Steve can probably answer this for me.
How long does it take a rabbit felt hat to "die"? I.e., become taper proof, and stop reacting to wet and dry.
I heard it was about 7 years, but I'm not sure on that one.
Dead felt
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Castor Dioscuri
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Re: Dead felt
I believe it's about 8 years for beaver felt to "die", so I'm guessing rabbit will be the same. Maybe...Magno wrote:Steve can probably answer this for me.
How long does it take a rabbit felt hat to "die"? I.e., become taper proof, and stop reacting to wet and dry.
I heard it was about 7 years, but I'm not sure on that one.
By the way, I like you avatar
Actually Marc told me about the amount of time it takes for fur to die a natural death. And, I can't recall exactly how many years that was.
Back in the old days of hatting, the furs were aged prior to being used in felting a hat. The aging stabilized the fur, and added a mellowness. Think of a vintage Borsalino.
Today, this is no longer done. So, all hats are made with "green fur" and all of the aging has to occur "after" felting. This is not so good.
Marc and I have a little technique he learned about from an old retired hatter in Europe, that adds a little age to the fur artificially. But this requires the hats to stay on the blocks a very long time, which adds to our lead times. It does not replace natural aging, but does help stabilize the fur more so, than if we did not do it.
But with that said, the best hats are made from aged fur, whether it is rabbit, beaver or Buffalo! And of course, this is no longer used in modern felt factories. Sad. Fedora
Back in the old days of hatting, the furs were aged prior to being used in felting a hat. The aging stabilized the fur, and added a mellowness. Think of a vintage Borsalino.
Today, this is no longer done. So, all hats are made with "green fur" and all of the aging has to occur "after" felting. This is not so good.
Marc and I have a little technique he learned about from an old retired hatter in Europe, that adds a little age to the fur artificially. But this requires the hats to stay on the blocks a very long time, which adds to our lead times. It does not replace natural aging, but does help stabilize the fur more so, than if we did not do it.
But with that said, the best hats are made from aged fur, whether it is rabbit, beaver or Buffalo! And of course, this is no longer used in modern felt factories. Sad. Fedora
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Michaelson
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Nicolas Jones
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You don't know that Michaelson ? 
This is what I found on the web:
In times past, a mercury solution was commonly used in the felting process. Mercury nitrate was used in processing the animal hair that is used in making felt.
It caused the fibers of the fur to separate from the pelt and to mat together more readily. This is called "carroting"
Actually I did not even know that a hat could die.
So another question : does reblocking bring the felt to life? (with the use of steam).
Regards!
Nico
This is what I found on the web:
In times past, a mercury solution was commonly used in the felting process. Mercury nitrate was used in processing the animal hair that is used in making felt.
It caused the fibers of the fur to separate from the pelt and to mat together more readily. This is called "carroting"
Actually I did not even know that a hat could die.
So another question : does reblocking bring the felt to life? (with the use of steam).
Regards!
Nico
I know you are kidding, but...
I have a pint-size mason jar full of mercury on my desk right now! If you want this shipped, the cost by weight would be astronomical. A gallon would weight about 113 pounds as opposed to a gallon of water at 8.34 pounds. That little 16 ounce jar must weigh about 15 pounds. Amazing stuff if you do not ingest it, absorb it through the skin or heat it and sniff it.
I would like to throw this out there, but wouldn't the death of the felt have some relation to how the hat was treated as it was "dying?" What I mean is, wouldn't a hat that has been rained on, worn in the sun and reblocked 10 times be considered more "dead" than one that was exactly the same age and kept on the closet shelf? I would think that the continuous stretching and shrinking of the felt - along with the loss of the natural oils and moisture would accelerate felt death.
I doubt it is possible to say that there is a life expectancy. It depends on fur blend, treatment, thickess, etc...
I have a pint-size mason jar full of mercury on my desk right now! If you want this shipped, the cost by weight would be astronomical. A gallon would weight about 113 pounds as opposed to a gallon of water at 8.34 pounds. That little 16 ounce jar must weigh about 15 pounds. Amazing stuff if you do not ingest it, absorb it through the skin or heat it and sniff it.
I would like to throw this out there, but wouldn't the death of the felt have some relation to how the hat was treated as it was "dying?" What I mean is, wouldn't a hat that has been rained on, worn in the sun and reblocked 10 times be considered more "dead" than one that was exactly the same age and kept on the closet shelf? I would think that the continuous stretching and shrinking of the felt - along with the loss of the natural oils and moisture would accelerate felt death.
I doubt it is possible to say that there is a life expectancy. It depends on fur blend, treatment, thickess, etc...
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Michaelson
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Kentucky Blues
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Way more than the vapors are poisonous although the mercury pollution typically starts out that way. Mercury is a Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxin. Mercury is released into the air from the burning of fossil fuels. It falls down directly onto waterways or is deposited on land where it can be washed into the water. Bacteria in the water cause chemical changes that transform mercury into a highly toxic form - methylmercury.gwyddion wrote:Ehm, you guys know that mercury is extremely poisonous? well, mercury vapours are.
It contaminates many lakes and streams. Once it gets into organic tissue it is very difficult to remove it. So the little fish eats mercury containing plants; the bigger fish eats the little fish; the even bigger fish eats that fish. The final consumer eats the biggest fish. The bigger the fish the bigger the chances of mercury contamination through ingestion. So who says fish is healthy? But back to the fun...
That would be great. I will ship that out immediately since my boss must not like cool shiny liquid metal. Can you believe that when I was playing with it at lunchtime by showing fellow employees how I can dip my sandwich into it and it does not get wet - he told me to cut it out? What a jerk. Anyways, if your dog starts to exhibit behavior like the T-1000 from Terminator 2, you will want to decrease the amount in the bowl next to the water bowl. He also may experience extreme weight gain.Indiana G wrote:rick, shipping is no problem as i use my company's fedex account. fire it over my way so i can play with it.......so do i just dump it on my hat...is that the idea???....i figure when i'm not using it i can keep it in a plastic yogurt tub next to my dog's water bowl........
