any WOOL felt custom hatters?

[Al Iskandar]

hello! i'm a very newbie at this forum. excuse me, if this was asked before, but i honestly searched on the site and didn't find an answer.

can you advice any hatter that can make a custom hat for me from WOOL felt? fur felt is rather expensive for my purposes (everyday hat), and i would like to start with wool felt hat.

thanks in advance!

 

[job]

s://riverjunction.com/Mens-Hats_c_177.html

 

[Al Iskandar]

thanks, very much, Job! i digged a lot of hatter sites, but i didn't see this one

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Fur felt is not expensive

The price your hatter pays for a fur felt body is a very small part of the price you will pay for the finished product. Even a low-volume custom hatter doesn't pay more than $40-60 for the body. The finished product will cost $250 and up. The biggest piece of the price is the intense, time-consuming, and skilled labor required to turn the body into a hat.

So, if a wool body cost the hatter, say $20, it takes the same amount of skill and effort to turn that body into a product you would want to wear. The cost savings in wool vs. fur felt is negligible.

 

[Al Iskandar]

KILO NOVEMBER, thanks! then i need to find a hatter that could make a custom hat fom me for maximum about $200. if it is made of fur - that's better

 

[DJH]

Sounds like you need to talk to the Falcon Park guy.

 

[bowlerman]

Beaver Brand makes wool felt customs, as well as Knudsen Hats (goldengatewesternwear.com) if you want to go that direction, but I'd agree with the others -- go fur if you go custom. You can pick up a cheap wool fedora at just about any menswear store or even some sporting goods stores.

 

[scottyrocks]

A custom made wool felt fedora is sort of like Kia Rio limousine. If you're gonna go high zoot, start with a worthy base.

 

[Al Iskandar]

trhanks very much too everybody!

do i understand right: ANY (fur or wool) CUSTOM fedora will be rather expensive. and the material doesn't make much difference in price?

 

[gtdean48]

...
do i understand right: ANY (fur or wool) CUSTOM fedora will be rather expensive. and the material doesn't make much difference in price?

You understand correctly...

 

[Al Iskandar]

thanks again!

 

[cybergentleman]

http://www.couturecreations.net/

Mary Ann emailed me some images of her wool hats (she does do men and ladies' hats)- looked pretty nice. price wise- drop her an email or call. she was very helpful

 

[mustangman3000]

As DJH said,

http://www.falconparkhattery.com/Home.html

I haven't got my hat from him yet, but others have been really happy with his work.

 

[Al Iskandar]

thanks very much, everybody, for your answers!

 

[Sam Craig]

I probably shouldn't even raise this point, but I have been thinking about it ... so ...

We all should expect, if more than just a handful of us ever start wearing hats again ... that in today's politically correct world we will see a movement to promote wool hats.

Wool is taken from a live animal that can roam free and grow back the material.

Fur felt requires taking the life of animals.

In today's climate ... you know that is eventually going to become an issue.

Just sayin'

Sam

 

[Hercule]

I probably shouldn't even raise this point, but I have been thinking about it ... so ...

We all should expect, if more than just a handful of us ever start wearing hats again ... that in today's politically correct world we will see a movement to promote wool hats.

Wool is taken from a live animal that can roam free and grow back the material.

Fur felt requires taking the life of animals.

In today's climate ... you know that is eventually going to become an issue.

Just sayin'

Sam

I think it already has become an issue, the OP being case in point. It's just not very wide spread among hat wearing cognoscenti (yet?). Killing an animal just for it's pelt has long been an issue with certain constituencies, and I certainly can understand it. Somehow killing an animal for just it's hair seems even more wasteful. In my mind the argument is somewhat tempered depending on the animal, it's threatened or endangered status and whether or not they are specifically raised for that purpose. I don't think beaver are commercially raised but rabbits certainly are and given their prolific reproduction rates an argument for the acceptability of the practice can be made. I can imagine the practicaluity of harvesting the hair is also an issue given the size of the donor animal - shave a rabbit anyone? What other shaven hair/furs are used - Alpaca? Cashmere?

 

[cybergentleman]

great question!

what felts are shaved/sheared? and what is their relative hardiness compared to old-school fur felt.

anyone with experience here?

 

[scottyrocks]

I probably shouldn't even raise this point, but I have been thinking about it ... so ...

We all should expect, if more than just a handful of us ever start wearing hats again ... that in today's politically correct world we will see a movement to promote wool hats.

Wool is taken from a live animal that can roam free and grow back the material.

Fur felt requires taking the life of animals.

In today's climate ... you know that is eventually going to become an issue.

Just sayin'

Sam

If rabbit and beaver steaks become a staple of the food industry, then problem solved.

 

[mustangman3000]

Nutria is also used and as I understand it, its much like beaver fur. Down here in Louisiana there is a huge over population.