Joe Strain of Northern Whip Co stopped by the store last week and introduced us to his wife and daughter. Joe and David’s friendship goes back many years, when Joe was just beginning to braid whips. Meagan and Alex met Joe for the first time. A pleasant day for everyone!
Joe and David
Joe, Meagan and David
Update: January 10th, 2018. Unfortunately, The Thomas Company is no longer making the lace cutter. We hope to find a new manufacturer soon. Or, if you or a friend are handy with carpentry and would enjoy making 25 or so of these at a time please contact us at: catalog at davidmorgan.com or give us a call at: (800) 234-4934.
When we sold our last lace cutter several months ago, we discovered many people still wanted to purchase one. We found The Thomas Company, a local Seattle company, to make a new lace cutter based on the old specs.
This leather tool is a favorite of magician and whipmaker Louie Foxx. Louie has told us he’s tried a lot of the other lace cutters and prefers this one for comfort and durability.
Made of beechwood, it holds an injector blade that adjusts the lace width from under 1/8 inch up to about 1/2 inch. Two razor blades are included with each cutter.
Although the lace cutter is adjustable, we find it easiest to use multiple cutters set to each width we routinely need. For more information on using the lace cutter, please see David Morgan’s book Braiding Fine Leather.
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Cooler weather has arrived throughout most of the country. For those of you fortunate, or unfortunate, enough to need your wool sweater, you may find it is actually made of worsted wool. Just what happens to wool that makes it worsted? But before we go into that, it’s important to note why worsted wool is such a great fabric.
A worsted wool fabric is tighter and stronger than other wool fabrics. It can hold its shape, has a fine drape and keep a crease. It is much smoother. For those reasons, many garments are now made with worsted wool.
The difference between worsted wool and other spun wool starts in the earliest stage of preparing the yarn. Both worsted and spun wools are carded. Imagine two blocks of wood with tiny pins on one side. The wool is placed between the two blocks and the blocks are pulled in opposite directions. This process untangles the wool and places the fibers alongside each other. It also removes any debris that may have gotten embedded into the wool.
Next, and this happens only to worsted wool, the fibers are combed. Imagine two sets of long, metal teeth. One holds the wool while the other is swiped through the bundle. This pulls the fibers into alignment even further than the carding and removes short and brittle fibers. The wool staple must be over four inches long in order to be spun into worsted wool yarn. It also removes additional debris.
Now the long staples are ready to be spun. Because of the combing and carding process, the fibers can be spun much more tightly than other woolens. David Morgan sells several worsted wool sweaters. You can find them at the links below:
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Akubra’s dedication to quality has made them one of the premier hat makers throughout Australia and the world. David Morgan has proudly sold their hats in the United States since 1965.
Will Morgan visited the Akubra Headquarters in Kempsey, Australia. We thought you might like to get an inside peek into the making of an Akubra hat.
Brian Tucker, Production Manager, stands before the blowing machine. Here the fur is mixed, removing any clotted hair, felt or dirt. 
When the fur leaves the blowing machine, it is like soft cotton.
In the first stage of making the hat, the forming machine (not seen) will make 
a large cone that is extremely fragile and three times the size of the finished hat. From here, the hats will be shrunk, dyed and then shaped.
Stoving is the final wet process. The hats are dried overnight.
Trimmings, such as linings, ribbons and sweatbands (pictured here), are prepared in the factory. 
Ready for shipment!
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David Morgan would like to invite you to our new Facebook page. Not only will you be able to read our blog, but we have posted additional pictures. If you sign up as a fan, you’ll receive notices regarding our products. We will also post videos for hat care and hat bashing.
For those who enjoy reading our regular blog, don’t worry. We will still be here.
Click here for our Facebook page.
We found a picture of David in our old Ballard store. It probably dates from the 1970s.
And here is David returning from his daily walk, wearing his Akubra, of course.
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David Morgan has added several new Drizabone products to its catalog. All are fabricated with the same 12 ounce oilskin cotton used in the traditional Rider’s Coat.
The Brumby Jacket is a shorter, bomber style coat. Lined with flannel, with corduroy collar and cuffs, it’s great for a stormy night.
The Bush Hat is made of the same oil cloth as the rest of Drizabone products. It’s tough enough for the Australian bush, so you can depend on it in a thorny patch. Water repellent, with meshed side vents for breathability.
Drizabone’s Travel Wallet will stand up to the toughest adventures. It’s large enough to carry all of your cards, cash and checks. The dry waxed cotton doesn’t have a greasy feel.
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Are you curious about the origin of our products? For many of our items you will see a flag in the upper right hand corner, just opposite the price. If you click on the flag, you will be directed to a list of all of our products made in that country.
For many customers, finding products made in the USA is a priority. For those who are interested in an authentic Panama Hat, it is convenient to see immediately that our hats are made in Ecuador. If you need a gift from another country, check the list of countries on the side navigational pane.
Here is a partial list of products made in the USA:
Geier (Gloves & Moccasins)
Larry Knapp (Belts)
Welch (Suspenders)
Oomingmak (musk ox products)
Our panama hat supplier sent us a series of photographs that document the making of the Panama Hat. The finest hats come from Ecuador where the climate makes it ideal for growing the toquilla straw used in making the hats. Ecuador is also home to the world’s finest hat weavers.
The straw is first chopped down and transported. 
The fiber is split into narrow strands from the stem.
The straw is dried and then bleached, if necessary.
The straw is woven and blocked into shape.
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Many people ask how to store their hat when it isn’t in use. The most common ways are to use a hook or set the hat on its crown. Both will work fine. But for long term storage, we recommend keeping a hat stretcher in the hat. This prevents the hat from shrinking over time from disuse. You can easily set the hat on its crown and put the stretcher inside. David uses a second method.
Put door stops on the hat stretcher. This way the hat can remain sitting upright. The brim will remain above the surface so it won’t bend over time.This also works when the hat gets wet. The entire hat can rest on the stretcher and the top of the hat will dry along with the rest.
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