vintage long hair canadian beaver fedora

[felt hat xyz]

hello members, I am new to this forum. I never knew it existed until I was searching for information on cleaning a felt hat.
It is good to be a newly registered member.
I have been collecting hats for a long time. I started well before the internet was invented. I recently have had an urge to buy a few vintage hats online.
I know how to treat and clean my typical felt hats. Although I recently purchased a Biltmore Canadian Beaver, De luxe finish hat. I am sure most members would know that this type of Beaver hat has long hair felt.
I tried to find articles on this forum about cleaning this type of hat and could not find any articles. I apologize if there are articles but I could not find them.
I also tried to find information online and could not. All the information I found is on cleaning a regular type of fur felt that has no fur.
I appreciate any information on how to clean this type of long hair felt hat. The hat is not really dirty, but it has been sitting for many years in someone's closet. It does not have a bad smell but it has an aged smell to it.
Thanks for some help on this.

 

[jlee562]

Check out Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovation:
https://archive.org/details/scientifichatfin00erma/page/74/mode/2up

but basically it advises a naptha bath, letting it dry, only brushing in the direction of the nap, and dampening and ironing with the nap.

 

[belfastboy]

hello members, I am new to this forum. I never knew it existed until I was searching for information on cleaning a felt hat.
It is good to be a newly registered member.
I have been collecting hats for a long time. I started well before the internet was invented. I recently have had an urge to buy a few vintage hats online.
I know how to treat and clean my typical felt hats. Although I recently purchased a Biltmore Canadian Beaver, De luxe finish hat. I am sure most members would know that this type of Beaver hat has long hair felt.
I tried to find articles on this forum about cleaning this type of hat and could not find any articles. I apologize if there are articles but I could not find them.
I also tried to find information online and could not. All the information I found is on cleaning a regular type of fur felt that has no fur.
I appreciate any information on how to clean this type of long hair felt hat. The hat is not really dirty, but it has been sitting for many years in someone's closet. It does not have a bad smell but it has an aged smell to it.
Thanks for some help on this.

Odours in felt are problematic in that they can prove difficult to get rid of. With the leather sweat band in place I am reluctant to let the hat sit for any length of time in either a naptha bath or I also use Orvis paste in a luke warm water bath. Sometimes the odour comes out....sometimes not. The upside with the naptha is it disappears quickly from the felt and dries quickly so you eliminate the risk of the long hair matting. There is at least one maybe more threads here in how to get rid of odours from felt that do not include a bath. Use a google search including The Fedora Lounge and you will get the links. Many ideas that the users claim great success so is worth searching it out and may save you having to bathe the hat.

 

[felt hat xyz]

wow, naptha. that sounds really involved. I would be afraid of trying that for the first time. Not that this hat is so valuable. it just a lack of experience, but I will have to read the entire section in the great link that you gave on the old literature. thanks.

 

[felt hat xyz]

Odours in felt are problematic in that they can prove difficult to get rid of. With the leather sweat band in place I am reluctant to let the hat sit for any length of time in either a naptha bath or I also use Orvis paste in a luke warm water bath. Sometimes the odour comes out....sometimes not. The upside with the naptha is it disappears quickly from the felt and dries quickly so you eliminate the risk of the long hair matting. There is at least one maybe more threads here in how to get rid of odours from felt that do not include a bath. Use a google search including The Fedora Lounge and you will get the links. Many ideas that the users claim great success so is worth searching it out and may save you having to bathe the hat.

how do I do a simple cleaning? Should I use a brush or a comb? soft brush, stiff brush?
I may not need to give the hat a bath. Perhaps naptha on a clean cloth and just give it a wiping?

 

[felt hat xyz]

I don't think the age odor is a problem for this hat. it is not bad. I would like to fluff it up a bit and freshen the fur up. I am tempted to use a coarse comb, meaning only a few teeth per inch.

 

[belfastboy]

how do I do a simple cleaning? Should I use a brush or a comb? soft brush, stiff brush?
I may not need to give the hat a bath. Perhaps naptha on a clean cloth and just give it a wiping?

