Falcon Park Hattery

[Twincam1450]

I don't usually fall for blue hats, but this one has a little something special about it, Twincam. The crease is a real winner - diamonds rule!

Thanks. It's not steel blue it just looks like that because of the lighting. It's actually Dark Gray, you can see it better in my original post on page 68.

 

[Rabbit]

So... I have an order in with Parker right now, originally going with the Granite Beaver felt, but I'm considering asking him to change it to the Charcoal Beaver felt after having seen one of his in that color (and since it isn't in production yet). He uses Winchester bodies, so my question is, which would be better, Charcoal or Granite?

Just looking for some opinions... Thanks!

M0nk, I agree with gtdean and David. The granite is a bit more versatile. I'll add another comparison photo - you can never have too many of those.
Below is a VS Granite next to a Knox Twenty charcoal. The felt of the Knox totally matches the Winchester charcoal felt sample from Art, so even if the small strip of felt misleads me it should be very close. The ribbons here are silver-grey and black, respectively.

Both granite and charcoal have a slight shift to the warm side of grey; the granite a bit more so. Also, the warm shade of granite is more conspicous in some lighting, rather hard to predict I'd say. Granite really is a chameleon. In spite of the warm shade, it does work with many grey-dominated outfits, and it's great with earthtones; not so much with navy.
I don't wear my charcoal hat very often as I feel much more comfortable in lighter or medium greys - hats that are lighter than the suit somehow work better for me, generally speaking. So, to add food to your thoughts I recommend you dwell a bit on the question whether you feel more at home with darker hats or with lighter/medium ones in general, regardless of the specific felt color.
I know, some folks like both dark and light hats equally.

 

[gtdean48]

... Also, from what TonyB has told, me the darker colours are treated at the felter's plant somewhat differently to the lighter ones which results in a different feel to the hat.

What they told us at the last tour of Winchester factory is for the dark colors, they dye the felt blanks right off. For the lite colors, they bleach the raw felt blanks & then dye them to get the right hues of the lite colors. This bleaching makes the felt physically lighter = takes some heft out of the fur fibers. My Pecan lightweight is not near as lite as my Blue Smoke lightweight.

 

[DJH]

That makes sense, Tom. I've noticed the same thing, my light colour ArtLites are indeed physically lighter than the Dark Moss one I have.

Would I be correct in assuming that the "natural" felt from Winchester has gone through the bleach process, but skips the dye?

 

[gtdean48]

That makes sense, Tom. I've noticed the same thing, my light colour ArtLites are indeed physically lighter than the Dark Moss one I have.

Would I be correct in assuming that the "natural" felt from Winchester has gone through the bleach process, but skips the dye?

No, the natural is undyed & unbleached. That is the color that is bleached whiter to be dyed silverbelly, dove, blue mist, etc.

 

[Alive'n'Amplified]

So... I have an order in with Parker right now, originally going with the Granite Beaver felt, but I'm considering asking him to change it to the Charcoal Beaver felt after having seen one of his in that color (and since it isn't in production yet). He uses Winchester bodies, so my question is, which would be better, Charcoal or Granite?

Just looking for some opinions... Thanks!

GRANITE!

My granite FPH is fantastic! The granite tones and subtle color hues are only apparent up close. As the name implies, the "granite" variations give it a very unique character. It looks medium grey from a general distance; I can wear it with a dark sport coat or a lighter coat. It's extremely versatile with all of the colors in my wardrobe. I wear mostly jeans with a nice dress shirt and a sport coat during the week, and a suit when I go to church. My hat is made of rabbit, so the beaver is surely a better quality. Since it has a very slight color variation depending on how you look at it, it goes fantastic with brown, blue, black, purple, burgundy, etc...

And the compliments are endless!

 

[splintercellsz]

Wow, AnA! That hat is NICE! Very easy on the eyes, and very slick too!

 

[tridentine]

The granite is almost like a Natural color.
Great!

 

[bowlerman]

Yeah, that's a damn nice one. The ribbon makes it, I think.

