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[alanfgag]

@alanfgag Alan, I have saved pics of these two hats & unfortunately do not have pics of the inventory tags. I believe they are still yours. Could you post the block #'s for each, if you have them. Thanks much!

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The top one took me a minute until I realized that the color had been desaturated. That is the chestnut brown Borsalino Zulu which came to me from Moontheloon. The sweatband was off so I had the hat refurbished at Black Sheep Hat Works. Photo here.

The second hat, I believe, would be the Keith Bros. Tiger Special. There is no block information or manufacturing tag, just a union label behind the sweatband.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

The sellers listed this as wool but wasn’t sure. Anyone feel confident identifying the material?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Without a biopsy i’m gonna have to defer to your examination skills.
But i will bill you for asking!!
B

 

[Hurricane Jack]

The top one took me a minute until I realized that the color had been desaturated. That is the chestnut brown Borsalino Zulu which came to me from Moontheloon. The sweatband was off so I had the hat refurbished at Black Sheep Hat Works. Photo here.

Maybe this helps. I have 2 pics for some reason.

 

[alanfgag]

Maybe this helps. I have 2 pics for some reason.

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Yes, that is the Borsalino Zulu. Early post WWII hat.

 

[Bamaboots]

Maybe this helps. I have 2 pics for some reason.

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Yeah! That one always shivers my timbers. The banana?

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Yes, that is the Borsalino Zulu. Early post WWII hat.

Beautiful!

 

[Rmccamey]

So, as a rookie, I'm faced with the age old question that those of you with experience can help me answer. When you purge your hat stock (say it ain't so!) do you tend to hang onto the older, more fragile hats that may be a size off (smaller or larger) and you tend to wear less or the newer, less fragile hats that are your size and that you tend to wear more often???

 

[belfastboy]

So, as a rookie, I'm faced with the age old question that those of you with experience can help me answer. When you purge your hat stock (say it ain't so!) do you tend to hang onto the older, more fragile hats that may be a size off (smaller or larger) and you tend to wear less or the newer, less fragile hats that are your size and that you tend to wear more often???

I have just endured a hat purge of 13 hats. The process used was to sell those hats I did not wear. It was a mixture of hats, some were pure purchase mistakes others were nice vintage that did not suit me, duplicates or (2) that were really nice vintage that I could not bring myself to wear. Having pared down to 38 hats (still some vintage, some contemporary, and some custom) It makes storage a bit easier and deciding which to wear on any given day easier as well as I have less chaff to wade through.
For many years I collected/restored vintage mountain bikes. Many of them too nice and too rare to risk riding. It got to be too much and I had trouble parking my car in the garage as the 30 bikes had taken over. I used the same formula to pare them down.....if I did not ride them they had to go. Now I am down to a manageable dozen bikes and most of them are riders. The few that are not ridden are on the chopping block but emotionally I have not reached the point of being willing/able to let them go....but one day soon they will be sold.

 

[Rmccamey]

Sounds like you have a good mental process you use, Belfastboy. I'll keep my customs (probably those will be willed to the kids or grandkids) but I struggle between some of the others. My biggest problem is with a nice vintage hat that is a bit too small for me so I don't wear it much. It is a great had and I got it for a good price, but by the time I invest more money to get it to where I could wear it regularly, the allure would be gone. So, it probably needs to go, it's just hard to let it go at the moment.

I have just endured a hat purge of 13 hats. The process used was to sell those hats I did not wear. It was a mixture of hats, some were pure purchase mistakes others were nice vintage that did not suit me, duplicates or (2) that were really nice vintage that I could not bring myself to wear. Having pared down to 38 hats (still some vintage, some contemporary, and some custom) It makes storage a bit easier and deciding which to wear on any given day easier as well as I have less chaff to wade through.
For many years I collected/restored vintage mountain bikes. Many of them too nice and too rare to risk riding. It got to be too much and I had trouble parking my car in the garage as the 30 bikes had taken over. I used the same formula to pare them down.....if I did not ride them they had to go. Now I am down to a manageable dozen bikes and most of them are riders. The few that are not ridden are on the chopping block but emotionally I have not reached the point of being willing/able to let them go....but one day soon they will be sold.

 

[belfastboy]

Sounds like you have a good mental process you use, Belfastboy. I'll keep my customs (probably those will be willed to the kids or grandkids) but I struggle between some of the others. My biggest problem is with a nice vintage hat that is a bit too small for me so I don't wear it much. It is a great had and I got it for a good price, but by the time I invest more money to get it to where I could wear it regularly, the allure would be gone. So, it probably needs to go, it's just hard to let it go at the moment.

I do attached to "my stuff" and is always hard to part with things....I enjoy owning them, I enjoyed the hunt to get them and I enjoy both taking care of them and just looking at them. We have no children so I have this concern that all my stuff will be a massive burden on my wife and she will end up having to hold a garage sale to get rid of all after I pass. She won't have the patience to Ebay them all so I suspect somebody will snag some great deals.

 

[Rmccamey]

The hunt really is the attraction! I'm just afraid "the next great deal" is going to get away from me!

 

[Hat Masterson]

Anyone ever ever just take the liners out of the hat? I'm thinking of doing this to two particular fedoras for two distinct reasons: 1) I have a vintage whose liner is a bit nasty, and 2) I wonder if it'll make make this other hat a wee bit cooler come springtime.

 

[Woodtroll]

Anyone ever ever just take the liners out of the hat? I'm thinking of doing this to two particular fedoras for two distinct reasons: 1) I have a vintage whose liner is a bit nasty, and 2) I wonder if it'll make make this other hat a wee bit cooler come springtime.

