- Messages
- 19,001
- Location
- Central California
Inferior? Yes sir, for my own use a soft felt is inferior. And seemingly inferior to the entire western hat market as well. Folks vote with their wallets. You and I have the same old discussion once a month. You buy them. I generally just build my own.
You keep telling us all dozen or your hat makers say it simply isn't possible using modern felt.
Now you have a hatter that built you something close to what you want...and you're still here, "I was absolutely sure such a hat was not possible using modern Winchester felt, but the proof is in hand."
Good luck with all that!
You seem to have some personal stake in defending Winchester. People do vote with their wallets and apparently cheap plastic junk at Walmart is what they prefer. As for cowboy hats, wool is most popular followed by rabbit. The people have spoken so is that the best? I work around many working cowboys and most all of them wear junk. Many wear Shantung year around, and most of the others wear the cheaper rabbit fur felt Stetsons and Resistols.
I’ve admitted that what I once thought impossible from Winchester dress weight beaver is possible (dress weight fedora, not the westerns we’re talking about), but without being able to point to anyone who has succeeded in making what I want from western felt you insist it’s possible. Then you accuse the hatters who say they can’t do it of bing unknowledgeable or not putting in the effort. Everyone else says that it can’t be done but you insist it can without having done it yourself or being able to tell me who has. I get that for your purposes, and those like you, the current Winchester felt might be ideal, but it’s not what I want. It’s not what a lot of us who have experienced quality vintage felt want. I’m not using a hat for the same purposes as you are and no one has yet shown me a finished hat made with current Winchester felt that meets my preferences. This is nothing personal and I don’t get why you act as though you have a stake in this. If you can point me to ANYONE who is able to make me a hat using modern Winchester felt that is the equivalent to 1930s Stetson Clear Beaver then I will publicly concede you were right and I was wrong. I’m not saying that Winchester western felt is bad, but I’m saying I’ve never seen or heard of anyone succeeding in making vintage equivalent hats from it.
Last edited: