Custom Rounding Jack; Walnut Brim Cutter for the Infamous Hatman Jack at Wichita Hat Works

This Rounding Jack (Brim Cutter) was a commissioned piece, and so it has been sold.

If you would like something similar, please email me at

mark@decoustudio.com

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This project is a “brim cutter” that hatmakers use to cut the brims of Fedora and Western style hats. Actually, any style of hat can be cut, with a brim size ranging from 1.25”-8”.

The wood used on this project is Kansas Black Walnut. The rest of the parts are yellow brass. The inlay piece is synthetic ivory with Hatman Jack’s Wichita Hat Works logo scratched with a knife by hand in a scrimshaw style artwork.

Project Story:

Hatman Jack is not only a local legend, but also know around the country as a custom hat artisan. His resume includes movie hats, movie star hats, rock and roll musician hats, country music legend’s hats, and a long history of reputable and honest dealings with his customers. Jack starting working at the Wichita Hat Works while in High School, and shortly after High School, he bought the Hat store from the owner. So, he has done custom hats his entire adult life, and has a tremendous knowledge of the craft and about retail business.

Hatman Jack’s-Wichita Hat Works
601 W Douglas Ave
Wichita, KS 67213
316-264-4881

www.hatmanjacks.com

I first met “Jack” in 1993, after my wife gave me a “coupon” for a custom hat to be made for me that would match my wool dress coat (I used to wear business suits a lot back then).

Never owning anything other than baseball caps, I was somewhat reluctant to pick out a hat, but my wife and I traveled down to the Wichita Hat Works shop. After walking in the door and being greeted and invited in by the “staff”, a handsome guy came up and introduced himself as “Jack”. I told him what I was wanting to do, and I brought along my Navy Blue wool dress coat to match.

He looked me and my coat over, and started searching for hats. About an hour later, I walked out with a perfectly fitting Fedora that matched my style, and my coat. Jack showed me how to wear the Fedora with just the right “tilt”, and how to hold my head, a little cocked to one side. Indeed, the hat looked great on me, and I’m not a handsome guy.

That was the single best buying experience of my life, not so much because I got a hat, but because “Jack” took the time to visit with me and to teach me about hats, and it was just a lot of fun. My wife was thrilled with how well her Valentine’s Day Coupon gift worked out, and she’s never been able to top that one in 15 years since.

So, several years passed, and I started making Walking Canes. I enjoyed doing it, and decided to make a few extra and to try and find a store that would sell them for me on consignment. So, I visited a place called Andy’s Woodworking in the old-town district of Wichita. That lady (Andy’s Wife) said that her husband wouldn’t allow any “non-Andy” woodworking to be sold in his store, but she was quite nice, and recommended that I visit “Hatman Jacks” store. I hadn’t even thought about walking canes in a hat store, Doh!

So, I carried three canes into the front door of Hatman Jack’s store, and immediately saw him talking with another customer, and as I turned to close the door of the shop, Jack said, “don’t go anywhere, I want to talk to you about those canes.” And, then went back to helping his customer. One thing I have learned watching Jack work the retail business, is that he is Very Focused on the Customer. A customer feels valued, honored, and taken care of in his store, and he does that on purpose. So, if I’m in the store to pickup a check for canes that have sold, I wait until he is free to visit with me. Customers come first, and that has been good training for me in my own business.

So that day with the canes in hand, after the customer bought his hat and departed, Jack starting asking me more about the walking canes, and told me about his desire to sell them in his store, if I would let him. Let him? I was thrilled, and Jack has sold a lot of canes for me since.

Being able to work wood, and showing up in a hat store regularly has presented several opportunities to talk about woodworking in the context of hat making. Most of the tools that Hatters use are all made of wood, and are all very old, and most of the time broken. Jack has also told me many times that Hatters can’t find good tools anymore, and that if I would start making them, they would easily sell.

I listened to him carefully, but didn’t do anything about it, until his employees decided to order 4 Walnut Tollikers from me for Jack as a gift for his Birthday last summer. I did those Tollikers, and posted them on Lumberjocks, and other Hatters have found them on Google, and that has sort of started a small avalanche of Hat Tool Work for me. Just as Jack said it would.

