Vintage felt vs. new

[tonyb]

Look, I accept the prevailing wisdom that the felt hats made back when Grandpa was a young man are superior to the run of today's offerings. I can even support that contention, at least anecdotally. My old hats (made by the mass manufacturers) do indeed seem better than the newer ones. But why is that so? I've been told, by a longtime retailer and others, that mercury was used in the felting process back in the day, and that environmental concerns have put an end to that. Is that so? And, if that is indeed so, what did mercury contribute to the product? Is there a mercury-free process that at least approximates what used to be?
As to the origin of the fur itself: Beaver is best, I've been told (and I have no reason to doubt it), but most felts these days, and even going back quite a number of years, are made of rabbit. Can a critter other than beaver make a fine felt? What about nutria? Does that big wet rat wear a good hat-making fur?
Experts, please weigh in.

 

[gcollins]

Hey Tony, good question.

Many of the vintage hats people here love so much are awesome hats. I have some Borsos and Royal Stetsons (more here have many, many more than me), and they are irreplacable. Great hats that don't taper, with felt that stands up to the weather, look great, remind them of grandparents, eternally stylish. Look, when men more hats, hats were a practical consideration. And the competition among hat makers was intense for a huge market. So there are great, great hats made before 1950 that we all love. And with such a large market, you could differentiate your hats through some funky new felt or process, or fur. Today, the market is just not the same, at least in the US, where finding a niche marketing scheme makes sense to the buyer.

The modern factory-made hats are mass-produced and the emphasis is sales in volume, cheaper manufacturing costs (I'm in China, I see the hat factories producing for the brand names), and style....more than the practical considerations of a hat. That is a different market altogether.

Of course, the custom hat guys--the Optimos and Gladdhatters and Art Fawcett's of the world--cater to the guy who knows a nice brim and has more an idea of style and practicality in mind than the factory-made brands.

Just simple economics, really, methinks.

 

[tonyb]

I'm interested in learning more about the Chinese hat-manufacturing industry, gcollins. What "American" brands are now being made there? And do the locals wear 'em?
I'm still curious to know how today's felting processes differ from how it used to be done. Anyone care to share?

 

[Aaron Hats]

Can a critter other than beaver make a fine felt?

Only time and some experimenting will tell. Hatco made a line of western hats this year made from Buffalo fur felt. We'll see if the line comes back in the Fall '06 catalogs.

 

[besdor]

There are three major companies here in the USA that are using the Chinese factories for their production . I don't want to get in trouble for mentioning names but if you are in the business you know who they are.:cheers1: