Moderators: Indiana Jeff, Dalexs
, but nothing compares to this absolute GEM. The felt is a deep, rich, vibrant brown; the style, while not "Indy", is sensational; and the fit... like a glove. Wore it all weekend, despite the warm temperatures here (high 70's/low 80's) and got nothing but compliments. 
All I can say is, that I HAVE started saving up for grey rawbodies...Marc, can you make this hat in grey? Because if you can, I'll start saving up right now (seriously)
I do however have some investments that I want to look into as well yet (a specially tanned roo hide sweatband, a stitched logo on the liner, a dressweight seal fur felt rawbody in Indy brown etc. etc. etc.), but stay tuned.FORGET EXPENSIVE SWEATBANDS AND SAVE UP FOR THE GREY RAWBODIES!!!!!!!!!!!Marc wrote:I'm glad you like it Randy!!! Thanks for sharing the pics.
All I can say is, that I HAVE started saving up for grey rawbodies...Marc, can you make this hat in grey? Because if you can, I'll start saving up right now (seriously)I do however have some investments that I want to look into as well yet (a specially tanned roo hide sweatband, a stitched logo on the liner, a dressweight seal fur felt rawbody in Indy brown etc. etc. etc.), but stay tuned.
Regards,
Marc
Nah, that would sound extremely arrogantmarc,
you forgot to mention:
"and in this race, theres no silver medal for second place....."
Yeah, just e-mail Marc. Or sent him a pm. I'll make sure he replies in timely mannerMaybe I'm a fool, and have just not been paying attention, but how does one from the US and A order an Adventurebilt Deluxe?
Email Marc.
I have heard he makes great cowboy hats
](./images/smilies/Indy_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
). Due to the "seriously ethic situation" it will probably remain the only one ever being made - even though I'd like to offer a highly limited edition of ten.From what I understand Nutria is not very desirable for an Indy Fedora. It felts very easily and fast (which makes it cheap to produce) and LOOKS like beaver, but the felt keeps kreeping and felting "forever". There's just no way to get nutria felt to stay in shape and for people who hate taper... you get the idea.
Seems like dealing with otter pelts is strictly forbidden, so...
Nutria is still being used. I got a few nutria bodies from Argentina when I first started hatmaking, and Portugal still makes the pure nutria as well as well as various blends. Hatco (Stetson, Resistol, Charlie One Horse, etc) more than likely still makes nutria hats. It is basically priced right up there with beaver, as they are similiar in feel and appearance. The two basic fur felts are generally rabbit and beaver, and various blends of these two. But, novelty furs like nutria and mink are still used, but not like in the old days. Even chinchilla. For me, since beaver was always considered to be the best, I use it. The exotics like chinchilla are merely a way to get more money for a hat, and a marketing ploy. That is fairly traditional in the hat industry. So, it isn't anything new. I do not think pure beaver felt can be beat as far as hats go. Remember feltmaking is a really old art, and the old guys knew what was the best and that was always beaver. The American west was opened up due to the demand of beaver fur, once Europe trapped them to extinction. The cheapest priced fur felt is rabbit, and always has been. You can farm raise rabbits, while beavers cannot be. You can even farm raise mink, but while the mink makes great mink coats, it never was superior to the good old beaver. We are covered up with beaver and nutria in the South, but the beaver used for hats comes from way up north, with the best coming out of Canada. The colder the climate, the better the fur. FedoraWhy isn't nutria used more often? By all (well, most...) accounts, it makes an outstanding felt. Being a pest animal, it should be easy to obtain, and should make a good quality felt (better than rabbit) at a lower price than beaver. (shouldn't it?)
Maybe it's just that the felters don't want to make high quality at low price...they'd much rather sell mass quantities of the rabbit for quick profit, and then sell the high-dollar beaver for the upscale and not bother with trying to make a high-quality low-price felt, which would, by it's nature, kill sales of the higher-dollar beaver felt...
I read somewhere that polar bear fur was more like quills - hollow inside. Might not make the best hat (one for lightwight summer wear maybeVP wrote:How about polar bear fur? Or penguin fur?Marc wrote:Which is why I believe that a seal fur would make a KILLER feltThe colder the climate, the better the fur.
). rcinlv wrote:I just got this in the mail, fresh from Marc. I have several hats, including a vintage 80's Stetson Indy,
Bravo, Marc!
I know how hard it was to talk mine into it. 
..I love the Hughes style-very classy(any chance of a pic of you wearing it?),enjoy! 
The quest for the AB-Dlx. is NOT the quest for fast money nor to produce as many as possible. It is a quest for the ultimate in Indygear headwear.
