Club Obi Wan

Why does my fed always taper after time. Does anyone else ever feel that it takes so much work to make a felt hat look beaten up and uncared-for? I'm a bit of a hat collector and now own 21 felt hats, most of which are different types of fedora. So I'm not new to felt hats.

I want some of my hats to look neat, clean and smart, but some I want to look beaten up and worn. But it takes a lot of work to give it that distressed look. The problem is, by the time it is distressed, it has lost the untapered Indy look. Any suggestions on a good way to distress without destroying?

Welcome to COW!

As you might have noticed from your own experiences all felt hats taper in time. Rabit hats will do this sooner than beaver hats and some hatters (like the guys of AB and BendingOak) have found ways to stabelize the felt, but they will taper eventualy. The only thing that can be done about this is reblocking them when they do.

Distressing them quicker (so they haven't tapered yet) is something that kan be done by aplying some Fullers Earth (a type of clay) which gives it that dusty look. This is the same stuff that they use in filmmaking to age costumes and props.

Regards, Geert

A hat made of better quality felt will distress without tapering as much as one of lesser quality felt. Pure beaver is the best around and will take a good time to taper. You might consider going with a beaver felt hat if that is the case. Getting your hats reblocked is another option but the hat is cleaned during that process so you have to start all over again.

Dave

Welcome to COW Snapbrim!
Always room for a pure Beaver felt Indy!

Thanks for the advice . Does anyone know of a good beaver felt indy?

Snapbrim76 wrote:Thanks for the advice . Does anyone know of a good beaver felt indy?

Well Yes

There is this one:
http://www.villagehatshop.com/indiana_j ... r_hat.html

Dutch, you crack me up, man.

You can go with Penman, Adventurebilt, or Adventurebilt Deluxe. Those are THE best hats, in my honest opinion. Marc is not currently taking orders on the AB Deluxe, but will do so in a couple of months. Right now, you have John Penman and Steve Delk. All these hatters work with beaver and will make you THE BEST hat you can buy.

Dave

Edit: The Penman is $275 and the AB is $400. I think John's wait time is about four months now and Steve's is about a year.

Another nice option is the Adventurebilt Henry. It is a blend of beaver and rabbit...20% beaver I believe. I have one and it is absolutely beautiful, soft, and comfy. Plus, you don't have the wait times you do with the others. However, for just beaver felt, Penman, AB, and AB Deluxe are top of the line.

Thanks everyone

Hi mark seven, how's it going? Thanks for telling me about COW - it's awesome. I'm gonna be in bath tomorrow (20th June) so I'll bring my Fed I so you can see it if you're there.

Hope to see you again soon mate.

Snapbrim76 wrote:I'm gonna be in bath tomorrow (20th June) so I'll bring my Fed I so you can see it if you're there.

Is it that time of the year already? Sorry, couldn't resist. Had to read twice, though.

As for your questions, hats taper, because the felt isn't quite dead yet. No real way to prevent it.
If you want a beaten up hat, just beat it up. Sit on it, hit it as hard as you can, throw it around the house, etc. To simulate dirt, you can use Fuller's Earth as suggested. Personally, I used sawdust and talcum powder.

I would just do to the new Akubra what D.N. did to the HJ. Beat it up, sit on it, and dust it down with natural Fuller's Earth. It will then look well worn, but still new. Fedora