Bump, as this no longer seems to be in the Important Hat Forum Threads list. Unfortunately, some of the photos seem to be missing, but the overall insight this thread has given me is worth the bump - to me, at least. As a budding amatuer hat restorer (is that a thing?), seeing many of these processes and reading about them is very helpful.
For anyone following this thread I thought I would mentin JW (Jim) passed away a few months ago. I was a friend, a very kind man who loved what he did.
I just read all this thread, It was a Great education . Sorry to find out at the end he had passed away!
This thread needs another bump. Does anyone have a Smithbilt that they like? My limited experience is with their wool hats made for The Stampede etc. Are their fur felt hats decent?
Brian Sullivan (Sullivan Hats) out of NM bought the sweat band equipment and sells them to all at great prices.
Yes, J W died, but the shop continues. Partway through this thread there is also some back and forth talking about Smithbilt; have you any experience with them? Good to see you around these parts too, Mike!
