Summary: Blocking is the process by which a hat is given its shape. The forms on which hats are shaped are called hat blocks. Hats used to be blocked by hand. Today, hand-blocking is a vanishing art. Most hats now are shaped on hydraulic presses. A fine hat should be blocked by hand.
1. WHAT IS BLOCKING?
Blocking is the process by which a hat is given its shape. Just as a fine diamond can be enhanced or spoiled by the gem cutter, a beautiful Montecristi hat body can be enhanced or spoiled by how it is shaped or finished. The photo to the right shows a blocked hat and an unblocked hat. Can you tell which is which? Thought so. You’re a natural.
A hundred years ago, virtually all hats were blocked by hand. Today, the art of hand-blocking is as endangered as the weaving itself. And, as with any fine art, not all artists are equally skilled. I have located fewer than half a dozen blockers in the U.S. who meet my exacting standards. At present, I do all of my own hand-blocking.
Come sun, come rain,
no one else to bless or blame.
Yes, I will reblock a Montecristi Panama hat you already own, or I will block an unblocked Montecristi hat body. For more about this service, please click here.
Properly blocking a Montecristi Panama hat by hand is a difficult, time-consuming, costly process, requiring tools and techniques that have all but vanished. Many hatters today use glue-like coatings and stiffeners to persuade their hats to hold their shapes. I refuse to use any stiffeners. Each of my blocked hats still has the natural feel and flexibility for which Montecristi Panama hats are justly famous. And each has a classic, lasting shape.
Several different hat blocks
Folded and
sewn brim
Woven
brim edge
Another shortcut that many hatters take, especially the larger manufacturers, is to cut the brim to a standard width, fold it under, and sew it. As you’ve probably guessed already, that’s another shortcut that I
don’t
take. Each of my hats still has the original finished edge given to the hat by the “back weaver” or
rematador
(below).
Each of my hand-blocked hats is shaped and finished entirely by hand. One at a time. The old fashioned way. No shortcuts. No compromises. The art of the weaver is always respected, always preserved. Sometimes enhanced, one hopes.
2. HOW IS IT DONE?
The blocker selects a hat body and steams it.
As the straw becomes warm and moist from the steam, it becomes more pliable, easier to work with and shape.
The steamed hat body is pulled over a wooden form the shape that the hat will become. This is the hat block. The hat is molded to the block tighter than jeans a dad wouldn’t let his daughter leave the house in.
(Around in this part somewhere are a whole bunch of critically important details I’m leaving out.)
The hat should be allowed to dry completely before it is removed from the block. How long that will take depends on environmental factors, primarily heat and humidity. Here in Hawaii I allow the hats to dry a minimum of 48 hours.
The photo to the left shows two hats on blocks. These hats are dry and ready to come off the blocks. As you can see, the brims have not yet been shaped and smoothed.
After the crown has been blocked to shape, it’s time to work on the brim. Shaping and smoothing the brim is called flanging (flanj-ing). In the photo to the right, those things that look like toilet seats for leprechauns are wooden flanges. I have hundreds of wooden flanges. (Visitors are often transfixed by the sight, never before having seen quite so many toilet seats for leprechauns all in one place.) Not only do I have to have flanges for all the different hat sizes, but also for all the different brim widths.
The brim is steamed again and ironed on the flange (left) to give it the desired shape and smoothness. A cloth is used to protect the straw from scorching.
The photo to the right shows a hat on a flange, completely covered by a cloth.
The contraption in the photo to the left is a sandbag press. The dome contains about 70 pounds of sand and a heating element. Master Hattter Trent Johnson is about to lower it onto a hat being flanged. The weight and heat help smooth the brim.
(Here is another broad area where I have chosen not to clutter the narrative with a lot of little hat tricks and trade secrets.)
Some styles require additional shaping of the brim, as Trent is doing in the photo to the right.
In the two photos to the left, Trent is using an antique hatter’s tool to curl the brim edge.
This curl is called a pencil roll and is one of the distinguishing features of the Plantation and Aficionado styles. Trent is the originator of the Aficionado.
Each fine sheepskin roan leather sweatband is hand-cut and fitted to the exact size of the particular hat it will go into. Even hats that are the same size have individual characteristics that must be evaluated and either accommodated or overruled.
My leathers are sewn in by hand. Some hatters sew in leathers with a sewing machine. That’s another shortcut I won’t take.
A small needle with fine thread can be worked between the weave, leaving the individual straws undamaged. A sewing machine needle punches through whatever is in its path, over and over and over, all the way around the hat. If you ever want to reblock your hat, you might have a problem. Just tear along the perforated line. (bottom right)
My bows and ribbons are shaped, sized, and sewn by hand. For the same reason everything else is done by hand—the hats are worth it.
Lots of work. Lots of time.
No shortcuts. No compromises.
What the hat wants, the hat gets.
My hats are made by hand. One at a time. The old fashioned way. My hats are not cheap. I make no apologies for that. If you are looking for cheaper Panama hats, you have many other choices. My goal is to provide a choice for those of you who want the very finest.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Reg. No. 2,370,231) granted me the sole right to say that I make and sell The World’s Finest Panama Hats®
I applaud their good judgement. I try.
Blocking Services: Hand Blocking à la carte
If you have a blocked Montecristi Panama hat that you want to have reblocked, I may be able to help you out. As long as the straw is not broken, brittle, or dried out, I should be able to reblock the hat for you in one of the styles shown on this site.
If you have an unblocked Montecristi hat body that you want to have blocked, I would be happy to block it for you. But please keep in mind that I am a hat blocker, not a magician. If you have a size 67⁄8 hat with a 2-inch brim, I cannot turn it into a size 71⁄2 Plantation with a 4-inch brim. If you purchased a junk Cuenca hat on eBay that the seller misrepresented to be a “super fino Montecristi,” well, I’m sorry but I cannot turn it into a real super fino Montecristi.
To have me block or re-block your Montecristi Panama hat, you must fill out this form and include it with your hat. Call before sending your hat.
There are several advantages to buying your Montecristi hat from me, not just the blocking:
1. Your Montecristi hat really will be a Montecristi hat, guaranteed and certified.
I sell only genuine Panama hats, no felt fedoras, no cowboy hats, no berets, no baseball caps, nothing but Panamas. Montecristi hats are my specialty and my passion. I have been going to Montecristi to buy my hats personally for fifteen years. All of my attention and expertise are focused on Montecristi hats (plus a few Cuenca hats to provide a more affordable alternative in some cases). I don’t overrate or hype my hats. I don’t sell Cuenca hats and call them Montecristis. I don’t sell average grade Montecristis and call them super finos.
2. You know you will get the style, size, and quality you have asked for.
I have more than 2000 Montecristi hat bodies to choose from. That is many times more Montecristi hats than you could find in Montecristi on any given day. You tell me what you want, and I find a hat body that will block to the size and style you want. Variations in the straw, the weave, and other factors mean that even expert buyers and blockers don’t always know for certain how a particular hat will behave when being blocked. Some hats will become much larger once they are steamed and put onto a block. Others may become a little smaller. When this happens with one of my hats that I am blocking for you, then I simply select another hat body and start over, making sure that you get the style, size and (within reason) the brim width you have requested. If you send me a single hat body to block, chosen by you or by someone else, then that is your hat, come what may. I’ll do my best to push and steer it where you want, and I’m a pretty good pusher and steerer, but I cannot overcome the physical laws of the universe. Odds are, everything will work out just fine, even with someone else’s hat body. But as you will notice throughout this site, I would rather err on the side of underpromising than overpromising.