{"id":112,"date":"2016-07-07T20:45:02","date_gmt":"2016-07-07T20:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brentblack.com\/cart\/?page_id=112"},"modified":"2016-07-14T01:34:46","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T01:34:46","slug":"tour-planchador-irons-the-panama-hats","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/stage.brentblack.com\/cart\/hat-lore-overview\/tour-how-a-panama-hat-is-made\/tour-planchador-irons-the-panama-hats\/","title":{"rendered":"The Planchador Irons the Hats"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"tour_14_01_ironincoals1\"<\/p>\n

Nestor Franco heated his irons by nestling them into hot\u00a0coals.<\/p>\n

He made his fire first thing each morning. While the fire burned the wood\u00a0into coals, he readied his irons and gathered his other tools: wood forms,\u00a0half-inch-wide leather belts, sulfur powder.<\/p>\n

Nestor\u2019s workshop reminded me of a tidy old garage with lots of\u00a0interesting stuff in it. A good place to hang out.<\/p>\n

There were usually one or two other artisans working for Nestor, and as\u00a0often as not a kid or two watching and\/or getting in the way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"tour_14_02_nfirn17\"There\u2019s Jose Chavez again, working with scissors.<\/p>\n

\n
\"tour_14_03_nfirn16\"

Montecristi Panama hats drying in the dappled sunlight of Nestor\u2019s enclosed courtyard<\/p><\/div>\n

The workshop opened onto the street in front, and an enclosed courtyard in\u00a0back where chats could be spread out to dry in the sun, its equatorial intensity\u00a0softened by a couple of palms and a jacaranda.<\/p>\n

Below are some of the forms Nestor used to iron the hats. They are different\u00a0sizes, different heights. Some are flat on top, others are round. Nestor had at\u00a0least a hundred forms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"tour_14_04_formsnf1\"

Nestor pulled his hats over these wood forms, pulled and belted them taut as\u00a0a drum, then ironed the hats.<\/p><\/div>\n

The wood forms are made of a completely different type of wood than are the\u00a0apaleador mallets. Opposites. The wood for the mallets is extremely dense. The\u00a0wood for the forms is very light, like balsa wood. The forms the weavers use\u00a0are made of the same wood.<\/p>\n

There is a good reason for the very light forms. When a hat is on the form,\u00a0and three\u2013year\u2013old Danielito chases the family cat through the\u00a0house, and the hat on the form hits the concrete floor with a sickening\u00a0thunk\u2014the light wood forms are less likely to damage the hat upon impact\u00a0than a heavy wood form.<\/p>\n

\n

\"tour_14_05_formssulf\"I once bought an entire tree of this light wood.<\/p>\n

I wanted to have forms made for the weavers. Easier dicho<\/em> than hecho<\/em>. Just\u00a0finding out what kind of wood to use was a challenge worthy of the CIA. Caco<\/em>.\u00a0Eventually, we were told by one of the hat dealers that the tree is called a\u00a0caco<\/em> tree. So we went out looking for caco<\/em> wood.<\/p>\n

Have you ever shopped for caco wood in Ecuador? It\u2019s a lot like a\u00a0North American snipe hunt. We tried lumberyards, furniture makers, wood\u00a0workers, anyone we could think of and find. Finally, in our twenty-eighth try,\u00a0and our third lumberyard, another customer overheard our request. After we were\u00a0told, again, that there was no such tree or wood, the other customer caught my\u00a0eye and signaled we should talk outside the lumberyard.<\/p>\n

Tree intrigue. The life of a Panama hatter is weirder than you can possibly\u00a0imagine. Well, this Panama hatter.<\/p>\n

He gave us our first good lead: a name and a phone number.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"tour_14_06_nfirn6\"

Nestor chooses a belt for the form.<\/p><\/div>\n

Alicia (the interpreter from hell) called the number and asked about buying\u00a0a caco<\/em> tree. This was one of the times I was grateful to be able to hand the\u00a0phone to someone else and plead poor Spanish skills. She arranged for us to\u00a0meet with two strangers in a small town 30 kilometers from Montecristi. We were\u00a0about to buy a caco<\/em> tree.<\/p>\n

