Cavanagh Edge?

[DOUGLAS]

Does anyone know if Cavanagh made any hats without it's famous edge?While I was getting The Flagship today I bought another Cavanagh. It is light Gray. It has the same dimentons as my other Cav. in Mocha This is a nice hat guys. It is every bit as soft as a Borsalino. REALLY SOFT! It also does not have the edge and has a very short brim with a 5-5/8" crown.What are the chances that I found one more Cavanagh that had been cut? Slim I think.
What do you think?

 

[Brad Bowers]

The Cavanagh Edge was the rarest of edges from any company, though I believe Cavanagh made a them as a higher percentage of their total production than most.

Does this one say "Cavanagh Edge" like the last one? If not, then it could have always had a raw edge.

Brad

 

[feltfan]

Didn't we discuss this before?

I have at least three Cavanaghs with raw edges.
I am confident that at least two of them were made
that way, and no reason to doubt the third. Here's one
I have posted before:

I have a Cavanagh 100 from the 60s that has a bound edge.
BTW, that last one may be my least favorite Cav- the felt is
nice enough, but the hat lacks the dimensions and design
of a great Cavanagh. I want to send it off for some styling soon.

 

[DOUGLAS]

Sorry feltfan, I was just asking as it seemed odd to have two hats that seem to be the same except one has cav edge printed on the sweat and this one does not.The one you have up now is a beauty.
Thanks for the info Brad I suspect this one never had the edge.

 

[feltfan]

Whoops, Douglas, no need to apologize. I posted that picture
a long time ago and I was just mentioning the previous discussion
so you could look back for more info.

Unfortunately, the sweat band in the Cav in the picture
(one of those swank wide, tooled bands used in nice Cavanaghs)
had some sort of dry rot when I got it, and is now crumbling,
in spite of my efforts. So it's off for a new sweat soon I hope.

Keep on posting those great hats. Not enough people do that
here, and I really appreciate the effort. Hopefully it'll get me
off my butt to post more soon.

 

[DOUGLAS]

Here are some pics.I am amazed at how creamy this felt is.

 

[feltfan]

Appears to have a nice reverse taper.
The felt seems to be thinner than some Cavanagh felt.
If they wanted to go with the light look, I can see
why they'd leave the Cav Edge off.

Feel like posting the other hat you have, the one like
it but with a Cavanagh Edge, for comparison?

Fine hat.

 

[DOUGLAS]

You got it.

These are really nice soft hats. I don't think that they are terribly old but who cares they are comfortable as all hell.

 

[DanielJones]

Looks to be a very light cozy lid indeed. Great find!:eusa_clap

Cheers!

Dan

 

[feltfan]

I misread your first post- thought one hat had the Cav Edge and
the other did not. But it looks like you have two without. I remember that
other Cav- you took pics of it at Riverside Park, as I recall. I get
the impression the more recent find might be older, given the
reverse taper and the style of the printing under the sweat.
But who knows. Good finds either way.

I'll try to get around to posting some other Cavanaghs with
raw or bound edges sooner or later... Just remembered I have
one more Cav with a bound edge- an odd stiff thing that appears
to be a two-way; fedora or homburg.

Great felt!

 

[DOUGLAS]

Please post away. For my taste these are some of the most comfortable vintage I own.

 

[DOUGLAS]

Here it is on head.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

The only Cavanagh I have is a Homburg, with a bound edge. It fits great and feels like quality.

I'm still on the lookout for a Cav with a Cav edge, preferably wide-brimmed.

 

[Fortino37]

My new Cavanaugh

This is my new Cavanaugh, was recived last week, had to clean it and reshape it, have to say this is one of the best felts I ever feel, and extremely comfortable.

Saludos from Mexicali


Fortino37

 

[DOUGLAS]

Wow, That is a nice hat! You have a great collection Fortino37.I am envious.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Oh my goodness Fortino! What a hat! I'd love to find one like that in my size.

 

[astaire]

out of curiosity

would there be such a thing as a cheap hat with cheap felt made with a cavanagh edge?

out of my research here on the lounge, i found that all the hats with cavanagh edge were very well made. And they sell at a premium too back then.

Look at Fortino's hat, how can a hat be more beautiful?:eusa_clap

 

[feltfan]

What do you mean by cheap? Poor quality? Inexpensive?
The closest I have would be my Stevens fedora with the
"Hand Felted" edge. I posted a picture in an earlier thread.
I figure it's from the late 40s to early 50s and it has a price tag
of $10. Stevens wasn't the least expensive hat you could buy,
but I think it was lower price than some. It's 3X beaver, whatever
that meant at the time. I think it's an outstanding hat, but it
sure cost a lot less than a good Cavanagh with a Cavanagh Edge
at the time. To judge by what I have around, they were at least
twice the price.

One of the questions I wonder about the Cavanagh Edge in its
many incarnations is whether the other names (Hand Felted, Mode,
Guild, etc) were used to try to get around paying royalties to Cavanagh.
That would drive up the hat price.

would there be such a thing as a cheap hat with cheap felt made with a cavanagh edge?

out of my research here on the lounge, i found that all the hats with cavanagh edge were very well made. And they sell at a premium too back then.

Look at Fortino's hat, how can a hat be more beautiful?:eusa_clap

 

[Marc Chevalier]

One of the questions I wonder about the Cavanagh Edge in its many incarnations is whether the other names (Hand Felted, Mode,
Guild, etc) were used to try to get around paying royalties to Cavanagh.

In your question lies the answer. Why would hat companies (Stetson, Portis, whatever) want to promote another hat company (Cavanagh) by having its name on their product? In other words, it would have been counterproductive for Stetson to produce a hat that said "Cavanagh edge" on the sweatband.

.

 

[feltfan]

In your question lies the answer. Why would hat companies (Stetson, Portis, whatever) want to promote another hat company (Cavanagh) by having its name on their product? In other words, it would have been counterproductive for Stetson to produce a hat that said "Cavanagh edge" on the sweatband.

.

That doesn't answer the question of whether or not they paid
to use the Cavanagh patent for the edge... If one is trying to
determine how a lower priced hat could offer the same feature,
this could be important.

I do have a Crofut & Knapp hat with a "Cavanagh Edge"
stamp on the sweat. But it's a very old hat and practices
might have changed as time went on. I suppose Cavanagh
might not have required the name "Cavanagh Edge" to accompany
licensed use.