Pals of WOOL

[mannySpaghetti]

WOOL?! Yeah I know, loungers seem to shun them a lot, but to be honest, not this lounger. I decided to try and dedicate this thread to those hats that don't compare to the much finer felts we all own and love, but still play a role in hat history(I say history, 'cause modern wools are horrible!). Hey even poor guys needed a lid, so that being said, if you own one toss a pic up here. Here's a couple that I've owned so far.

I eventually gave this hat up to a Hat Museum in Amesbury, MA, just a few miles away from the old factory where it was manufactured. I still miss it too. It was a great color, had a nice wide brim, and was rare. These Merrimac hats are tough, and I mean tough to find, most if not all were of wool manufacture. The curator, a Mrs. Kelly that I donated it to, only had like 13 Men's Merrimacs in her posession as opposed to the 50+ women's hats there and she's had that hat museum for 25 years or so from what I remember. Maybe I'll go there again this fall and stare at my old lid.

This is my Stetson "Mallory". I freakin' love this hat. The guy I bought it from said he got it in Vegas in '83 I think it was. Said he paid a $125 for it and I scored it for a paltry $40 bucks. I did send it to Optimo when I first got it and since then I only wear it in the fall and winter, it's held up nicely. I figure if I want to maintain it so it doesn't get all whacked out of shape like I so often hear, I can't wear it all year round. Like anything, so long as it's well cared for it'll last.

I'm currently scanning for Merrimacs throughout the internet and if there's anyone out there that knows where I can find a 7 1/8 or 1/4, let me know.

 

[daizawaguy]

My first fedora ever was a wool New York Company...

 

[PabloElFlamenco]

Hi Manny. Courageous, you. How many hats did I own (and try to wear, before it was stolen, before I lost it, before some Englishman pulled it over my ears, before...yes...before we got ...older-I didn't say wiser)? It goes to show that, from the very beginning, I liked hats. Not that they lasted, the hats I mean.

Yet I still may have a few; after all, I still don't know whether those smooth, velvety, supple, ...delicious... Borsalino's (and I have three!) are some kind of fantastic "squirrel" felt or...wool felt. I'll probably never know...

And then there's those incredibly stiff, carboardlike hats I bought for my young, very young (then) kids, bartered on the street, on that beach-town promenade of the North Sea coast, from visiting Andes mountains ..Peruvians...Ecuadorians (no resemblance to Panama there!). Tough stuff, so stiff I use one of them as interior working hat, when "home improving". Yeah Manny.

Pablo

 

[High Pockets]

Are wool hats any good?

I haven't had one since that black one my dad got me back in 1964,...it had a huge sky-blue peacock feather sticking out of it and had "Tommy" & "New York Worlds Fair" embroidered on the front.

I'm serious about "are they any good?" I wouldn't mind having another beater that looks ok.

 

[scottyrocks]

Ive had a few wools, and they just dont seem to hold their shape, even in the best of conditions. Unless thats because they just happen to be crappy wool hats.

 

[avedwards]

I know for certain that loden hats are wool and very waterproof and durable, if a bit warm in summer. Loden is an Austrian/German type of thickened wool felt which is literally waterproof (water rolls off it) worn in traditional hats and clothing of the region. The coat in my avatar is made from it and very warm and durable.

 

[Dewhurst]

Nice idea for a topic!

I wish I had a historically important hat manufactured with Wool to offer here, but I do not.

HOWEVER, I do have/had (!!) a Dobbs hat made from wool. Says "100% Pure Wool" on the bonded leather sweatband. The body is MUCH nicer than your typical wool hat that most people purchase.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

There are wool hats, and there are wool hats. I owned a "Silver Spur" cowboy hat, for years. It was quite durable, looked good, and kept its size. Certainly wasn't garbage. Some fedoras marked "Lite Felt" are also a cut above. I presently own only one wool hat, this contemporary Dobbs, in dark burgundy, with a black ribbon. It has a decent sweatband, a nice liner, a good shape, a rare but versatile color, and it feels good. Without rubbing your fingertips over it, you would be hard put to guess if it is fur or wool. One caution, though, no matter how good a wool hat might be, it will still attract more lint than a fur felt.

 

[duggap]

I have never addmitted this here, but my first hat was a wool and never again. It held it's shape for about two months. It was a stetson. Fur from now on.

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Adam wool

My only woollen hat (except for flat caps of course) is this 60's/70's Adam. It may need a slight stretch...

 

[MadDawg]

I am a novice when it comes to fedoras as I am just building my collection. I have 3 wool hats, 2 Scala's which I don't like very much. They are VERY soft, but as has been mentioned before they don't hold shape very well.

I recently obtained a Bailey wool fedora that I am suprised to say, I enjoy very much. The felt is very tight and smooth and it has good firmness and holds its shape both in the crown and the brim very nicely. I will say that the liner and the sweatband are lacking in quality, but it is by far the most comfortable of the three. I have actually had several people ask me what type of fur it is, so it must look the part.

Hopefully, soon I will be able to obtain my first fur hat, but until then, I can say I am pleased with this one. Only time will tell though.

 

[Fletch]

I used to be quite fond of a pool-table green B-Bar-H Bak-Pakker, but after ten years or so it turned into a shrinky-dink. I cut it up for cushioning my bass saxophone stand. They're no longer made. Bak-Pakkers or bass saxophone stands. [huh]

I have an Orvis wool Lite-Felt fedora that I never wear because it's hi-vis orange. I regard it as kind of an objet d'art. It has a neat adjustable sweatband.

 

[duggap]

Fletch, you could get a pretty penny for that hat here in Tennessee.

 

[Fletch]

Yeah, howbout them Vols?

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I don't mind them. Owned several and still have a few. They are reserved for rough wear, though. With no liners and with cloth sweat bands, I find them comfortable in hot conditions.

Here's my wool brimmed hats:
"Flex-Felt"

Bailey (I like the color on this one)

Broner

Another Flex-Felt

And this link has a bunch of my wool flat caps. Love them.
http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii79/harpplayergene/Flat Caps/