ranch fedora. Looks like a great camping/hiking hat in the mountains.
 
Messages
18,915
Location
Central California
I can’t say anything about them for any experience, but generally speaking hats that use sizes small, medium, large, etc. and not going to provide the best chances of a good fit. It also looks like felted wool and while wool is a great material for some uses, modern wool felt doesn’t have a good reputation as a material for this style of hat.

Many of us here have gravitated to Akubra hats as a solid but less expensive option. Most Akubras come in actual hat sizes, use leather for sweatbands, and the felt is rabbit fur which is vastly superior to wool. Many fashion hats are intended for a season or two and then as styles change they are replaced. These American Hat Makers hats may be well built, I don’t know, but the machine pressed shapes and the texture and type of felt would give me pause.

If you get one please review it for us and let us know what you think.
 

Ruger_44-Redhawk

New in Town
Messages
7
Location
Idaho
Learn something everyday, I didn't know that hat makers called milliners? So I do have some nice expensive beaver fedoras with 2 1/2" brims and leather sweat bands that are specific sizes like 7 1/4. I guess I didn't make that connection. I did get the American Hat Makers straw Barcelona Sun Hat in cream recently and it is solid! But the sizes are small, medium or large like you said and the Medium which I got is tight but should stretch out. Also, is Akubra a style of hat? And is beaver felt the best for hats? I also have the inexpensive Dorfman Pacific weathered cotton outback hat that I shaped to more of a fedora style with steam, took the chin strap off and loaded it up with beeswax and neatsfoot oil and it's one of my favorite hats, especially for hikes in the rain and backpacking.
 

Rmccamey

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,614
Location
Central Texas
Generally speaking, the best hats are a high percentage beaver (often 100%). Nutria has a big following but is not always easy to find and is often used for a custom or one of a kind hats. Rabbit is also good and for decades most production hats (like Stetson and others) have used rabbit or some proprietary blend of beaver and rabbit.

(I must qualify my remarks as regarding fur felt hats. Others here can speak to the details of the upper echelons of straw and/or Panama hats.)

Learn something everyday, I didn't know that hat makers called milliners? So I do have some nice expensive beaver fedoras with 2 1/2" brims and leather sweat bands that are specific sizes like 7 1/4. I guess I didn't make that connection. I did get the American Hat Makers straw Barcelona Sun Hat in cream recently and it is solid! But the sizes are small, medium or large like you said and the Medium which I got is tight but should stretch out. Also, is Akubra a style of hat? And is beaver felt the best for hats? I also have the inexpensive Dorfman Pacific weathered cotton outback hat that I shaped to more of a fedora style with steam, took the chin strap off and loaded it up with beeswax and neatsfoot oil and it's one of my favorite hats, especially for hikes in the rain and backpacking.
 
Last edited:
Messages
18,915
Location
Central California
Learn something everyday, I didn't know that hat makers called milliners? So I do have some nice expensive beaver fedoras with 2 1/2" brims and leather sweat bands that are specific sizes like 7 1/4. I guess I didn't make that connection. I did get the American Hat Makers straw Barcelona Sun Hat in cream recently and it is solid! But the sizes are small, medium or large like you said and the Medium which I got is tight but should stretch out. Also, is Akubra a style of hat? And is beaver felt the best for hats? I also have the inexpensive Dorfman Pacific weathered cotton outback hat that I shaped to more of a fedora style with steam, took the chin strap off and loaded it up with beeswax and neatsfoot oil and it's one of my favorite hats, especially for hikes in the rain and backpacking.


Akubra has been around for a long time. They once had the license to make Stetson hats for the Australian market. They make a range of hats from fur felt dress hats (fedoras etc.), hemp and polypropylene “straw” hats, and fur felt western/cowboy hats. They make several styles including some open crown models that are well liked. They are not the best hats, but you have to spend a lot more to get something better.

As a rule, beaver makes for a tightly felted hat that resists the weather and has characteristics that most here like. Rabbit, hare, and nutria are also used a lot. It’s not always a matter of one being better than the other, it’s more personal preference and use. I prefer a 50% beaver mix for fedoras made using a Portuguese sourced felt. I like their 100% beaver, and the pure beaver might last 100 years instead of 80, but the 50% has attributes that I prefer. It’s not always a simple answer as to what’s better. Aside from custom hats, there aren’t a lot of 100% beaver hats being made. Most of the great vintage hats we revere are not 100% beaver hats. In fact, most of the time we don’t know what kind of fur was used in the felt as the makers have been reluctant to share that with us.

I suggest you read through the threads here. There are dedicated threads to Akubra hats, fur types, custom makers, etc. There's a lot of information waiting for you.
 

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