Exotic Materials

[steveforse]

Do any of the hatters here work with exotic felts? I've seen rabbit, beaver and cashmere ... what about chinchilla, camel ... hamster?

 

[MustangLoverMex]

Well, I recently bought in a flea market a hat that in the sweat band said "Pelo de Guama Legítimo", thats "Legitime Guama Fur", and I was like... What the hell is a Guama?! After some research I read that in Venezuela cowboys usually wear straw hats but when there's an elegant reunion they use a fur hat wich they call "Pelo'guama" and those are made of a giant otter fur http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Otter, and because they're an endangered species, there ain't making more felt of this animal. So, I think that's exotic, right?

Regards,
-Mike

 

[Aureliano]

worthlesswithoutpics lol

 

[besdor]

I know that Stetson has used Chinchila fur for their high end westerns but it is expensive to use.
Hamster I think would be a waste of time. Think of how many you would have to use to make one hat!

Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[fluteplayer07]

worthlesswithoutpics lol

I would like to second that statement. Please show us some pictures! How much did you pay for it, by the way? And welcome to the Lounge, MustangLoverMex. Well, not really welcome, since you've been here since 2008. So welcome back.

 

[BellyTank]

Borsalino had an "Angora" model- I have one from the '50s.
I'm quite sure other hatters have made Angora/blend hats.


B
T

 

[billyspew]

I think I've seen someone with a Vicuña one.

Edit: I think this is the one I was thinking of: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=44100

 

[M6Classic]

Gary White sometimes has mink felt. It is superb...unbelievable, really. It is also quite dear, in the $600 range if I remember correctly, but worth every penny to anyone who knows his felt. Pictures, especially pictures on a computer screen cannot express the feel and color of these hats.

Buzz

 

[John in Covina]

I recall seeing a Stetson on Ebay that had a chinchilla fur felt mix. It was a top of the line model that was a gift used as a presentation and came with a traveling hat case. It inspired "Hat Envy" for me.

 

[AlterEgo]

So "guama" is felt made from the giant otter? Never heard of that until now, but that's the big otter--not quite as large as the sea otter--that's indigenous to the Amazon and its tributaries. Since it's endangered, I'm glad it's protected, but it must have made a gorgeous felt. Definitely exotic.

I'm sorry I'm having a senior moment and cannot curently pull the name of this South and Central American mammal out of my head, but it's a big rodent related to the capybara, agouti, and cavy. I think it is also sometimes found in the southern U.S. With a coat that is similar to that of beaver, I've personally handled only one such hat made of its fur, and can confirm that at least that one hat was as nice as any beaver. It's my understanding that hats made of this are not exactly uncommon in South America, so it probably does not qualify as exotic. Please, someone post the name of this rat.

A Stetson made of a chinchilla mix, eh? Would love to take a feel of that.

My mother has a "pashmina," which is a scarf made from vicuna fur, and it is the softest thing I've ever felt. While I cannot say I'd ever actually wear the hairy hat for which billyspew provided the link, it looks beautiful, and I'd die to just touch it Question is, does, in fact, "Vicona" contain any actual vicuna fur.

Interesting that all these are south-of-the-border critters, though they live in dramatically varied environments.

Qiviut is the soft underfur of the musk ox, and David Morgan, which sells handknitted stoles, scarves, headbands, and watch caps made from it, claims it is the softest, warmest wool known. I wonder what kind of felt hat it would make. Now THAT would be truly exotic!

Because kangaroo fur felt has become increasingly available, I would no longer classify it as an exotic. However, all the hats I've ever seen are made of a mix of it and wool felt--not so hopping good--and I'm curious if there is a pure kanga felt hat and what it's like. Anyone know?

Mink felt? Wow! That's deep into exotic territory, yet $600 doesn't seem so pricey considering pure beaver Borsas or custom hats can easily cost more.

There are so many mammals that the list of possible felts that could be made from their fur into hats would be extremely long. I suppose whether to utilize any particular creature's fur for hat felt is probably a matter of economics.