The difficulty of odours with felt is they are right down in the fibres so I doubt a brushing would do anything in ridding the odours. Same thing with a naptha wipe....you won't get deep into the felt fibres with just a wipe. To have a chance at ridding you need the liquid to flow through the fibres, a thorough wash/thorough immersion and even that is not a guarantee. Check the thread as there are passive solutions.....a sealed bag filled with newsprint, coffee grounds, baking soda, cedar shavings.....all manner of possibilities. Google it. Certain odours are difficult....especially a mold/mildew odour, cigarettes, hair product.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I have one of those Canadian Beaver Biltmore hats. I’ve done well using a standard hat brush and steam. Naphtha also works well for spot cleaning and you can use your hat brush to apply it. I have a nylon clothes brush that is much stiffer than the typical hat brush and I’ll judiciously use it on long hair finishes, but generally prefer a soft hat brush for all finishes.

I’ve been curious about this hat. It says “Canadian Beaver,” but I’ve see similar long hair finishes marketed as a “beaver finish” that are 100% rabbit fur felt. Tonak/Selentino makes a long hair “Beaver” hat that isn’t beaver despite the use of the word beaver. Another little mystery that I’ll probably never figure out.

 

[belfastboy]

I have one of those Canadian Beaver Biltmore hats. I’ve done well using a standard hat brush and steam. Naphtha also works well for spot cleaning and you can use your hat brush to apply it. I have a nylon clothes brush that is much stiffer than the typical hat brush and I’ll judiciously use it on long hair finishes, but generally prefer a soft hat brush for all finishes.

I’ve been curious about this hat. It says “Canadian Beaver,” but I’ve see similar long hair finishes marketed as a “beaver finish” that are 100% rabbit fur felt. Tonak/Selentino makes a long hair “Beaver” hat that isn’t beaver despite the use of the word beaver. Another little mystery that I’ll probably never figure out.

I have worked on one of these and it was a weird little beast. Long haired like a spaniel dog it did not look as though it had been felted but yet was not a beaver pelt either. Looked much more like dog's coat than anything else yet it stated 'beaver' on the sweat. My wife asked one day where I was headed and I replied I was taking this hat out for a walk and likely a pee!

 

[felt hat xyz]

I have worked on one of these and it was a weird little beast. Long haired like a spaniel dog it did not look as though it had been felted but yet was not a beaver pelt either. Looked much more like dog's coat than anything else yet it stated 'beaver' on the sweat. My wife asked one day where I was headed and I replied I was taking this hat out for a walk and likely a pee!

lol you got me going on that joke!

 

[belfastboy]

lol you got me going on that joke!

Does yours look as I described? I worked on two of them...both Canadian made.

 

[felt hat xyz]

Thanks, to the comments. I am going to proceed with caution. I collect vintage guitars and when an old stinky case is bad, we put coffee grinds in it and close it up for a month.
Also keeping a hat out in the middle of winter for a night or two in a secure area may help. Just the fresh cold air.
It is kind of a mystery how they make these long hair beaver hats. It's not exactly a felt and it's not a pelt either. I wouldn't be surprised if another fur is used with beaver while it says Canadian Beaver.
If I see one of you guys on the street wearing a hat like this, I may wave hello! lol
just for the record, I've been waiting years to wear some of my hats out in public. I wanted to wait until I was old enough for the hat to fit my personality. I am getting close to it day by day. Lol

 

[felt hat xyz]

Does yours look as I described? I worked on two of them...both Canadian made.

Yes you described the same hat, it seems. I have never seen one before, but I do know they use to make the tall top hats back in the 1800s this way seen in very old pictures. Go figure. The price was right, the condition is excellent and it was my size. I had to go for it. Sometimes I wear my hats in the house and I get a kick out of them. Long-haired like a spaniel dog!

 

[belfastboy]

Yes you described the same hat, it seems. I have never seen one before, but I do know they use to make the tall top hats back in the 1800s this way seen in very old pictures. Go figure. The price was right, the condition is excellent and it was my size. I had to go for it. Sometimes I wear my hats in the house and I get a kick out of them. Long-haired like a spaniel dog!

The ones I worked on were owned by a fellow that inherited them from his father. I upsized them, one size, and he was thrilled he could now wear his father's hats. He thought they were from the 1960's era.

 

[felt hat xyz]

The ones I worked on were owned by a fellow that inherited them from his father. I upsized them, one size, and he was thrilled he could now wear his father's hats. He thought they were from the 1960's era.

That is really a great story!

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Long-haired like a spaniel dog!

Woolite makes a "lite" for fragiles like women's longerie. I forget what they call it. I have used that for liners I have removed from the hat so the colors will not bleed. You might try soaking your long hair in a bucket with the correct ratio of Woolite per gallon of water. Then a couple of soaking rinses in clean water to remove the Woolite. Be sure to have something to block the hat to dry on as you brush it out.