Gary White-The Custom Hatter

[daizawaguy]

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Very nice!

 

[fmw]

Excellent. The hat has very nice proportions. It was designed with good design, if that makes sense. Congrats.

 

[DRB]

Thank you very much for the kinds words friends. I appreciate the support.

 

[DRB]

Just received, my new GW (Gary White) The Custom Hatter. Shipped open crowned. It is a tan/nutmeg color. It has a true Cavanagh edge to it. It is super lightweight. The hat blank weighed 2 ounces before liner and sweat. The total weight now of the hat is 3.8 ounces. The hat is so lightweight that I could not get it to keep my center or side dents from popping back. So, I did a terrible thing and sprayed some felt stiffener to the top of the hat. Gary can make any hat or ribbon you want. What a guy!

 

[alanfgag]

Congratulations on another fine addition to your collection, Dennis.

Cheers,
Alan

 

[DRB]

Thanks Alan. Here are two more that I just received last week from Gary.
Very light brown/taupe color, 100% Beaver, Cavanagh Edge. 5 inches exactly open crowned with a 2 1/8 inch brim.

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Dark Blue, 5 inches exactly open crowned, with a 2 1/8 inch brim. Long haired, trimmed with Luring grease added.

 

[Iyor]

Here is a panama I just had made by Gary White.

 

[bowlerman]

that's just gorgeous. looks like a higher crown than most panamas. noggin' shot?

 

[skyvue]

Here is a panama I just had made by Gary White.

Love it.

Would it be inappropriate of me to ask for a ballpark idea of what that hat cost? If so, feel free to tell me so; I don't mean to pry.

 

[alanfgag]

Not sure if this video has been posted previously:

[video=youtube_share;APrtNX0khzE]http://youtu.be/APrtNX0khzE[/video]

 

[Rogera]

Great video Alan, thanks for posting it .
I didn't know you could get a Cavanagh hat from a modern maker. Thats very cool.

 

[mingoslim]

Super video!
I will certainly put Buffalo on a future itenerary

 

[Johnny J]

Here is a panama I just had made by Gary White.

Wow! That panama really looks vintage!

 

[bowlerman]

I had not seen this-- thanks Alan, for posting! Love that accent, too. Almost sounded like western NY mixed in with a bit of North Carolina. I didn't know Gary did the Boardwalk Empire lids. I've had a photo of Buscemi's stingy silver belly/sand homburg saved on my computer for years. Your neighbor Dave Brown has a photo of his version of that hat on his website, but it is clearly not the same (nice hat regardless).

Here's my contribution to this thread, which I got from eBay last year:

This hat has the most lightweight and thin felt I've ever seen. It also has a cool mesh liner.

 

[Brad Bowers]

I didn't know you could get a Cavanagh hat from a modern maker. Thats very cool.

That's only because the bodies he has with Cavanagh Edges are decades old. No modern felter still makes them.

Brad

 

[Rogera]

That's only because the bodies he has with Cavanagh Edges are decades old. No modern felter still makes them.

Brad

Thanks Brad, That makes sense. I remember reading about the lost art of the Cavanagh edge in your article. I assumed all of those hat bodies were long gone.

 

[besdor]

I think I read once on the lounge that Wincester could still make a Cav edge but the cost would be so high that it wouldn't be worth it.

 

[Brad Bowers]

I think I read once on the lounge that Wincester could still make a Cav edge but the cost would be so high that it wouldn't be worth it.

'Tis true. Six or eight years ago, Richard at Winchester made me three samples showing the process, one of which is a rough-blocked but unpounced and undyed hat body.



Brad

 

[John Galt]

Brad:

I know that you have more than a passing interest in the Cavanagh Edge. Have you ever looked into whether the same or similar effect could possibly be reproduced with a needle felting sewing machine, proper foot and adhesive?

John

 

[alanfgag]

That's only because the bodies he has with Cavanagh Edges are decades old. No modern felter still makes them.

Brad

Correct... and the felted edges I've seen from Gary are somewhat different in character from the examples I've owned from Cavanagh, Knox, Borsalino or Stetson.

The "Donna" mentioned in the video is my wife, who brings her costume class from The University of Buffalo down to visit Gary each year - a tour that is always much anticipated and enjoyed.

My guess is the vintage C-crown block being used with a tolliker to shape the hat would have been used in the period for straw bodies rather than felt. I've also assumed Boardwalk Empire to be set in the 1920s rather than the 1930s. But who's to quibble.

I'm glad you enjoyed seeing this, which was shared with my by Lounge member Landman. Gary is a hard working one-man shop and a very nice fellow as well.