Yes, I take the liners out of my hats. I do not care for the extra heat and bulk they add (but I am beginning to bald so I may rethink that in the winter time!). With that said: The couple of custom hats I've had built were requested to have the liner installed loose, so I could put it in later if I wanted, and I have stored those liners carefully. The other hats I have are either modern off-the-shelf Akubras or common, inexpensive Resistols or even cheaper hats, so the liners have no historical or aesthetic value.

I would have a harder time pulling a nice liner out of a fine vintage hat, though, but luckily I don't have any of those. I know a lot of folks here take great interest in the liners on the older hats, either as a means to date a hat or as an art all to itself, and if I had a fine vintage fedora I might feel the same way... Your money and your hat, but I do see the value in preserving a rare or historical hat intact.

 

[Bamaboots]

The hunt really is the attraction! I'm just afraid "the next great deal" is going to get away from me!

It will, right after the grail hat, the one you knew you couldn't afford comes in.

 

[Doc Mark]

Greetings, All,

Recently, I bought a very nice Back Bow Fedora, made by Mallory (I think after Stetson had bought them), and the felt is called "Durafelt". Of what is "Durafelt" made? I'm guessing a combination of beaver, nutria, and rabbit, but could be absolutely wrong. Anyone know the composition of "Durafelt", please? Any and all help will be gratefully appreciated! Oh, and I'll share a few photos of this neat hat, and also a black Resistol Fedora that I bought the same day (at a swap meet!), when I can take some good photographs of both hats. Thanks, again, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

 

[belfastboy]

Anyone ever ever just take the liners out of the hat? I'm thinking of doing this to two particular fedoras for two distinct reasons: 1) I have a vintage whose liner is a bit nasty, and 2) I wonder if it'll make make this other hat a wee bit cooler come springtime.

I have purchased two felt fedoras (rabbit) without liners and eventually put new liners in. I did not notice any difference in the hotness or coolness of the hat with or without the liner. I don't have any grail vintage fedoras with nasty liners but if I did I think I would be hard pressed to replace them. My first move would be an attempt at cleaning them.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Greetings, All,

Recently, I bought a very nice Back Bow Fedora, made by Mallory (I think after Stetson had bought them), and the felt is called "Durafelt". Of what is "Durafelt" made? I'm guessing a combination of beaver, nutria, and rabbit, but could be absolutely wrong. Anyone know the composition of "Durafelt", please? Any and all help will be gratefully appreciated! Oh, and I'll share a few photos of this neat hat, and also a black Resistol Fedora that I bought the same day (at a swap meet!), when I can take some good photographs of both hats. Thanks, again, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

Doc,

My third-hand understanding is that it is a wool and fur blend. I believe that it is predominantly wool, but I’m just passing on what I’ve been told. I would be very surprised to learn there was any nutria in the blend.


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[alanfgag]

Greetings, All,

Recently, I bought a very nice Back Bow Fedora, made by Mallory (I think after Stetson had bought them), and the felt is called "Durafelt". Of what is "Durafelt" made? I'm guessing a combination of beaver, nutria, and rabbit, but could be absolutely wrong. Anyone know the composition of "Durafelt", please? Any and all help will be gratefully appreciated! Oh, and I'll share a few photos of this neat hat, and also a black Resistol Fedora that I bought the same day (at a swap meet!), when I can take some good photographs of both hats. Thanks, again, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

Hi Doc... What makes you guess beaver, nutria and rabbit? There is, of course, no way to know short of a contents label. I believe I have but one hat that has such a label, which I've posted below. Seeing as the Stetson models in the 1950s that featured nutria felt and beaver felt were marketed as such, rabbit fur seems most likely.

 

[Doc Mark]

Greetings, Gentlemen,

I appreciate your comments, and thoughts, very much! When considering the content of my Mallory, I took into account two things: one, was that this hat looks to have been made in the 1940-1950 time period, and the other is that the feel, or "hand" of this hat, when compared to my oldest Stetsons, is the same, which meant "fur felt", to me. I own only one wool Stetson, which I bought in an antique store for very, very little money, and this hat most certainly feels like wool, and not felt. I'll try to post some photos of my Mallory, so you can see what I got. Wore it yesterday, to the Post Office, and the store, and got lots of compliments, which is nice! Please note that, besides the one of me wearing this hat, were all taken before I cleaned and brushed it. So, they do show some dust and dirt. A quick brushing and wiping took care of most of that.

Thanks for checking out the photos, and I hope they can help in dating the hat, and shining more light on it's contents. In any case, I like it quite a bit, and am very happy to have found it. For $35, I think it is well worth owning and wearing! Thanks, again, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

 

[Frunobulax]

Greetings, Gentlemen,

I appreciate your comments, and thoughts, very much! When considering the content of my Mallory, I took into account two things: one, was that this hat looks to have been made in the 1940-1950 time period, and the other is that the feel, or "hand" of this hat, when compared to my oldest Stetsons, is the same, which meant "fur felt", to me. I own only one wool Stetson, which I bought in an antique store for very, very little money, and this hat most certainly feels like wool, and not felt. I'll try to post some photos of my Mallory, so you can see what I got. Wore it yesterday, to the Post Office, and the store, and got lots of compliments, which is nice! Please note that, besides the one of me wearing this hat, were all taken before I cleaned and brushed it. So, they do show some dust and dirt. A quick brushing and wiping took care of most of that.

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Thanks for checking out the photos, and I hope they can help in dating the hat, and shining more light on it's contents. In any case, I like it quite a bit, and am very happy to have found it. For $35, I think it is well worth owning and wearing! Thanks, again, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

Hey, Doc. I think it's fur felt (I think Durafelt was a marketing tool): however, I think none of us will ever know the makeup of it. What date is on the liner tip, 1817 or 1823?

Sent directly from my mind to yours.