The International Wool Felt Consortium

[gtdean48]

I've used wool crushers for years as camping & canoeing hats, backpacking on the AT & paddling the Okeefeenoekee Swamp, Flint River, French Broad River, etc. They are serviceable & I don't care if they are lost or destroyed. My working hats for around the ranch & horseback riding are fur felt though & all my "dress" hats are fur felt.

 

[Neophyte]

Banjo does have a good point though. If you want to hear only the impressions of those who prefer wool felt over the fur felt (and I don't mean situational opinions, as in using a wool because the individual couldn't care less what happens to it), this thread is going to go down the list FAST! There are just not that many, if at all [huh].

I take no sides in the attacks that have arisen out of this, but to make a point: Wool felt is not "under-appreciated." It is appreciated for what it is: a somewhat inferior product to a fur felt hat. That's not to say it's bad, it just isn't as good. This is a simple observation of the properties of the materials that make up the hats and how well they function when considering what a hat is used for.

 

[EggHead]

Ha ha ha ha.. This thread made my morning!
I prefer wool hats when I ski - but they don't have brims.

 

[rlk]

In summary, the only preferred quality of a wool felt is its lower price--its reason for existence. I've handled vintage 30's-60's as well and some are pretty decent but are still coarser in appearance and hand than fur felts and less durable. Either a product of economy or fur shortages. The moths did seem to prefer them however.

 

[Neophyte]

In summary, the only preferred quality of a wool felt is its lower price--its reason for existence. I've handled vintage 30's-60's as well and some are pretty decent but are still coarser in appearance and hand than fur felts and less durable. Either a product of economy or fur shortages. The moths did seem to prefer them however.

:arated:

 

[Undertow]

...Mine had a cloth sweatband and a band tacked on with what looked like fishing line...

Most likely heavy Nylon thread. I've seen this with newer Stetsons, as well. In fact, when I went to reattach a ribbon and liner I used regular thread at first, but backed out and used Nylon instead, just to be consistent with the original material.

 

[donnc]

I prefer my wool beret, to a hypothetical beret made of anything else. As to my wool crusher fedora, if I ever get it back, as it was spirited away to a remote Canadian island village shortly after I got it, I'll let you know.

It is, or was, Golden Gate's "Softee" material. I suspect that fur vs. wool is an overly simplistic way to look at it. If I took it upon myself to bag some of the neighborhood squirrels and felt their fur in my basement, I could make a fur hat body that's as bad as anything you could find in any material. Conversely, I have no doubt that making a great hat out of wool is just a matter of figuring out how to do it.

 

[Undertow]

....Even in the "lesser" quality lines it will hold up and give you WAY more pride than even a top end wool hat (if there is such a thing)...

I disagree on this. I own a fur felt from Burlington Coat Factory (my first fedora) that's nearly garbage. On the other hand, Stetson currently offers a "Cashmere" line which is fairly high quality wool felt for around $70-80. I believe the Cashmere is far superior to the BCF fur felt.

Granted, if you're planning to shell out $80 for a wool hat, you may as well wait and get a fur. I'm only arguing in relation to the "quality" of said felt.

 

[Viper Man]

There are many very valid reasons why they are not appreciated.

 

[RobFedoraField]

I disagree on this. I own a fur felt from Burlington Coat Factory (my first fedora) that's nearly garbage. On the other hand, Stetson currently offers a "Cashmere" line which is fairly high quality wool felt for around $70-80. I believe the Cashmere is far superior to the BCF fur felt.

Granted, if you're planning to shell out $80 for a wool hat, you may as well wait and get a fur. I'm only arguing in relation to the "quality" of said felt.

I had one of those too $16 brand new, i ended up selling it on the bay for $9 shipped (yes I lost money on the auction alone) maybe we can look at this as what is not better or worse, but what is the most value for a certain dollar amount...

 

[Neophyte]

I had one of those too $16 brand new, i ended up selling it on the bay for $9 shipped (yes I lost money on the auction alone) maybe we can look at this as what is not better or worse, but what is the most value for a certain dollar amount...

I can see this as a viable point of view . Sorry to hear about the auction, though. You may have not lost that much, but losing money on an auction is always disappointing...

