Ask a question, get an answer

[Chriswithahat]

Thanks for your replies so far! Sure, I'd need to add more fur. Even if shed fur is not optimal, supplementing it with 'good fur' should compensate for any deficiencies. Also I would be surprised if the root of the hair would play a significant role in the felting process. I always understood it's the nanoscale texture of the whole hair that allows for felting. I wouldn't dare to risk two years of fur for a home project...

I mean the stumps or cones must be made somewhere, right? If the global supply comes from one big factory my cards are probably bad. I was just hoping that someone might know of a hatter somewhere that still has a coning device; maybe even one that isn't actively used anymore because ist simpler/cheaper to buy finished cones/stumps...

 

[jlee562]

Thanks for your replies so far! Sure, I'd need to add more fur. Even if shed fur is not optimal, supplementing it with 'good fur' should compensate for any deficiencies. Also I would be surprised if the root of the hair would play a significant role in the felting process. I always understood it's the nanoscale texture of the whole hair that allows for felting. I wouldn't dare to risk two years of fur for a home project...

I mean the stumps or cones must be made somewhere, right? If the global supply comes from one big factory my cards are probably bad. I was just hoping that someone might know of a hatter somewhere that still has a coning device; maybe even one that isn't actively used anymore because ist simpler/cheaper to buy finished cones/stumps...

There are only a handful of felt makers left.

Most custom hatters buy from Winchester in TN aka Stratton Hats. The other major source is FEPSA in Portugal, but good luck getting in touch with them. The only other U.S. based felter I could think of is the Longview plant owned by Hatco (i.e. Stetson, Resistol, Dobbs). I suppose it's possible firms like Dorfman Pacific or Bailey might have their own felting facilities, but we don't deal much with those brands around here.

 

[belfastboy]

Hi everyone, I'm new here on the forum and essentially joined with a specific and rather uncommon question: I'd like to have a fedora made with my own rabbit fur, which our pet rabbits have lost seasonally over the years.

Despite a high fluffy volume it's still only about 70g so it would have to be mixed with the same amount of other fur (maybe beaver?). With a high initial motivation I started contacting a variety of small-business hatters here in Germany and Austria, only to find out that they don't produce their own stumps. Even the largest German stump distributor apparently buys stumps abroad and all were rather pessimistic about my plans.

So... does anyone of you happen to know a workshop that still creates fur-felt stumps on a small scale or has the capability to do so? Akubra performs the whole process from scratch but it would be exceedingly unlikely they'd stop the machinery to produce *one* crazy man's individual stump Or are there any small felt-producers out there somewhere that might be able to help? Any hints and suggestions will be highly appreciated!

I have yet to come across a 'small' felt producer. I think the equipment required to do the job eliminates any possibility of 'small' surviving. I buy Czech Republic, Ukraine, S American felts but all through their US distributors not direct. These are all large scale production facilities. The only small scale felt producers (some home based) use wool as you can felt that in your kitchen..........fur felt not so much

 

[Blare]

There are only a handful of felt makers left.

Most custom hatters buy from Winchester in TN aka Stratton Hats. The other major source is FEPSA in Portugal, but good luck getting in touch with them. The only other U.S. based felter I could think of is the Longview plant owned by Hatco (i.e. Stetson, Resistol, Dobbs). I suppose it's possible firms like Dorfman Pacific or Bailey might have their own felting facilities, but we don't deal much with those brands around here.

Don Rongione is the CEO of Bollman which owns Bailey and Kangol. He is a member on some of the Facebook hat groups. I think I remember a video where they do produce their own wool felt... but I do not know about their fur.

on a side note... there was a lounger a few weeks back asking some questions in this thread who made her own felt. I don’t think she was using fur... but maybe her process would work.

 

[belfastboy]

Don Rongione is the CEO of Bollman which owns Bailey and Kangol. He is a member on some of the Facebook hat groups. I think I remember a video where they do produce their own wool felt... but I do not know about their fur.

on a side note... there was a lounger a few weeks back asking some questions in this thread who made her own felt. I don’t think she was using fur... but maybe her process would work.

Yes, I conversed with her....she felts wool.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Thanks for your replies so far! Sure, I'd need to add more fur. Even if shed fur is not optimal, supplementing it with 'good fur' should compensate for any deficiencies. Also I would be surprised if the root of the hair would play a significant role in the felting process. I always understood it's the nanoscale texture of the whole hair that allows for felting. I wouldn't dare to risk two years of fur for a home project...

I mean the stumps or cones must be made somewhere, right? If the global supply comes from one big factory my cards are probably bad. I was just hoping that someone might know of a hatter somewhere that still has a coning device; maybe even one that isn't actively used anymore because ist simpler/cheaper to buy finished cones/stumps...

Most of the hair shed from the rabbits can’t be used for felt. The guard hairs are not suitable.

Have you looked at YouTube videos on felting your own hat?

Lots more out there.

My understanding is that almost all hat bodies / cones / capelines /flares…whatever you call them, are made a just a few suppliers. I think it’s very rare that hatters make their own felt; I don’t know any custom hatters that do it. To get a good consistent product you need to make a very large investment that just doesn’t make sense unless you’re able to sell thousands of the cones a year. I just don’t think you’ll get the quality from a DYI felting process either.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[Chriswithahat]

Thanks everyone. That all makes sense and sadly brings my hopes down a bit. Should anyone still have an idea, please let me know! Interesting information also about the guard hair vs the down, which makes sense: you can roll the down between your fingers to firm up, whereas the longer and more rigid guard hair just remain as a bundle of fibres. I estimate that I have about 20:80 in my mix.

