Got the pure belly beaver hat body

[Fedora]

It came today. I left a detailed evaluation at COW, so I will just say to the vintage hat lovers, this is vintage quality felt. A soft pure beaver hat body, that feel like velvet, literally, and superfine fur. Very dense. The inside of the hat while unpounced shows no guard hairs, just super fine fur. And soft. Imagine a robust Optimo easily dented, no springiness to the felt, but slightly thicker. A true lightweight felt. I personally consider the Optimo felt to be feather weight, the same thickness as a couple of my vintage hats. Needless to say, I am tickled pink. regards, Fedora

 

[Andykev]

Originally posted by Fedora
Imagine a robust Optimo easily dented, no springiness to the felt, but slightly thicker. A true lightweight felt. I personally consider the Optimo felt to be feather weight, the same thickness as a couple of my vintage hats. Fedora

Ok I am confused. Is this hat body Superior to the Optimo? Or is it just thicker and made of beaver? Is it unfinished, or an unblocked hat body?

How does the specific quality of fur/hat body compare to Optimo's lightweight or heavyweight.??

 

[Fedora]

I would rate it as "as good as it gets." To give you an idea of the thickness of the felt, my Deluxe Federation comes in at 2.2 mm. (I have a machinists micrometer) My Optimo comes in at 1.5 mm, and this pure beaver hat comes in at 1.8 mm. I miked a 5x western hat that I own and it is 3.5 mm. My vintage Stetson Imperial comes in at 1.8. This is just a pounced hat body. It has been through the first blocking process, but not the final block. I will do that. The hat has a superfine finish, as I specified that it be pounced more than usual, and the final pouncing was done by hand with 600 grit. These pure belly beaver hats are not for the faint hearted. They don't come cheap. Are they superior to Optimo? I think a pure belly beaver hat, that is soft is superior to any other felt. You would not have to worry about it tapering for quite awhile. So far, I have only seen two modern felts that looked vintage. The Optimo and this pure beaver. Both at the top of their game. Fedora

 

[Matt Deckard]

Congratulations

The -Belly- beaver may very well be better felt.
Optimo says they make a belly hat for $700+
The question remains for me... what can Glad produce for the same price as Optimo's standard product?

also how does the color hold.

Awaiting the review.

 

[Marc]

what can Glad produce for the same price as Optimo's standard product?

As I wrote on C.O.W. already, Charlie offers a 50% off of the retail price on the first custom made hat one orders. That being said, you could get the 750$ pure beaver for 375$ - which would be in that price range your talking about.

He also has several mixed felts, even with nutria, but I don't know what his prices are on these.

Regards,

Marc

 

[Matt Deckard]

The proof is in the pudding, I want pics and a review.
The true test is how the hat will be holding up a year from now after some bouts with rain and being bumped around.

 

[Fedora]

You are right Matt. The real question is how will this super fine felt hold up. Marc will let us know, as he did with the Optimo. I am curious as well. Marc and Rick don't mind wearing high dollar hats on camping trips. Personally, I can't do it, so we will have to wait on them(Rick is considering buying one) for this part. Fedora

 

[Panamabob]

I'll trade you a $30,000 Montecristi for it. Of course, it is only worth 30K in Hawaii and New Mexico...maybe Germany and Italy, at times.

 

[Art Fawcett]

Where are the pics Fedora?? I would love to see it in it's current state.

 

[Fedora]

Hey Art, I will post them tomorrow as it is supposed to be sunny here after days of clouds and rain. I already have it on one of my blocks as we speak and will get a couple of shot before I cut the brim down. It is 3 inches all the way around now per my request. I am also trying out this 52 block I just bought from ebay. It is pretty close to my own hybrid, with just a bit more taper on the front and back. I may have to put it on my hybrid block if it does not look Raideresque enough. This hat has to be an Indy fedora. Stay tuned. regards Fedora

 

[Art Fawcett]

Looking forward to it Fedora. BTW "52" is the industry all purpose block back then. sometimes you will see just "52", other times 952, but all are the same design. Kind of general purpose.
I have some big news myself but haven't had the time to post it yet. Got some "new" equipment last week to show & tell

 

[Andykev]

And

I have been very good at keeping my mouth shut Art! I am oogling at the tremendous "find" you made, and the vintage equipment that you have added to your already great collection, and...oops gotta stop, you said Shhhhhhhhhh!

 

[Andykev]

Oh and

Art, Monday looks good. Let's plan on having breakfast (my treat or yours..I forgot) and I'll bring my truck. I have two ramps to help load the equipment, if you need. Should be easy. The ramps are what I use to load the Troy Bilt tiller which weighs 400 or so Lbs. so it is a great help, what with my back...ooooowww!

 

[Fedora]

Art, you are a wealth of knowledge. Thank you!! Fedora

 

[Fedora]

Here is the hat next to my abused and well worn Deluxe. This will give you an idea of the color. Hats regards, Fedora

 

[Art Fawcett]

AHH YES!!!!!! It looks outstanding. Soft. The color looks very close to a body that I am working on now and the color is called "Acorn" Brown with a green overcast ( very light)
Take pics when it's finished. Hell, just send it up here so I can take a first hand look!!!

 

[Fedora]

Here are some with it off the block, sweatband installed, and initially styled while on my head. I gave it the 3M$ turn before I bashed it. I still have to do the brim, install the ribbon and bow, put the liner in and style the crown and brim with steam before she is finished. Handling the felt the way you have to do when working on one brought back memories of the way my vintage Stetson Imperial feels, as well as my Nutria hat. These 3 hats have alot in common, feltwise. Hat

 

[Fedora]

Pay no attention to the guy wearing the hat, but here she is.Fedora with new hat I feel rather proud of myself. I bought the body, blocked it, sized and sewed the sweatband together, sewed it to the hat, installed new Federation ribbon, made the bow, and installed the liner. A custom made Raiders fedora by Fedora. And it was such great fun to do this little hat project. regards, Fedora

 

[Art Fawcett]

Looks great Fedora, congratulations!!!

 

[havershaw]

oh man...that thing is a real beauty.

you just can't go wrong with that block.