Club Obi Wan

I know this sounds especially bizarre but I have an
Aboriginal trapper friend who is looking to buy an AB
and wondered if the Beaver used in the Hat was Canadian?

I first laughed but then got thinking...Hey..where do Beavers
come from? I know there are Canadian and Northern US Beavers but
are there Chinese Beavers, Brazilian Beavers or possibly Argentinian
Beavers? (I'll stop there, because the absurdity of the question
makes it hard to type). But "Really" I'm serious..

I'm keen to find out as My Friend who teaches trapping is putting on a display and wants to feature the AB as a product based on this tradition.
Not satisfied with just a bit of AB beaver clippings she intends to buy a slightly lower crowned AB and wear it in the bush.

She's a really neat lady I do youth leadership training with. Not being
afraid to cut her own swath she'll be perhaps the first Aboriginal Canadian
wearing an AB.

So...there's got to be a animal specialist amongst us.

P.s. I could also use some help finding some links that will describe
and show the felting process.

Sorry for the really weird question.
Kilgour Trout

Must,....resist,...posting,..., joke that's,...unfit,....for family forum!!
'Blues

i'm in the same boat indy blues......guess we'll just have to giggle to ourselves.

Down boy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqOI7KejIng

Whew, I wasn't the only one down there. It is an interesting question. Never really though of it. I do know up in Northern Alberta there is a Beaver exit and a Beaver entrance sign that gets stolen each time our squadron would go there.

I think Beavers are just about everywhere, I know we have them here in Colorado......minds out of the gutter people.

There are both European and Canadian beavers here, the European ones are pretty rare though.

There're beavers throughout the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California -- used to go trout fishing at some great beaver ponds near Yosemite.

VP wrote:There are both European and Canadian beavers here, the European ones are pretty rare though.

Actually, I think northern European beavers almost went extinct, largely due to Russian trappers in the 19th century. It was the beaver trade in Alaska, Canada and Pacific Northwest that attracted so many Russian trappers to immigrate to those regions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5IlxYlc ... ed&search=

My name is Gater, and I AM CANADIAN!!

From what I understand, most beaver fur used for hats comes from Canada. It is possible that some northern USA beaver is used, but Canadian is the best. What makes it the best is the cold temps the beavers have to reside in. Colder temps equals thicker, higher quality underfur. We have millions of the critters here in the South, they are pests, and a grand nusance. We even brought aligators in to help control the beaver population from stopping up culverts that drain rainwater away. It did not help and now we have an abundance of beaver and aligator. I recall that when I was growing up on a farm, I trapped up until I was 17(got interested in the girls at that time, and something had to go-in this case the trapping went) and my furs were priced depending upon the quality, and the quality ran hand in hand with how cold and long our winter was that particular year. Beaver was not one of the sought after furs at that time, and I assumed it was because the better beaver came from way, way up north, where they had cold winters. Coon, or raccoon on the otherhand fetched a good price(they were used for collars on women's jackets as was the vogue. So, fox, coon, mink otter and muskrat was what was in demand. No one trapped beaver as the price was not right, at least at that time. Plus, you have to set the beaver trap so the animal drowns, if you still want that critter to be in the trap when you ran the trap lines. They would gnaw their own legs off if not drowned. So, the beaver traps were set under the water, to insure this. But I am rambling here as I tend to do.

The Pres of Winchester did tell me that most of their beaver fur came from Canada, and is sent to Europe for processing. A long time to get that answer as I guess the caffeine in my second cup has acted upon me.

I have an email from that guy mentioned Kilgour and will answer him here shortly. Takes me awhile to read all of the emails, and longer to type as I am a one finger typer. Fedora

Hey Folks: It was exactly what I needed to know and a little bit of
fun too!