Imagine you live in a very small town in rural Ecuador near the Pacific\u00a0coast. You look up and here comes a gringo. I\u2019m obvious. I don\u2019t\u00a0pass for local. (Come to think of it, I don\u2019t pass for local\u00a0anywhere.)<\/p>\n

I approach, smiling, and tell you in fairly bad Spanish that I am looking\u00a0for two men who are going to sell me a tree that I will use to make hats.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you already give them the money for this tree?\u201d was the\u00a0usual response. (Translation: Just how stupid are you?)<\/p>\n

We took a walking tour of the town, asking everyone who didn\u2019t run\u00a0away about Eduardo and Manuel and our caco<\/em> tree. Chickens always ran. Children\u00a0usually did not. Pigs were hard to predict. About the time the locals were\u00a0thinking of calling a town meeting to decide what to do with us, Eduardo and\u00a0Manuel showed up. It was a go. So we went.<\/p>\n

\n
\"tour_14_07_nfirn15\"

Nestor tightens the belt around the form<\/p><\/div>\n

We drove a short way out of town and pulled off the road. We hiked out into\u00a0what looked like a pasture. They took me to a tree. They gestured at it\u00a0enthusiastically and said that was my tree.<\/p>\n

Tools of his trade. Wood form. Leather \u201cbelts.\u201d Sulfur\u00a0powder.<\/p>\n

Yikes. My tree is still \u201con the hoof\u201d or on the root. It\u2019s\u00a0a live tree with leaves. Oh no. This is like choosing a live turkey or lobster.\u00a0It seems too personal. I imagined logs or something, not a live tree. I\u2019m\u00a0\u00a0a dyed-in-the-cellulose tree hugger from way back.<\/p>\n

Okay, I\u2019ve cut my own Christmas trees on tree farms in California and\u00a0in the woods in Kentucky where I grew up, so this is like that. I avoided\u00a0giving the tree a name, like Woody or Jose.<\/p>\n

Okay. My tree. My caco<\/em> tree. I tried to feel proud.<\/p>\n

It was a nice enough tree. Not a big tree. About twenty-five feet tall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the kind, is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Si.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"tour_14_08_nfirn7\"

Nestor fits the form to the hat. An unexpected face appears lower left.<\/p><\/div>\n

How was I supposed to know? Or test? Can\u2019t exactly heft a rooted tree\u00a0in my hand to see how dense the wood is. Uh\u2026deal.<\/p>\n

I marked the tree to show them which branches to use and how far up each to\u00a0cut.<\/p>\n

The entire time I was doing this tree purchase thing I was conscious that I\u00a0was way off the grid. I didn\u2019t know who these guys were. I didn\u2019t\u00a0know whose field it was. I didn\u2019t know who actually owned the tree. I\u00a0didn\u2019t know if it was a caco<\/em> tree. I didn\u2019t know if $40 was a fair\u00a0price for a caco<\/em> tree. For all I knew, these two hustlers might have already\u00a0sold this same tree four times that month. Oh, those crazy gringos.<\/p>\n

It worked out fine. Eduardo and Manuel delivered as promised. Eventually, I\u00a0actually delivered several dozen forms to weavers.<\/p>\n

This year, Diego and Jorge delivered about seventy free forms\u00a0to weavers. We bought up all the caco<\/em> wood that the form maker had. More caco<\/em>\u00a0is drying now and will be ready to be turned into forms soon. Forms are\u00a0provided to weavers at no cost. The forms can be used to weave hats for anyone,\u00a0not just me.<\/p>\n

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\"tour_14_09_nfirn5\"

He pulls the belt tight and ties it off.<\/p><\/div>\n

Nestor would choose a form to fit the general shape the weaver\u00a0had woven. He would want the hat to fit very snugly onto the form. Sometimes he\u00a0might try several forms of different sizes before finding the right\u00a0one.<\/p>\n