Coming to the diy-felt, I agree that I would most likely not achieve the needed quality. Especially since my handcraft skills are not quite developed and it probably takes x failed attempts before generating something that might be half acceptable. I had seen some of those videos before but also noticed that they all work with wool rather than fur.

One more question: old, pre-industrial hats that can be seen in musea often look really good / high quality. So there must be (/have been) a machine-free handmade process to generate felt cones and hats that became obsolete and forgotten with the advent of automated production. I mean in a somewhat more systematic (and tool-assisted?) way than just rubbing the hair with one's hands. Would anyone be aware of old or new literature that describes this old process in some detail?

 

[Celia]

One more question: old, pre-industrial hats that can be seen in musea often look really good / high quality. So there must be (/have been) a machine-free handmade process to generate felt cones and hats that became obsolete and forgotten with the advent of automated production. I mean in a somewhat more systematic (and tool-assisted?) way than just rubbing the hair with one's hands. Would anyone be aware of old or new literature that describes this old process in some detail?

If anyone knows, it would be Rachel Frost: http://www.thecraftybeggars.org You could try contacting her, she is the only specialist with practical experience in pre-industrial felting and hat making techniques in Europe that I know of. There may of course be others - I would suggest you look into people who occupy themselves with living history rather than milliners/hatters, who all buy cones from the same factories/suppliers.

This is Rachel Frost in action - she's working with wool here, but you get the idea. I am sure she knows about fur too.

 

[tamz0r]

Anyone know what brand either of these caps are or where i can get a similar one? TIA

 

[Dotneck]

What do y'all do when you buy a vintage hat with a nice hat box and when it shows up it smells like cigarette smoke? Can you get that smell out without adding an artificial perfume smell? I'm actually more interested in removing the smell from the nice hat box...right now they are airing out in the garage because I already have a headache...

 

[belfastboy]

What do y'all do when you buy a vintage hat with a nice hat box and when it shows up it smells like cigarette smoke? Can you get that smell out without adding an artificial perfume smell? I'm actually more interested in removing the smell from the nice hat box...right now they are airing out in the garage because I already have a headache...

I have learned by error to now always ask, if not mentioned in the listing, "are there any odours in the hat?". That way if it shows up smelly I have grounds to return it for a refund.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Anyone know what brand either of these caps are or where i can get a similar one? TIA View attachment 341822 View attachment 341823

People aren’t ignoring you: I just don’t think we know the answers.

 

[Bamaboots]

Anyone know what brand either of these caps are or where i can get a similar one? TIA View attachment 341822 View attachment 341823

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...=2ahUKEwillpHk8aLxAhWvAp0JHXdbDRUQ0Qx6BAgDEAE

 

[Bill Hughes]

What do y'all do when you buy a vintage hat with a nice hat box and when it shows up it smells like cigarette smoke? Can you get that smell out without adding an artificial perfume smell? I'm actually more interested in removing the smell from the nice hat box...right now they are airing out in the garage because I already have a headache...

I place the open box and hat crown down outside in the sunshine for a few hours. It may need to be repeated for a few days. It has worked for me.

 

[Rufus1401]

What are peoples experiences of Knudsen hats ? Are they a good firm to deal with ? Thanks

 

[jlee562]

What are peoples experiences of Knudsen hats ? Are they a good firm to deal with ? Thanks

I've never bought a custom from them so I can't speak to the ordering process, but they are local to me and I do have their Boss of the Plains. Just drove by the other day, would have stopped for a hat band but they were closed. They keep their higher end custom work behind the counter, so I haven't handled a ton of them, but all the hats of theirs that I've seen look good to me. Even their wool hats turn out real nice looking, as in, I've picked one up and was surprised to see it was wool.

 

[belfastboy]

Anyone know what brand either of these caps are or where i can get a similar one? TIA View attachment 341822 View attachment 341823

There is really nothing special about this hat....nothing to distinguish it from the thousands that are out there. Just begin a search of online hat shops in the US & UK...or artisanal makers on ETSY.com. It is known as a 'driving cap' or an Ivy cap. Those names distinguish it from the other popular style of cap known as a Newsboy or Bakerboy.....like the Peaky Blinders style. Enjoy the search....you will find hundreds of them to choose from.

 

[johnnycanuck]

Anyone know what brand either of these caps are or where i can get a similar one? TIA View attachment 341822 View attachment 341823

Those two styles looks like what is called “duckbill caps” it’s how the top curves down dramatically to the brim of the hat. An ivy cap is usually straight from the back to the brim. So in your searches that’s a title you may want to look for.
Johnny

 

[MichaelSeed]

I got a question about thefedoralounge. Sorry if this is a silly thing to ask but I've been on here over a year and my curiosity has finally gotten the best of me.

What do the random sayings under our screen names mean? For example; mine says 'new in town' but I've seen 'I'll lock up' and various others. I've even seen a few highlighted in different colours.

 

[Rufus1401]

Anyone dealt with Powder River Hats ?