Steve: Thanks for the exellent inside info on the sources of your felt.
Kaaren (The Female trapper) will be pleased to know.
She actually tried on my AB at the office the other day and she loved it
except for the 5.5 height. With a woman's face she need something a bit lower. I might just snap a shot with my hat on her
(which fits good, size 7) and email it for proportions.

Thanks again for the posts...mind you, It begs the question of how Beavers migrated to North America, assuming they were European migrants
Was it swimming over the arctic, the Eurasian/Alaskan landbridge or possibly small viking ships in the 1100's .

I'm so sorry it just gets funnier as you try and figure it out.

Silly Regards
Kilgour

Kaaren (The Female trapper) will be pleased to know.

Yes, I caught that when I just responded to her email. Apologize for me, please. Fedora

Oh, I am fairly certain beaver was indigenous to North America, and Europe as well. Once the beaver was depleted in Europe, North American beaver actually opened up the west and Canada. All of it went to Europe to make beaver hats. Fedora

Colder temps equals thicker, higher quality underfur.

Not to be mistaken by thicker hair! The animal develops MORE hairs, so there's more volume per cubik millimeter. For example in a warmer country, the fur will "only" contain 20,000 hairs per square cm (Human have 200-300 haire per square cm), while in colder countries it'll develop up to 30,000 - 35,000 hairs per square cm.

Otter and seal (going up to 50,000 hairs per square cm) would be even better

Regards,

Marc

Hey Marc, could you make Swindy an otter fedora?

Hey Marc, could you make Swindy an otter fedora?

That would be a killer hat!!! - I'm only aware of ONE hatter who CLAIMS to be able to get otter rawbodies, but I haven't found a single felter who offers them, so take this with a grain of salt

Regards,

Marc

Fedora wrote:Plus, you have to set the beaver trap so the animal drowns, if you still want that critter to be in the trap when you ran the trap lines. They would gnaw their own legs off if not drowned.

Why couldn't you just shave them and let them go?

When a colleague asked me in suspicious tones how they got the rabbit fur for my Akubra, I smelled trouble so I simply explained they shaved the little critters and kept them warm till the fur grew back. She believed it and I was spared a tongue lashing.

And she believed you!?

It's all in the delivery. As I recall the topic never came up again.

Why couldn't you just shave them and let them go?

Shave a beaver, then let it go home? I don't think I would touch that with a 10 foot pole with an 8 foot extension!! Fedora

They are the second-largest rodent in the world (after the capybara).

I did not know that they were rodents...weird.

I trapped alot of muskrat to sell when I was a teenager, but we usually just killed the beavers we came across as the dams they built usually caused flooding, they tended to eat to many fish in our fishing ponds and my grandpa hated them.

My grandpa hates them too because they destroy his forest.

I'm only aware of ONE hatter who CLAIMS to be able to get otter rawbodies, but I haven't found a single felter who offers them, so take this with a grain of salt

Yeah, he calls it MARKETING, I call it LYING. It is so funny how those tall tales become transparent once you are in the hat trade for awhile. Once you talk to other genuine hatters, it doesn't take long to separate the wheat from the chaff. This stuff will follow you into infinity, so you better be honest and straightforward from the get-go if you want to sell anything online. If not, you will find yourself bitten hard in the rump in short order. That has already happened in this case. The only "marks" these days are new people who are getting online, and have not spent time yet in researching on Google. If you HAVE to sell your hats on ebay, you are in the wrong business. It is the last resort for someone who has soiled their own bed. And a good lesson for anyone here who in the future wants to make and sell goods on the internet. Fedora

Fedora wrote:

Why couldn't you just shave them and let them go?

Shave a beaver, then let it go home? I don't think I would touch that with a 10 foot pole with an 8 foot extension!! Fedora

a-HEM!

In an attempt to go against my usual inclinations, all I can say is the full moon we are currently experiencing is referred to as 'The Beaver Moon'.

