What brand of Fedora?

[31 Model A]

What maker uses the best premium fur in their fedoras?....IYO?

 

[Frunobulax]

What maker uses the best premium fur in their fedoras?....IYO?

I believe there are only a limited number of felt suppliers, so the question may be better put, "What maker makes the best use of their felt?"

Akubra, Hatco (Stetson/Dobbs/Resistol), and I believe Borsalino and Tonak produce their own felts. Tonak, is a wholesaler, as well, I think. FEPSA (Portugal?) is a supplier to Europe, there may be others. Winchester in TN is the only US producer I know of as a wholesaler. I think there's somebody in South America, too.

Most of the custom hatters in the US use Winchester. I think our own Esther Weis uses FEPSA and possibly Tonak.


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[Daniele Tanto]

What maker uses the best premium fur in their fedoras?....IYO?

The answer is difficult, really hard to give in these times when the hat industry is very little compared to a few years ago.
Mine is a European answer. Fepsa produces excellent felts of "German school", Tonak has inherited the high qualities of Central European production (especially Austria, Czech Republic and also Germany). Borsalino produces a part of its felts in Alessandria and also in other parts of Italy, Tuscany, produces felt. I know superficially Akubra and very little Stetson and other brands of American hats. I have a hat made with the Winchester. Which one would I choose? The first three certainly with a predilection for some Borsalino that have, still, a magistral felt whatever you say around

 

[Redfokker]

What maker uses the best premium fur in their fedoras?....IYO?

The only real answer to this is...get a time machine and go to a hat shop in 1936! If you can't do this, go Bespoke (Custom) young man. What the hatter does to the standard felt body is what you need to look at. A quick search of custom hats here on the lounge will bring up most of our favorites. Check out Brent's (@deadlyhandsome) He has had some interesting customs made from other "makers", some really nice stuff.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Short answer: my vote goes to Winchester Silver Beaver (not Silverbelly) but the limited colors and $1000.00 price tag is analogous to throwing a Ferrari into a discussion on Honda, Toyota, Ford, etc.

Are you asking about current production only? Nothing being made today compares to the better vintage felts. We also need to know if you are referring to standard finishes, velour, longhair? The biggest obstacle is that few of us have the same hat made from all the different makers with all the different variables. A direct comparison just isn’t possible for us. It’s also well documented that hat bodies made by the same felt company and finished by the same hatter to the same specifications can be quite different one color to the next. And then you run into personal preferences that are colored by all sorts of things other than an objective/dispassionate evaluation: think of Ford vs Chevrolet, chocolate vs vanilla, blondes vs redheads. Do you want a very limp hat with little structure where the crease is changed by a stiff breeze? Do you want soft or dense and clay-like? Do you want lots of body? The meaning of “best” isn’t easily agreed on.

I can say that my one and only FEPSA in a rabbit and hare blend is incredibly soft and has a very nice hand (check out the Hufvud thread). My custom Winchester beaver hats cover more territory with some having moderate structure/stiffness and others are much stiffer. Still can’t answer what’s “best.” My many Tonak rabbit fur felt customs are “nice” and real bargains, but they’re not contenders for “best.” In Tonak, all I’ve tried is the 100% rabbit so I can’t speak to an other of their materials (I do really like their longhair finishes).

For factory hats, it’s generally agreed that Borsalino continued to make some great hats long after US makers went to hell. I do not know what Borsalino is doing today and I hope they emerge from their current bankruptcy and return to making superior hats. Several months ago I asked a trusted fellow Lounge member (@moontheloon) what current production felt was closest to vintage and he spoke highly about the quality of the Stetson Excellent grade 100% beaver New York LE. I’ve bought two of them and I fully agree that these are great hats and very close to vintage felt quality. In fact, there is a tread here on the best current production fedora where I vote for the New York LE.

I’m not sure that any of this has helped except to say that quality vintage is the way to go when possible. If we knew what you’re preferences are and what qualities you desire in the hat you might get more applicable answers.

Good luck,
Brent


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[31 Model A]

Short answer: my vote goes to Winchester Silver Beaver (not Silverbelly) but the limited colors and $1000.00 price tag is analogous to throwing a Ferrari into a discussion on Honda, Toyota, Ford, etc.

Are you asking about current production only? Nothing being made today compares to the better vintage felts. We also need to know if you are referring to standard finishes, velour, longhair? The biggest obstacle is that few of us have the same hat made from all the different makers with all the different variables. A direct comparison just isn’t possible for us. It’s also well documented that hat bodies made by the same felt company and finished by the same hatter to the same specifications can be quite different one color to the next. And then you run into personal preferences that are colored by all sorts of things other than an objective/dispassionate evaluation: think of Ford vs Chevrolet, chocolate vs vanilla, blondes vs redheads. Do you want a very limp hat with little structure where the crease is changed by a stiff breeze? Do you want soft or dense and clay-like? Do you want lots of body? The meaning of “best” isn’t easily agreed on.

I can say that my one and only FEPSA in a rabbit and hare blend is incredibly soft and has a very nice hand (check out the Hufvud thread). My custom Winchester beaver hats cover more territory with some having moderate structure/stiffness and others are much stiffer. Still can’t answer what’s “best.” My many Tonak rabbit fur felt customs are “nice” and real bargains, but they’re not contenders for “best.” In Tonak, all I’ve tried is the 100% rabbit so I can’t speak to an other of their materials (I do really like their longhair finishes).

For factory hats, it’s generally agreed that Borsalino continued to make some great hats long after US makers went to hell. I do not know what Borsalino is doing today and I hope they emerge from their current bankruptcy and return to making superior hats. Several months ago I asked a trusted fellow Lounge member (@moontheloon) what current production felt was closest to vintage and he spoke highly about the quality of the Stetson Excellent grade 100% beaver New York LE. I’ve bought two of them and I fully agree that these are great hats and very close to vintage felt quality. In fact, there is a tread here on the best current production fedora where I vote for the New York LE.

I’m not sure that any of this has helped except to say that quality vintage is the way to go when possible. If we knew what you’re preferences are and what qualities you desire in the hat you might get more applicable answers.

Good luck,
Brent


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First off, I'm not really in the market for another fedora, it would make four if I did. I'm just curious about things that make up the fedora market both past and present.

Two of my fedoras, as you know, are Stetson and I'm quite happy with them both. I read threads about Borsellino and they seems to be a favorite of many fedora wearers and they also seem to bring a hefty price, especially the vintage ones. Others also but could be an added expense knowing they are no longer in production but are still in demand when they come up for sale.

Something I'm interested in always makes me want to know as much as possible about....whatever it is.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Just about all hat makers had a range of quality. Dobbs, Cavanagh, Mallory, and dozens of others all made some great hats as well as some not so great ones. If you stick with those made in the 1940s or earlier you probably won’t be disappointed, and many of those made in the ‘50s were also great.

I’m not an expert on vintage hats, so I suggest you do as I do and spend hours reading and reading posts here on the Lounge. Even the old posts where the photos no longer work are full of good information.


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[hatsRme]

There's a comment here somewhere from our member, Besdor, who's family has been retailing hats (Bencraft) longer than most of us have been alive. Steve was paraphrasing a comment made by his father, who said that in his opinion, the best of all felts were made by MacLachlan. That was then, though, and Steve didn't say exactly when the statement was made...