"Roo Felt" Fedoras?

[Spatterdash]

So a friend asked me if I knew about kangaroo felt hats, not kangaroo colored or Kangol hats, but hats of felt made from an actual jumping, boxing kangaroo... the marsupial.

I looked at him and said "No. Wouldn't surprise me, but no... chew with yer mouth closed, would ya? Ya look like a concrete mixer."

Now, curious and afoot in the darker alleys of the internet, I find my way to aaronhats.com and read Aaron's blog for january.
And what does Aaron mention? I read it there first, folks; kangaroo felt being pursued as an option for hat makers. Kangaroo,... from bullwhips and hatbands, to garment leather, is there anything they can't do?

Any news, Aaron? What's your take on this stuff? Velvety? Good body? Crap with a ribbon?

I was just gonna ask Aaron about this but then I figured some of you folks might want to know what's going on.

 

[AlanC]

I've heard they taste good, too.

 

[dr greg]

taste

A bit like venison, but it's very lean so has to be cooked quickly, and has virtually no fat so is very good for you, even so it mainly goes as pet food here.

 

[dhermann1]

Well, I would think that if they have a soft under coat of fur that likes to mat, they would be good candidates. They're basically giant marsupial rabbits, right? And as mentioned above, they're also sort of marsupial deer, as well. Which make me wonder of deer would also be good candidates. They live in cold climate, so they must have a soft under coat in winter. I believe the thing that makes the beaver supreme for the purpose is their aquatic habitat. The belly fur is both soft, as well as very scaley, which makes the fibres interlock, thus keeping out the water and making the beast bouyant.
While we're on the subject of antipodian biological oddities, how about the platypus? He even has the bill built in! Nature's own baseball cap.

 

[Spellflower]

I believe the platypus has been mentioned before as a felt animal, and it was formerly hunted for its fur. However, it's currently protected. Another problem with using it is size: it's a much smaller animal than the beaver, and so many more would be required to make a hat.

 

[Spatterdash]

That's my thinking, dhermann, but I don't know what sort of fur the lanky blighters have.
Aaron supposedly got his hands on a Stetson model made of roo felt, so hopefully he can compare it to rabbit and beaver in an indepth way and fill us in.

I'm excited about a new felt possibility. I hope it's the new rabbit.

Platypus, though... I follow the logic, hair structure similar to beaver, but the ghastly stories of weeks-long, begging-for-death pain that platypus venom can cause? No, I like hats, but given a choice of evils, I'd rather hatters went back to a comfortable demise of mercury-induced drooling and spasms than the suicide-inducing agony of platypus toxin.

I'm a softie like that.

 

[duggap]

Hey Art, on my custom Roo, please leave the pouch in, it could come in handy.

 

[cookie]

They're basically giant marsupial rabbits, right? .

Like the Yank tourist that wanted to fly that airline with the big rat on the tail?lol lol [huh] [huh]

 

[dr greg]

true

They can be found hopping down the main street of all major urban centres!lol

 

[Godfrey]

Actually The ones you really need to watch for are the drop bears. A very nasty relative of the Koala with horrible fur for hat making (very stringy).

 

[Aaron Hats]

Aaron supposedly got his hands on a Stetson model made of roo felt, so hopefully he can compare it to rabbit and beaver in an indepth way and fill us in.

I only got to see a sample so no long term testing has been done. As with all Stetson's fur felt western hats it was stiff. The felt felt better than the Buffalo felt and closer to the feeling of a traditional 4X western hat.

Only time will tell how the Kangaroo felt stands up to use and abuse.

Aaron

 

[Spatterdash]

Aaron...

Very cool. Thank you for the input. Now I wish I could get my hands on some and abuse it.

 

[Mid-fogey]

Oh, I...

...don't know. My dad brought back some kangaroo boots that the Aussies gave him in Vietnam. They stink to high heaven when they get wet. That might not be so good for a hat.

 

[airforceindy]

During my time in Australia we started eating kangaroo meat as though it were a delicacy. It was always available at the grocery or butcher, it was cheap, and a novelty to us Yankees. We didn't learn until much later that (as mentioned by Dr. Greg) they're typically only consumed by pets and working dogs. Still, tasted pretty good to me when cooked right. Not much different than mule deer. They're considered common pests down there (at least, they were in the early '90s), and are killed off as quickly by rifles as they are by dingoes and Land Cruisers w/grill protectors. Not too many Americans have heard of the most novel use of the kangaroo; a certain item belonging to the male kangaroo makes a dynamite coin purse. Think about it.
I can't imagine them being used for felt, though. Most of the roos I ran into seemed to have relatively short, coarse hair. Then again, i could be mistaken, as that was a long time ago ("long" when compared to my meager 26 years!).

Regards, Andy