So, last week, I was back in the Hat shop and took along a Rounding Jack that I made for Brainpan Hats in Sumner, WA, to see what Jack thought about it. He took it out of my hands carefully, and asked if he could try it out on a hat. I was excited to allow that, so he quickly walked to the back of the store and found a hat that he could trim, cleaned off the work bench, set the hat on a tall Crown Block, adjusted the Rounding Jack to the desired cut, and carefully ran the cutter around the brim, expertly trimming the brim to the 3-5/8” cut.

After that, Jack asked me how much I was selling them for. I told him, and he ordered one. So, this week my wife delivered his Rounding Jack, complete with His Business Logo in Scrimshaw, and Bench Stand that he requested.

Don’t know about “Scrimshaw?” This blog article I wrote will explain more:

http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/decoustudio/blog/2473

Some More Photos:

Display Stand: The display stand is designed to sit on the hatmaker’s work bench and hold the cutter when it is not being used. The retractable blade can remain extended this way between uses. This particular stand shown in the photos is Red Oak. This display stand is meant to make the whole project look like a functional-art sculpture, while it serves it’s functional purpose of the Rounding Jack safely.

To make the cut. The blade guard knurled nut is loosened, the blade dropped down and the nut retightened. The slider nuts are loosened and the desired cut width is indicated by the pointer, and the slider nuts are tightened. The hat is placed on a wood crown block to give a firm resistance to the pressure being applied with the cutter, and the brim is placed between the bottom brass plate and the bottom of the cutter. Then, depending on whether the hatmaker is a Clockwise, or a Counterclockwise cutter, the Rounding Jack is slowly moved around the contour of the crown while pushing the cutter toward the center (head). Felt Hat Blanks are very expensive, so after the cutting is complete, a big sigh of relief is heard from the hatmaker.

The Adjustable Brass Crown Band on the front of the cutter is used when the brim is to be cut wider on the sides, than on the front and back. By adjusting the curve of the brass band, the cutter is pushed away farther on the wider curve of the crown sides.

This is the Tolliker Project that started the Hat Tool Work for me:

Thanks for looking,
Mark DeCou
www.decoustudio.com

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More Hat Tools?:
If are you into “Hatmaking” or “Hatmaking Tools” you might enjoy seeing these other projects I have posted:

Rounding Jacks Available For Sale:

1. Hat Brim Cutter; Rounding Jack made from Maple Wood on a Walnut Bench Top Display Stand

Rounding Jacks that have been Sold:

1. Custom Rounding Jack; Brainpan Hat Shop in Sumner, WA Ready to Cut Fedora Hat Brims
2. Custom Rounding Jack; Steve Delk's Adventurebilt Hat (new Indiana Jones movie) Fedora Brim Cutter
3. Custom Rounding Jack; Marc Kitter's Adventurebilt Hat (new Indiana Jones movie) Fedora Brim Cutter
4. Custom Rounding Jack; Pyrate Trading Co.'s Brim Cutter for Triangular Shaped Pirate Hats
5. Custom Rounding Jack; Walnut Brim Cutter for the Infamous Hatman Jack at Wichita Hat Works
6. Hatmaking Tools: Hat Brim Cutter, Rounding Jack
7. Prototype Hatmaking Tool: Brim Cutting Rounding Jack

Tollikers:

1. Elk Antler and Birch Tolliker on a Display Stand
2. Walnut Wood Tolliker on a Display Stand
3. Three White Birch Wood Tollikers
4. Walnut Brim Shaping Foot Tollikers
5. Wooden Tollikers, Double Birch Set on Display Stand

Wooden Curling Irons:

1. Hat Brim Edge Kettle Curl Curling Iron
2. Hat Brim Edge Pencil Curl Curling Iron

Puller Downers:

1. Birch & Maple Brim Puller Downers

My Website with other woodworking, including furniture, walking canes, scrimshaw artwork, custom knives, and other misc. items

Mark DeCou Studio Website

This project design, photos, and text are protected by copyright 2008 by the author M.A. DeCou, all rights and privileges reserved, do not use these photos without permission)

-- Mark DeCou - Kansas Flinthill's Artisan