 

[frussell]

otters, nutria

Last time I saw one (on TV), giant otters were lots bigger than a sea otter. I think the rodent you were thinking of is a nutria, but maybe not. I remember as a boy in southern Texas being told to shoot nutria on sight, as they were considered a destructive pest by farmers. We had one in our 3-acre tank that ate up a lot of the surrounding vegetation, but was a slippery creature to catch. I staked him out for days with my first .22 rifle, but never got close to getting him. We found him dead a year later, presumeably from natural causes. Frank

 

[AlterEgo]

That's it, frussell, NUTRIA! That you had a pesky one in southern Texas confirms that their range does extend up into North America.

And you are right, giant otters are bigger than sea otters, though these river dwellers do sometimes venture beyond the Amazon into the Atlantic.

OK, since beaver, otter, and nutria fur all make excellent felt, it seems that the fur of any mammal that spends a good deal of time in the water would, as well.

If so, is there such a thing as a capybara fur felt hat? Talk about exotic!

Given that they are frighteningly large--three feet long--it wouldn't take many to make a slew of fur felt fedoras.

 

[frussell]

Carpincho

If memory serves, the capybara is the animal the gauchos call "Carpincho." I don't know about felt made from them, but Argentina has many fine leather products made from their hides. My grandfather had a jacket and a vest made from carpincho, and it's beautiful stuff, like lightweight goatskin, with patterning in it almost like pigskin footballs used to have. Very fine leather. Frank

 

[M6Classic]

<<snip>>

Mink felt? Wow! That's deep into exotic territory, yet $600 doesn't seem so pricey considering pure beaver Borsas or custom hats can easily cost more.

<<snip>>

Some people invest in the felt, some people pay for a name. If you ask me...and I realize that no one has asked me...anyone who would pay $600 for a Borsalino really should take a closer look at the work being produced today by some of our several very talented hat makers here in the U.S.

Buzz

 

[AlterEgo]

Exactly, M6Classic, though we are surely raising the ire of the Borsalino Brotherhood. Vintage Borsas, well, that's another animal.

I was in the one-and-only fine hat store in my city a while back. The owner graduated the same year from the same high school as my mother, so he and I have a friendly relationship.

Of course, he's not in business to purely socialize, and so he wasted no time in moving towards selling by commenting that the fedora on my head appeared to be a really fine one. Naturally, I removed it and handed it over to him for further inspection, explaining that it was a custom Art Fawcett.

"You must have paid a fortune for this beauty!" he gasped.

Off the counter I picked up a Borsalino Ultimo--clearly inferior to my Art--saw that it was marked $600, whistled, and answered, "Yes, a small fortune, a hundred bucks LESS than this new Borsa."

 

[Dewhurst]

I would DIE for a hamster hat!

 

[alanfgag]

Churchill Beaver 100 made with vicuna... for Neiman Marcus

auction photos:

 

[bowlerman]

Dennis (DRB) makes chinchilla hats. Haven't seen him around here much recently, but I have a black 100% beaver fedora I posted pics of awhile back. It's quite superb, and I can't wait for the cooler seasons when I'll have a chance to really wear it out. You can see it here: http://finefurhats.com/gallery.html It's the black center dent fedora near the bottom of the page. I have never seen or handled a chinchilla hat.

 

[InsolentPuppy]

So it's a Beaver "100" that's made out of an entirely different animal? Marketing guys should be shot.

auction photos:

 

[cookie]

If memory serves, the capybara is the animal the gauchos call "Carpincho." I don't know about felt made from them, but Argentina has many fine leather products made from their hides. My grandfather had a jacket and a vest made from carpincho, and it's beautiful stuff, like lightweight goatskin, with patterning in it almost like pigskin footballs used to have. Very fine leather. Frank

Here's some wonderful Carpincho Cleverley brand shoes to give you some idea of the look of carpincho:http://www.leathersoulhawaii.com/category/brands/cleverley/