No, really, it's true. Don't know why, but I thought you'd like to know that. Fedora, whose hat did you make during a Beaver Moon?

http://www.farmersalmanac.com/astronomy ... names.html

• Full Beaver Moon - November This was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for winter. It is sometimes also referred to as the Frosty Moon.

I saw the chimpmunk moon once, but it was really tiny.

And here I thought it was only a paper moon!

Oh, boy, here we go again!

All this talk about moons has me wanting to turn the other cheek.

Apart from beaver, rabbit, nutria, wool, etc., what other animals are used in making hats?

From the book "Hat talk" from Debbie Henderson, where a felter talks about the big fur desease back in the days:

"When a critter came past the factory and it had a fur, it was turned into a hat."

I guess that limits the answer of your question to your own imagination.

Regards,

Marc

So I guess you COULD make a hat out of chipmunks. Lots and lots of chipmunks...

I hear jack#$$ fur hats are hard to style, due to the stubborn nature of the beast.

As Marc said, any underfur can be used to make a hat from. Even mice and rats. Not a good mental image to me. I would think seal fur would be great, as they are water animals. But unlike beaver, these critters are not pests. I just feel better knowing at least the choice fur(beaver) comes from animals that would be killed anyways as they do cause farmers alot of chagrin when they flood fields. We have so many around here, stopping up culverts, and putting dams across streams that need to be free flowing, that the taxpayers have to anti up and contract out beaver eradication. We brought in gators years ago to help control the beaver population, which helped non at all. We now have gators living in all of the waters around here. They seem to get along quite well with beavers. Gators like backwaters, and the beavers provide this for them, which seemingly has increased their numbers. Instead of keeping the beaver population in control, the beaver dams have allowed for gators to flourish. Ironic. Fedora

Kind of like the Federal introduction of kudzu for natural shading in the South, introduced in the 30's. :evil:

So this one surprised you?

Regards! Michaelson

Kind of like the Federal introduction of kudzu for natural shading in the South, introduced in the 30's.

So this one surprised you?

Ah yes, the old Kudzu introduction. Brought over to help with soil erosion, and is now a curse. It is pretty though, as it covers the trees and forms cathedrals.(killing the trees in the process) I always wanted to write a book called Kudzu Kathedrals. I came up with the title real quick, but drew a blank when I tried to formulate a plot!!!! Might be a good title for a poem, that only southerners would appreciate. I have heard this stuff makes fine food for bovines, but have never seen anyone to date ever bale it up and use it. I guess it is hard to get a hay baler up into the tree tops. Fedora

Fedora wrote: I always wanted to write a book called Kudzu Kathedrals. I came up with the title real quick, but drew a blank when I tried to formulate a plot!!!!

Make it a book of photographs, then you don't need a plot.

But if you die in the process, then you WILL need a plot!

I would think seal fur would be great, as they are water animals.

I'm looking into it my friend (can't wait to receive a hundred e-mails from PETA and Greenpeace... ). As some of you might know, I'm originally from Denmark. Now, Greenland again is a part of Denmark (don't start any politics please, I'm just stating what is tought in school, ok?) and in Greenland a certain number of seals can be shot per year and the fur is sold (if not used by the Inuit). So I can get it LEGALLY (like it or not).

I'll see if my felter would be willing to make such thing, but going by the prices for seal skins, I believe that most people would be REALLY pleased with beaver instead

Regards,

Marc

Okay, here's one... a baby seal walks into a club...

(Ducks back under the infamous Plymouth)

I thought it was a Plymouth.

Look again, you're eyes must be fooling you.

Any of you mad hatters want to try your hand at making your own felt? I've shot six beaver this summer and still had another family of them move in on the property in their place. We've had the ### torn down twice this year. Now we've got river otters moved in on the land too. How many pounds of the stuff do you need to make a hat? And how the heck do you shave a Plymouth?

Curator Rick wrote:Any of you mad hatters want to try your hand at making your own felt?

I was making my own felt for a while, but I got a topical cream, and it cleared right up. 8-[