 

[Midwest Boater]

I love this hat i wore nothing but this hat for years

I wore it to death as can be seen in the pic

and my first hat i bought was a newsboy blue with a block M i was 10 at the time.
but i dont think these are wool felt now that i think about it.
still let me say wool dose have its place and in some uses and when i use a hat like that i prefer it.

 

[AlterEgo]

That's what's known as an "Irish Walking Hat" or a "Bucket Hat," MB. They're made not of wool felt but woven wool, often in a tweed weave. Some of them are as nice as the better ivy and newsboy caps. In fact, many fine Irish and Scottish makers offer a few buckets in the exact same tweed as their caps. Thanks for reminding me that I have a superb walking hat from Jonathan Richards that I must get out and wear this fall and winter. Currently, it's only function is as the base on top of which is stacked my tweed caps!

As for wool felts, no, I do not prefer them over fur felts. I have one woollie, a dark green crushable waterproof Dorfman Pacific with a 2 1/2-in brim. I bought it on impulse at a hiking store because it was a perfect color match for some clothes I got there that day.

Despite that it's 15 years old and has been anything but babied, it refuses to wear out. Yes, the brim droops, the crown has tapered considerably--together giving it a lugubrious appearance--but when I have super dirty work to do like digging a flower bed, it's the hat I grab simply because I do not care about it at all. Actually, I do care about it, in the sense that I'm trying my best to render it unwearable so I can dispose of it.

When it dies, it will be replaced with a fur felt for garden duty. You see, I like to look my best no matter what I'm doing.

 

[DesertDan]

Well I guess I'll be the odd man out.
I have only ever owned wool felt hats and have never had any real problems with them. I take care of the things I own and of course I live in the desert so they are not exposed to frequent rain/snow and have held up splendidly.

I have four fedoras the newest of which is 5 years old, three of them are my daily wear hats and the fourth is my hunting hat. All of them are in great shape with the exception of my hunting hat which I have had for about 15 years and has seen much abuse.

The reason I do not have an actual fur felt hat is that until I found this forum I was under the impression that a real beaver fur hat could only be had for several hundreds of dollars and as a poor working man raising a family, such expense for a hat was absolutely out the question! I would sometimes imagine (daydream) what it would be like to own a very fine hat but then dismiss such silly ideas and go about my business.

Now of course I realize that such a thing is well within my reach and I will soon aquire a fur felt hat (perhaps even several ). So when that happens I'll let ya'll know how they compare!

Cheers!
DD

 

[scottyrocks]

Here is basically how I use my only remaining wool felt fedora, mainly because I dont worry about ruining it:

 

[fluteplayer07]

rlk, how did those old wool felts compare to modern fur felts? Did they match in terms of style to fur felts of their period? Or did makers cheapen the appearance of the hats, as well as quality?

Any pictures? I haven't seen many vintage wool felt hats.

Cheers,

 

[Rick Blaine]

I have never had a wool felt fedora that failed to disappoint, regardless of what they looked like in the photo.

From what I understand fur ( especially beaver, nutria & wabbit/hare) is simply better suited to the production of fine felt. Something like more barbs on the hair shaft lending itself to a tighter felt that is able to be finished more finely, or something. Anyway, no wool hats in this house, other than the odd toque' or BB cap. I have learned my lesson.

 

[Yeps]

The durability is an interesting question, because as far as I can tell, there are certain aspects that wool is better at. The main one is the Johnny Depp hole in the crown. That is a distinct worry with fur felt hats, but not one I ever encountered with wool ones, not that those wool ones looked very sharp, or kept their size and shape in the rain.

 

[rlk]

rlk, how did those old wool felts compare to modern fur felts? Did they match in terms of style to fur felts of their period? Or did makers cheapen the appearance of the hats, as well as quality?

Any pictures? I haven't seen many vintage wool felt hats.

Cheers,

Most have decent sweatbands and liners some may be wartime products. Generally a bit heavier than fur felts.
This is the lightest and finest I've encountered. A back bow made in Italy for French retailer.

 

[150719541]

I own a lot of 30 fur felt hats and others straw hats, but also I use some wool felt to outdoor activitys like fishing or other like this:

A wool french, Louis Int. Co., this hat has been wet by rain, sea water, crushed and keeps well alined, I use it to walk with dogs too.