 

[DOGMAN]

I like it!Great hat.

 

[Chepstow]

+1 on all above!!!

 

[Alive'n'Amplified]

Yeah, that's a damn nice one. The ribbon makes it, I think.

That was all Parker. I wanted something vintage and bold, so he recommended the smoke colored ribbon, 2". I also told him to surprise me with the bow. I was pleasantly surprised. :thumb:

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Just my opinion, I think that hat right there is the nicest hat from Falcon Park I have ever seen. Real nice.

 

[m0nk]

Wow, thanks for continuing on with the responses, and A'n'A, for the pics... and as much as I love your awesome hat, the brownish hue I saw in your pics originally made me question the color I was going with. I've actually changed the order to a Charcoal Beaver felt since I do have two other hats in a lighter grey (Moonstone Fed IV and light grey vintage Whippet). I may also order a granite in the future, this won't be my last hat. But for now, I'm actually very excited to get a beaver in charcoal.

 

[m0nk]

M0nk, I agree with gtdean and David. The granite is a bit more versatile. I'll add another comparison photo - you can never have too many of those.
Below is a VS Granite next to a Knox Twenty charcoal. The felt of the Knox totally matches the Winchester charcoal felt sample from Art, so even if the small strip of felt misleads me it should be very close. The ribbons here are silver-grey and black, respectively.

Both granite and charcoal have a slight shift to the warm side of grey; the granite a bit more so. Also, the warm shade of granite is more conspicous in some lighting, rather hard to predict I'd say. Granite really is a chameleon. In spite of the warm shade, it does work with many grey-dominated outfits, and it's great with earthtones; not so much with navy.
I don't wear my charcoal hat very often as I feel much more comfortable in lighter or medium greys - hats that are lighter than the suit somehow work better for me, generally speaking. So, to add food to your thoughts I recommend you dwell a bit on the question whether you feel more at home with darker hats or with lighter/medium ones in general, regardless of the specific felt color.
I know, some folks like both dark and light hats equally.

Rabbit, I really appreciate the comparison and description of the strip you received from Art. Parker has it actually listed as a Dark Grey for his Winchester felts, so if it's the same felt, and it looks nearly spot on for Charcoal, I think that's what I'm after. I had already changed the order, and was a bit worried when he mentioned that the Beaver was dark grey, but now after seeing your post as well as the pics from Twincam of the dark grey, I'm fairly sure it's exactly what I want.

I do tend to wear darker suits and am after a style similar to what Bogey wears in numerous movies (Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, the Big Sleep, Dark Passage, etc), so I'm sold definitely now. I have a light grey vintage Whippet that I wear regularly, as well as a Moonstone Fed IV, so I've got the lighter colors covered.... of course, this is just the current purchase... I do still want a VS Dove similar to the one you've posted numerous times.

 

[Alive'n'Amplified]

Wow, thanks for continuing on with the responses, and A'n'A, for the pics... and as much as I love your awesome hat, the brownish hue I saw in your pics originally made me question the color I was going with. I've actually changed the order to a Charcoal Beaver felt since I do have two other hats in a lighter grey (Moonstone Fed IV and light grey vintage Whippet). I may also order a granite in the future, this won't be my last hat. But for now, I'm actually very excited to get a beaver in charcoal.

The rabbit granite felt could have more brownish tones than the beaver, but either way, I'm anxious to see how Parker ends up crafting the charcoal for you. Post it as soon as it arrives; I'm sure you will!!

 

[bowlerman]

+1-- can't wait to see it!

 

[m0nk]

Will do, I'm definitely super excited. Its based on the classic Bogey hats.

 

[Dundee]

Very nice color combo. I like the Granite.

 

[memphislawyer]

Like that hat. I have been talking with Nik, and Parker, about a new hat and since my Caribou Stetson Saxon is about the color of granite, that lends me to charcoal (dark grey I am guessing on his swatches chart) or steel. Silvermist is a bluer hue on the monitor and dove would be perfect but not offered in rabbit and only Art does that.