Nestor Franco knew his stuff. He was a good apaleador<\/em>, a great planchador<\/em>.\u00a0His family was famous for their ironing for several generations. None of\u00a0<\/span>Nestor\u2019s children practices the family art. His brother did. Photos of\u00a0<\/span>Alvaro Franco are below.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Nestor found the right form for the hat, he removed the hat from the\u00a0form and put a half-inch-wide leather belt over the form. He tightened the belt\u00a0<\/span>on the form, without the hat. (right) He usually had to work to pull the\u00a0<\/span>tightened belt off the form.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Below left, he put the hat onto the form then put the tightened belt over\u00a0the hat. He had pulled the belt as tight as he could before he tied it. By\u00a0<\/span>adding the thickness of the hat all around the form, the belt is tighter than\u00a0<\/span>ever.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"tour_14_10_nfirn8\"

He pulls the hat onto the form, then pushes the tightened belt over the hat.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"tour_14_11_nfirn10\"

He has put another form under the first and pulls the hat taut on the form.<\/p><\/div>\n

Right, the belt does not fit. It will not go all the way to the bottom of\u00a0the form. But it must go all the way to the bottom. Nestor wanted the belt to\u00a0be impossibly tight so it could hold the hat in place as he pulled the hat onto\u00a0the form like a coat of paint. He pulled the hat tight all around, then pushed\u00a0the belt farther down. He pulled the hat again and pushed the belt down again.\u00a0Sometimes he used a block of wood as a pushing tool.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Wiping

Wiping the brim.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Rubbing

Rubbing sulfur powder into the weave.<\/p><\/div>\n

Nestor often worked up a good sweat pulling hats onto blocks and belting\u00a0them tight. When done properly, it is very hard work.<\/p>\n

Nestor wiped each hat all over, rubbing sulfur powder into the weave, before\u00a0he began the ironing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\"Ironing

Ironing the crown (la copa<\/em>).<\/p><\/div>\n

\"tour_14_14_nfirn1\"<\/p>\n

Nestor wipes the wood ash off the hot iron. (left) A\u00a0planchador<\/em> who\u00a0doesn\u2019t know his ash from his elbow can be seriously burned.<\/p>\n

Nestor always placed a piece of cloth or paper between the iron and the hat\u00a0to protect the hat from scorching. (right) His strokes were long and rapid. He\u00a0pressed hard. Ironing a hat is not like ironing permanent press pants. While\u00a0ironing a hat, the planchador<\/em> is usually pushing as hard as he can. It\u2019s\u00a0like an isometric exercise. Planchadores<\/em> would probably do well in arm\u00a0wrestling competitions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Look at Nestor\u2019s face in the photo below left. You\u00a0can almost hear him grunt. The man is putting some serious effort into ironing\u00a0the top of the hat, the plantilla<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"tour_14_16_17_Composite\"

Ironing the plantilla. Ironing the side (la copa<\/em>).<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\"The

The hot iron rests on a cloth as the planchador<\/em> rubs more sulfur powder into the brim.<\/p><\/div>\n

Nestor frequently puts the iron down momentarily as he rubs more sulfur\u00a0powder into the hat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nestor Franco worked harder than any planchador I have ever watched and\/or\u00a0photographed. It is not a coincidence that his hats were the best-ironed ofall.<\/p>\n

Vaya con dios, Don Nestor.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"tour_14_19_afirn1\"<\/p>\n

Alvaro Franco. Nestor\u2019s brother. Another great planchador. Another\u00a0early death from alcohol. Liver cancer. 2005.<\/p>\n

You too, Alvaro: Vaya con dios. At 4 feet 6 inches, you were always a big\u00a0man in my eyes.<\/p>\n

\n
\"tour_14_20_aftrent1\"

Twins, separated at birth.<\/p><\/div>\n

That\u2019s Alvaro standing beside Trent Johnson of Greeley Hatworks. Right<\/p>\n

I liked Alvaro. Not so much when he would come to my hotel at 6 a.m. to sell\u00a0me hats. I liked him more in the afternoon, when I watched him iron hats. He\u00a0caused the Alvaro Rule. I put out the word that I would not buy from any dealer\u00a0who came to or called my hotel. Good rule. It worked. I always visited every\u00a0dealer, oldest friends first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"tour_14_21_afirn2\"Like Nestor, Alvaro was a great planchador<\/em>. He practiced the family trade.\u00a0He worked hard. His hats were beautifully ironed.<\/span><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t realize how critically important the ironing is until the\u00a0planchadores I knew passed away. I could see the decline in the quality of the\u00a0work. The new ones proved to me that Nestor and Alvaro were\u00a0artists.<\/p>\n

