Pic of Winchester felt and Fepsa felt

[fedoralover]

I was just over at Northwest Hats and he had just received some felt bodies from Fepsa. What a contrast between it and a Winchester body. And this is just the Fepsa rabbit body, I'd love to see the beaver body. Hopefully Mike will get some of those later on. Here is a pic of them side by side. Both are raw bodies and have not been pounced by Mike. I'm anxious to see the Fepsa felt finished out into a fedora. The Fepsa is the one on the right.



fedoralover

 

[Bruce Wayne]

What is the makeup of each felt?

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Hmm so Northwest Hats got the bunny body I was about to buy from Fepsa...

 

[fedoralover]

What is the makeup of each felt?

These are both rabbit felt. Mike hopes to get the beaver from Fepsa later on. The fepsa felt is very dense. Very close to vintage feeling IMHO.

fedoralover

 

[RBH]

Fepsa bodies are pre- pounced at the factory when they are made.

 

[fedoralover]

Fepsa bodies are pre- pounced at the factory when they are made.

True, both inside and out. So I'm curious to see how one finishes out since the hatter has a head start on the process. It still needs refinement as I am sure any decent hatter would still add their own finishing pounce on it. But I was struck by how dense the felt was. Mike has a limited supply of bodies and will still use mostly Winchester felt, but as all craftsman do, he's always looking for ways to up his game. This may be an improvement or it may not. Time will tell.

fedoralover

 

[tonyb]

Fepsa bodies are pre- pounced at the factory when they are made.

Yes. So the photos don't tell nearly as much as handling the bodies would. The Winchester dress-weight staples aren't my faves. They're okay, but they just don't take the finish that can be gotten (with lotsa practice) with their 100 percent beaver bodies.

 

[tonyb]

True, both inside and out. So I'm curious to see how one finishes out since the hatter has a head start on the process. It still needs refinement as I am sure any decent hatter would still add their own finishing pounce on it. But I was struck by how dense the felt was. Mike has a limited supply of bodies and will still use mostly Winchester felt, but as all craftsman do, he's always looking for ways to up his game. This may be an improvement or it may not. Time will tell.

fedoralover

I'm glad that Fepsa is around and apparently thriving. More choices are better than fewer.

My understanding is that Fepsa bodies can be had in various states of finish. Some are sold as ready to be blocked and trimmed -- no additional pouncing necessary.

There is such a thing as too much pouncing, by the way. Every hatter with any experience to speak of knows this through bitter experience.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Well I'm still waiting for Fepsa to make me a 100% beaver hat body, but I have to wait until they make some to someone...

 

[KingAndrew]

Doesn't Optimo get their bodies from Fepsa? Those are presented as pure beaver, and they certainly take a nice finish. They also come in a wide range of colors.

 

[fedoralover]

Doesn't Optimo get their bodies from Fepsa? Those are presented as pure beaver, and they certainly take a nice finish. They also come in a wide range of colors.

The last I heard they did. I've seen fepsa's felt sample book, it's huge, every color one can imagine and some you can't imagine. You can get fepsa felt in both rabbit and beaver.

fedoralover

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Doesn't Optimo get their bodies from Fepsa? Those are presented as pure beaver, and they certainly take a nice finish. They also come in a wide range of colors.

Optimo's bodies come from Fepsa & are a mix of beaver & mink.

 

[fedoralover]

Optimo's bodies come from Fepsa & are a mix of beaver & mink.

Are all of his offerings of that mix Bruce or just the high end one? I thought he had different offerings and not all were the same.

fedoralover

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Are all of his offerings of that mix Bruce or just the high end one? I thought he had different offerings and not all were the same.

fedoralover

I'm not sure.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Fespa bodies are nice finished bodies Even someone with no experience making a hat could make something exceptional with their bodies.

 

[KingAndrew]

If I recall correctly, I was told most of Optimo's hats are pure beaver, with the Optimo 1000 felts being pure belly fur, sometimes with a little mink in them.

I can say that ll my Optimos have a soft and plush feeling and a polished finish that is very different from the rabbit felt on my Akubra.

 

[majormoore]

Rabbit fur will not polish nor finish as nice as all beaver will

Major Moore

 

[fedoralover]

If I recall correctly, I was told most of Optimo's hats are pure beaver, with the Optimo 1000 felts being pure belly fur, sometimes with a little mink in them.

I can say that ll my Optimos have a soft and plush feeling and a polished finish that is very different from the rabbit felt on my Akubra.

Akubra=Apples

Optimo=Oranges

fedoralover

 

[tonyb]

If there's a rap on Akubra, it's that the finish is quite rough, leastwise it is on every Akubra I've ever handled. That matters more to some people than others.

 

[DJH]

I agree, Tony. I have a couple of Akubra's and the finish is functional, but not perfect.

Can't knock it for the $$ though!