Cavanangh missing its edge...

[Johnnysan]

Much has been posted here about the famous Cavanagh edge. I recently picked up a very nice, virtually mint Cavanagh that sports a 2" raw edged brim. The brim doesn't appear to have been cut down (or if so, it was done by a VERY skilled hand.) So, my question is: "Did Cavanagh ever produce hats that did not have the Cavanagh edge brim or has this one been cut down?" Thoughts??

 

[Matt Deckard]

Yes. They were a styleistic hatter like most companies, and they sold everything under the sun from cowboy hats to bound brimmed hats to bowlers and homburgs. Don't be distrought if it doesn't have the edge.. they made them that way too.

got a pic?

 

[Johnnysan]

Great and thanks, Matt! This one looked original but I wasn't sure that it hadn't been altered. Like every other Cavanagh I've ever seen, it's a great hat.

 

[feltfan]

Just to chime in confirmation... if you look around you'll find a
picture I posted a while back of a Cavanagh Open Road-style
fedora with a raw edge. I believe I have a Cav OR style hat
with a bound edge, too (but I'm too lazy to go look). Ah, here
you go:

Do post a picture of yours when you get a chance.

 

[Pilgrim]

While I have the attention of the Cavanagh types - did they ever make all wool hats? There was a recent auction with a Cavanagh that the seller claimed was wool, but the claim was made based on feel rather than actual documentation of the material.

 

[feltfan]

While I have the attention of the Cavanagh types - did they ever make all wool hats? There was a recent auction with a Cavanagh that the seller claimed was wool, but the claim was made based on feel rather than actual documentation of the material.

heh. Am I a Cavanagh type?

I have never seen an all wool Cavanagh hat.
I have seen a lot of eBay listings claiming all wool
hats that were, in fact, fur felt.

I will say that Cavanagh quality, on the whole, dropped
precipitously after the 50s, in my limited experience. Not
always, though. I have a fedora I'd guess was from the 70s
(in part from what the seller told me) that is made of the
old style gloriously dense, rich felt (and wide brimmed/high crowned, too).
But I also have a Cavanagh 100 I'd guess is from the 60s that,
while nice and dense and pounced and thin, bears little resemblance to what
I think of as a Cav hat, and I do not love it. But unless the name
Cavanagh was misused more than I know, there are no wool Cavs.

Let me once again add that my experience is limited (though
not my enthusiasm).

 

[Charlie Reader]

I read quite a bit here about the famous "Cavanagh edge", but still I don't know what is it exactly. Sorry for my ignorance, but could anyone explain?

Andreas

 

[Matt Deckard]

You'll see alot of hats mirepresented on Ebay as woll when they are fur. Just alot of people who don't know the difference.

 

[tonyb]

You'll see alot of hats mirepresented on Ebay as woll when they are fur. Just alot of people who don't know the difference.

And God bless 'em for that. Heck, if they knew what they had they wouldn't let it go so cheap.

 

[tonyb]

I read quite a bit here about the famous "Cavanagh edge", but still I don't know what is it exactly. Sorry for my ignorance, but could anyone explain?

Andreas

You may wish to do a search. Brad Bowers did a bunch of research on the Cavanagh edge and shared what he learned. But, the short version is: The Cavanagh edge is kinda like an over-welted edge, but without stitching. It was done during the felting process. Other manufacturers did the same thing (under license from Cavanagh, I think; someone please correct me if I'm wrong). Stetson's version was called the "Mode" edge. How best to explain the look? Hmmm ... it's like the felt is double-thick at the edge of the brim, and seamless. It's a pretty cool way to finish an edge, and no one does it that way anymore (again, to the best of my knowledge), so if you find one, you indeed have something they just don't make the way they used to.
Does that make sense? More beer is in order here. Let's rephrase that: Some things they just don't make the way they used to. In the case of the Cavanagh/Mode/Guild/etc. edge, that's literally true.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I have a Cavanagh Homburg, and it has a bound edge. It's a great hat, probably from the 1950s.

 

[Charlie Reader]

TonyB, thanks for the reply!

Kind regards,
Charlie