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\"tour_14_22_afirn3\"\"tour_14_24_afirn5\"\"tour_14_23_afirn4\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The first ironing.<\/p>\n

\n

\"tour_14_25_IMG_5906\"\"tour_14_26_IMG_5900\"\"tour_14_27_IMG_5898\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Above, the planchador<\/em> is preparing hats for the first\u00a0ironing. Some planchadores<\/em> do the first ironing before the hats go to the
\napaleador<\/em>. Some do the first ironing after the hats come back from the\u00a0apaleador<\/em>. This planchador<\/em> uses a modern iron for the first ironing. For the\u00a0\u201creal\u201d ironing, he uses an old iron just like Nestor and Alvaro\u00a0used. You can see it hanging from a piece of rebar, below right.<\/p>\n

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\"tour_14_28_IMG_5912\"\"tour_14_29_IMG_5936\"\"tour_14_30_IMG_5932\"\"tour_14_31_IMG_5910\"\"tour_14_32_IMG_5933\"\"tour_14_33_IMG_5160\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Above left, the planchador<\/em> stacks hats on forms after he\u00a0has ironed the crowns. Above center, he melts candle wax onto the iron to keep\u00a0it from sticking. Above right, he wipes each hat with sulfur powder several\u00a0times during both the first and second ironing.<\/p>\n

\n

\"tour_14_34_CRW_4194\"\"tour_14_35_gabirn124_CRW_4196\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Above and below, the planchador<\/em> uses a folded cloth to\u00a0pick up his hot antique iron, then irons the brim and crown. This is the\u00a0serious ironing. These hats have already been pounded by the apaleador<\/em> and\u00a0their straw edges have been trimmed more closely by the cortador<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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\"tour_14_36_CRW_4197\"\"tour_14_37_CRW_4206\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A good planchador<\/em> irons with the same kind of focus and\u00a0intensity I remember seeing in Nestor and Alvaro many years ago. He must put\u00a0his whole body into his ironing. After an hour of ironing, a good planchador<\/em> is\u00a0wet with sweat. Now that\u2019s ironing! The good old fashioned\u00a0way.<\/p>\n

\n

\"tour_14_38_IMG_5009\"\"tour_14_39_IMG_4935\"\"tour_14_40_IMG_4997\"
\n\"tour_14_41_IMG_5073\"\"tour_14_42_IMG_5074\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"tour_14_43_IMG_5130\"<\/p>\n

Ironing the hats is a critical part of the preparation. A good planchador<\/em>\u00a0does more than just iron. He must pull all the stretch out of the hats to\u00a0establish and set the hat size. If the stretch is not taken out of the hats,\u00a0the blocker (me) will have problems later.<\/p>\n

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\"tour_14_44_IMG_5217\"\"tour_14_45_IMG_5149\"\"tour_14_46_IMG_5140\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Next you will see how I turn an unshaped hat into your\u00a0favorite style of finished Panama hat.<\/p>\n

\"blkdunblkd\"The blocker shapes and styles the hats.<\/p>\n

Next Page<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nestor Franco heated his irons by nestling them into hot\u00a0coals. He made his fire first thing each morning. While the fire burned the wood\u00a0into coals, he readied his irons and gathered his other tools: wood forms,\u00a0half-inch-wide leather belts, sulfur powder. Nestor\u2019s workshop reminded me of a tidy old garage with lots of\u00a0interesting stuff in it. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":1038,"parent":86,"menu_order":21,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"tour-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-112","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.brentblack.com\/cart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.brentblack.com\/cart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.brentblack.com\/cart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.brentblack.com\/cart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.brentblack.com\/cart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/stage.brentblack.com\/cart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3625,"href":"https:\/\/stage.brentblack.com\/cart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/112\/revisions\/3625"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.brentblack.com\/cart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/86"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.brentblack.com\/cart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.brentblack.com\/cart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}