Club Obi Wan

After a chat with Mark Seven I realize I haven't seen many beaver SoC hats. Is that because you just can't distress beaver felt like you can with rabbit unless you work it for years. And if so has anyone managed to spend years distressing a beaver hat into a good SoC? If so, can we please display pics and post comments telling us who made it and to what dimensions.

Thanks

The AB I posted in the SoC thread is beaver.

Dave

Honestly, pure beaver hats don't do well for SOC hats. They do well for anything but the SOC hat. The reason is the felt. Beaver is such high quality stuff that it doesn't generally display the things that make a SOC hat. Now granted, you COULD turn it into one, but it would take ALOT of work and time. Beaver is just too good to bulge correctly. And face it, without the bulging of the felt, any SOC hat comes up short. The SOC fedora is not your typical fedora. I have watched alot of old films, and nothing I have seen in vintage hats resembles the SOC hat. The old hats held their shape very well, which of course was a PLUS, back then. Money was tight, and the less you had to refurb a hat, the better it was on the wallet back then. So, hats were made better.

As much as we love that SOC look, from a hatter's veiwpoint, it's not a hat of high quality, due to the way the felt lost its shape. A hat is judged by hatters, in how well it holds the original block shape, over time. And how well the brim break stayed at 90 degrees. Neither of which can be said of the SOC fedora.

I think I could take a beaver hat and get a fair SOC hat, but never anything like the right rabbit felt would produce. But it would take alot of weird techniques, not used on the film hat in order to do it. You would have to originally not put in a nice clean brim break for one, when you were making the hat. And, you would almost have to have a block that has bulges built into it, and this of course could be done if you had the time and the eye to make the block.

But I don't wnat to throw cold water on any attempts, by no means! It would be great to see some attempts at this. Certain folks like Fedoraraiders and Holt might pull it off. But I would bet, they would have a much harder time, if they used pure beaver felt. Just my opinion of course. Fedora

Like trying to make a sow's ear out of a silk purse, Fedora?

Ok Doc i'll check that out.

Steve, thanks for your comment. I thought that might be the case. I guess the answer is work hard at it or appreciate that its a tough hat that will look smart for a long time. You know what, i've modelled all my fedoras on the SoC hat, even the smart ones i wear with a suit. It's a style that just seems to work. I use a crease to create that bulge or mushroom effect without steam or water. It makes a good hat look great and gives the illusion of reverse taper - which i love.

Please anyone feel free to post more pics on this thread of any beaver SoCs. I'm interested to see.

Here is one of my posts from the SoC display thread.

DR Ulloa wrote:Did some more work on the AB and snapped off a couple photos. I defined the bulge over the left side of the ribbon and got the hat to start mushrooming on the right side. I also deepened the channel that runs under the ribbon but the light washed it out.

Here is one outside, in natural lighting.



Outside, on my head.




I took a page out of Holt's book and put the hat under a light for these.




Dave

Dave

Hah!

I have one that I ordered from Steve. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to add my own personal touches to it yet. Why? Well it turns out that the hat is boxed up and sitting in a forgotten crate someplace deep within a government warehouse where nobody knows what is contained within. Funny thing is it is the truth!

I can't wait to get it back in a few months. I'll have to post some pictures of it along with my other Indy fedoras when I get back. Give it some time, there will be pictures of it posted......eventually.

Regards to all,
Hollis

Sorry to hear about your hat. You'll hav it on your head in no time. Keep your head down, Hollis, and stay safe.

Dave

Thanks for your photos Doc, once again i love the way you do a loose Raiders SoC bash and then allow it to distress naturally. Thats what i intend to do with my hats. For me it has to look natural.

Will do Dave.

Heck I have to stay safe if for no other reason than to compare AB SOC hats with you. Well, maybe there is a bit more to stay safe for.

That hat would have gotten some very nice distressing if it had made it to you. I'll definately compare when you get back home. I ain't goin' anywhere.

Dave

Montana Jones wrote: Well it turns out that the hat is boxed up and sitting in a forgotten crate someplace deep within a government warehouse where nobody knows what is contained within. Funny thing is it is the truth!

Will it take gun powder flung thru the air to find it?

....I don't really know. Steve did mention that that hat in particular was rare and is 1 of only 13 as he was recruited to make some hats but was forced into a vehicle, blindfolded and driven to an undisclosed location. From there he was forced to use certain materials to make the hats, the likes of which he had never seen before….