How does collapsible top hat work? [Jak działa szapoklak?] 

Ever since I saw Captain Picard pop open a top hat in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I always wondered how it worked. Thanks for showing us!

You speak excellent English. Thank you for showing this information.

It is very unusual that with all the shabbiness (wear defects are only visible close up)for many years and owners, it looks very new and beautiful from a distance. So skilfully and conscientiously did things in the old days!

Thank you for taking the time to make this video.

Dla mnie, osoby ciekawskiej z natury, to bardzo dobrze opowiedziane i oczekuję kontynuacji.

Eloquently curated in English.....a lovely demonstration...Bravo to YOU!...Nat :)

Thank you for the demonstration. I was curious how those worked and why they were used. You answered both questions well.

Wow! That is tremendously cool to see. Thanks for showing it to us.

Subscribed from Brazil!

Thank you for the demo.I like your stylish clothes

Dzięki za poglądową lekcję w materii szapoklacka !

Don't care what anyone thinks. They are cool. I want one.

Surprisingly, these folding hats are very light! ... at size 56, the weight (I specifically measured three different cylindrical hats on the scale)it is no more than 180 grams. This is not a cheap prop for a circus or a magician! ... this was worn by people on the street to the theater and to various ceremonies!... This is very serious. Despite the fact that there is a metal frame. (everything from the amount of shellac inside the edges and top to the size of the thickness of the springs and hoops inside) everything was calculated to the gram. Strong and high-quality steel inside. A real cylinder (folding or regular) is made according to a long-established Canon. What would be comfortable and pleasant to wear on your head. It's always better to buy an antique than a modern fake!... There are workshops where new cylinders are made in compliance with all the rules, but there are very few of them...

I want to try to make one of these (but very tall as a joke) and knowing how they work is very useful for me, thank you!

Absolutely fantastic video!

Oh! .. .. I have exactly the same (with the same mechanism ( same hinges and springs as the first one with the broken loop) as the one that is broken) But he's fine. Only slightly faded and worn. I like the fabric on it. Now everywhere synthetics and such a soft and high-quality black satin is almost impossible to find... It is only 15 cm tall, but it is made to appear tall... And the label says it's made in Germany, in lüneburg...I wonder how old he is....

A friend gave me a similar hat, in very decrepit condition. Rather than silk, the crown and brim had been grosgrain or petersham. (Although in shreds, there was enough material to recognize this.) The stiff parts, brim and top of crown, are made of what is called gossamer. Gossamer was made by soaking layers of stiff interfacing in shellac and curing it for several months. As in yours, there are four mechanisms, front, back and both sides. The springs were in the middle, where the hinge is. They are dual-ply leaf springs, a pair of them, so they make a heart-shaped outline, each dual-leaf spring forming one side of the little heart. Very elegant construction, and still in good working condition (although not with as crisp a pop as yours). It had an odd feature on the inside of the crown, the function of which is mysterious to me--I'm hoping you can enlighten me. It is a thin cord with tiny beads spaced at intervals of about half an inch. One end is attached to the little ribbon at the back of the crown, about an inch below the flat top. The other end is attached to a little horizontal band or strip, about 2 inches by half an inch, which itself was attached to the inner lining at the two ends of the strip, at a similar distance from the top of the crown, and to one side. Some observers speculate that this cord had at one time been elastic, but now completely relaxed and several inches long. Do you have any idea what that was for?

Hey! I love your videos! Very informative and interesting. I hope you will make some more and show us some of your collection. Thanks for the ones you have done so far, please post something new!

Very well done and informative!

5:31 here you go, you're welcome.

i thought it was something in cartoons this has blown my mind

Great

Thank you for explaining one of life's mysteries.

thanks!

Super!

wow, strong after so many years!

Great video!! What's the height of the crown of the hat?

Where's the Pyrovision goggles and mercenary badge

Nice , thank you for this fact, I was ignorant how it worked. Your video could be somewhat shorter to make it better. Thanks.

Is there any way to make this type of collapsible top hat 1/4 size larger ? Cut the back strap ? Even if it looks bad ? Does not have to look perfect after enlarging. Just need to expand it a little. Too tight.

Kupilem niedawno 2 kapelusze, jeden szapolak i jeden bez mechanizmu(zwykly). Chcial bym sie jakos dowiedziec o ich starosci i wartosci.

Very informatve.

Super 😊😊😊

You are so smart and beautiful

Did you change the thumbnail?i thought it was a new video

I was so sad when i read her post. She had a fluent English accent before developing mercury poisoning from wearing those top hats.

How do you clean it I have one and its dirty

As far as I know, the fabric (satin) for cylinders was made in those days in Italy in Naples... Only there was known the secret of the quality and weaving of such fabric. It was sold to different countries. Restorers of these hats (with all the knowledge of the technology of a cylindrical draping) All you have to do is pull the fabric over an old metal frame with springs... (this is the most important part of such a hat. And it is preserved best, even if the entire fabric is very much torn. It would seem that everything is simple. You bought a new Atlas, and that's it... But no!..... many restorers of such cylinders know the technology... I also know how to do it right, and I've had experience working with shellac to make the brim of a hat. Always the difficulty is to find the same fabric. No self-respecting restorer of vintage clothing will use synthetics. But it is not enough to buy just 100% natural satin, you also need exactly the same. That's the problem... But these difficulties are interesting!

I don't understand why top hats are not shiny anymore

I have a collapsible top hat but after awhile the mechanism wore thru the inside and scratches the side of your head.

In addition to white tie, top hats were worn with morning attire. Never with black tie though

I was hoping you would put it on especially with the hair at 0:27. Very beautiful.

I want one !

🎩🎩😍😃😄😘☺️