AB beaver felt.

[Flattery]

I recently had my AB reblocked (about two weeks ago), and it's so humid where I live right now that the stiffener wore off fast, and the felt doesnt' have that rich color any more. The felt is not quite as smooth to the touch, either. This, I"m sure, is just a natural occurence with any hat felt, as it happened to my hat before it was reblocked, but not as fast.

My questions are:
1. Is the rich color a product of the stiffener and reblocking process?
2. Is there anything I can do at home to restore that particular look?

Don't get me wrong -- I love the look of a well worn hat, but this happened so fast due to the humidity and some rain that it had me slightly concerned.

[Marc]

Stiffener doesn't just "wear off" like that. In fact it's a real pain in the butt to get rid of the stuff, if there's too much of it in the felt, so I doubt that the color problem has to do with the stiffner.

The humidity however CAN affect the surface of the felt on some hats, mainly rabit. That is due to the humidity "opening up" the pores of the felt that was once ironed down. I'm however quite surprised to read this regarding an AB, as this felt is POUNCED smooth rather the ironed flat. Have you used SERIOUS steam on the hat? - Or is it a rabit version? - Or did you use any chemical to make the felt more resistent against water?

The color is neither an effect of the stiffner nor the blocking. The raw bodies come in that color. I've personally experienced how a dusty hat - when worn in humid weather - looks sort of faded within very short time. That is due to the humidy attaching the (lighter colored) dust to the felt. If that's the case, you can simply take a damb (not wet) cloth and carefully clean the hat counter clockwise. Preferable you'll brush it off with a hat brush previously.

Regards,

Marc

[Erri]

2. Is there anything I can do at home to restore that particular look?

I own a AB rabbit (that always disgusts most of the other AB beaver owners )

this is how i keep it:

I still have the original evenopment where i still keep it in this way



Then i put it in my wardrobe with a thin tissue on it to cover it. This keeps my hat far from dust as long as possible. This way i can keep it as much as i can at unvariable conditions of humidity and far from dust!

[Flattery]

Thanks for the info, gentlemen.

I usually keep my hat covered from dust, but it was rained on the other day, but not so much that it wouldn't dry completely in 10-15 minutes.

Have you used SERIOUS steam on the hat? - Or is it a rabit version? - Or did you use any chemical to make the felt more resistent against water?

I haven't steamed it nor used any product whatsoever since I received it back from Steve. I'm positive that it's the humidity here (the heat index is averaging mid-90's to 100 degrees).

In regard to the hat brush -- is there a particular one I should use, and where might I get one?

I thought about steaming the hat lightly to reactivate the stiffener, but within about four days of having received the back from Steve, the brim is completely plyable while not having lost its shape at all.

Again, these are not complaints (if you're reading this, Steve). I'm simply wondering if this is unusual for a pure beaver hat after a recent reblock.

[prairiejones]

Here's a brush. http://davidmorgan.com/proddetail.html? ... umber=3001

[Erri]

Do you think that Borsalino sells this stuff? Should i go to check it to my next borsalino shop?

[Fedora]

This is a new one. I do not know what exactly is going on. I have reblocked a couple of hats 3 or 4 times to get the size right. (the guy thought he wore a 7 1/4, and through trial and error and 3 reblocks, he found out he wore a 6 5/8) Even with several reblocks I never noticed anything about the color changing. This is good dye in this Winchester felt, as it does not bleed, so I do not think it is the dye causing the problem. I would take a mildly damp cloth, and gently rub the hat in a counter clockwise motion, not getting the felt too wet. Let it dry, and then use a brim brush and brush the nap counterclockwise again. This should solve the problem. regards, Fedora

[Flattery]

Thanks, Prairiejones, for the link. I'll give it a look.

I would take a mildly damp cloth, and gently rub the hat in a counter clockwise motion, not getting the felt too wet. Let it dry, and then use a brim brush and brush the nap counterclockwise again. This should solve the problem.

And thank you, Steve. I'll do that soon as I have the brush.

[prairiejones]

No problem, Jayhawk. Anything for a fellow Prairie dweller.

[fedoralover]

Another hatter who has a business in Montana and deals mostly with western hats and has had years of experience using Winchester felt said that it is the most color fast felt he has ever used.

fedoralover

[Fedora]

Another hatter who has a business in Montana and deals mostly with western hats and has had years of experience using Winchester felt said that it is the most color fast felt he has ever used.

I discovered the same thing after working with this felt. It has the best colorfastness of any felt that I have seen. Including some of the higher end stuff that I have been exposed to. Greg, the Pres of the company is proud of his dye. He stressed this to me in early conversations. I saw what he was talking about later on. It comes from France. There is more to a good felt than just the felt itself. You can have really fine felt with a less quality dye, and I have seen those. They fade out too fast, but the felt will still be in excellent condition, otherwise. Fedora