Club Obi Wan

I was just over at Northwest Hats and he had just received some felt bodies from Fepsa. What a contrast between it and a Winchester body. And this is just Fepsa's rabbit body, I'd love to see the beaver. Hopefully Mike will get some of those after a while. Here is a pic of them side by side. Both are raw bodies and have not been pounced by Mike. I'm anxious to see the Fepsa felt finished out into a fedora. The Fepsa is the one on the right. If anyone has a chance to get one of these they won't be disappointed.



fedoralover

The one on right will fade even lighter. It is the color of my beaver after wearing it daily in the FL sunshine. Course even in certain lighting it will look darker.
My beaver fedora is so soft and pliable. Not sure I would want it much smoother or floppier. It is Winchester btw.

At the end of the day I think I will trust John and Steve with the Winchester. It's proven after all.

I'm not sure I understand your post. Northwest hats only has a few of these bodies and still mainly uses winchester beaver and rabbit. The fepsa felt is a "proven felt"as it is a company that's been around awhile and is well known in the hat world as a high quality felt. I posted the pics just to show the difference in the raw bodies. The fepsa felt is much denser and more tightly felted than the winchester. Not saying winchester is a bad felt at all. There is just a difference that's all

fedoralover

Yes, Fespa is a proven felted and I use them myself. The one thing you have to understand about fespa felt fedora lover is they pre-pounce their felt bodies before they ship them to their customers (hatters). Not a fair comparison s one is more of a raw body then the other.

BendingOak wrote:Yes, Fespa is a proven felted and I use them myself. The one thing you have to understand about fespa felt fedora lover is they pre-pounce their felt bodies before they ship them to their customers (hatters). Not a fair comparison s one is more of a raw body then the other.

Thanks John, does the pre pouncing they do account for how dense it feels also? The Winchester body almost felt spongy by comparison. Keep in mind they are both rabbit in the pictures.

Thanks fedoralover

Could be part of it. Also what rabbit felt is that from Winchester. They have more then one.

I agree that they get the nod For better but that doesn't mean winchesters is bad, by no means and this isn't a fare comparison. I will be adding them to my line of offerings. Took some time but so busy with other projects and a long waiting list some time I don't even have time to add product.

BendingOak wrote:Could be part of it. Also what rabbit felt is that from Winchester. They have more then one.

I agree that they get the nod For better but that doesn't mean winchesters is bad, by no means and this isn't a fare comparison. I will be adding them to my line of offerings. Took some time but so busy with other projects and a long waiting list some time I don't even have time to add product.

I believe the winchester body is the regular dress weight rabbit. And I by no means meant to imply Winchester was "bad" but only to show the difference and to show there are options to choose from. Thanks again for your experienced input.

fedoralover

fedoralover wrote:

BendingOak wrote:Could be part of it. Also what rabbit felt is that from Winchester. They have more then one.

I agree that they get the nod For better but that doesn't mean winchesters is bad, by no means and this isn't a fare comparison. I will be adding them to my line of offerings. Took some time but so busy with other projects and a long waiting list some time I don't even have time to add product.

I believe the winchester body is the regular dress weight rabbit. And I by no means meant to imply Winchester was "bad" but only to show the difference and to show there are options to choose from. Thanks again for your experienced input.

fedoralover

well i can vouch for the winchester rabbit felt at Mike's since i happen to have one lid made of it. And i can safely say it's a very fine rabbit felt (and i 've had a few rabbit felt fedoras over the past two years...)
that said, i'm in for a fepsa rabbit felt also (order almost placed)

fedoralover wrote:

BendingOak wrote:Could be part of it. Also what rabbit felt is that from Winchester. They have more then one.

I agree that they get the nod For better but that doesn't mean winchesters is bad, by no means and this isn't a fare comparison. I will be adding them to my line of offerings. Took some time but so busy with other projects and a long waiting list some time I don't even have time to add product.

I believe the winchester body is the regular dress weight rabbit. And I by no means meant to imply Winchester was "bad" but only to show the difference and to show there are options to choose from. Thanks again for your experienced input.

fedoralover

I understand but your image doesn't give a complete story or a accurate comparison. I like both felters, that's why I use both.

Both make an excellent product. There's no need to be weary of a Fepsa product. Optimo uses Fepsa felts. I still prefer vintage

Never said I was. I have both. I like both felters. Wouldn't use them if they were not of high quality.My point is that this isn't a fare comparison as it only tells part of the story. That's all.

the one on the left....izzat someone's mutt...? Is that your dog, Bendable Tree'ster?

BendingOak wrote:Never said I was. I have both. I like both felters. Wouldn't use them if they were not of high quality.My point is that this isn't a fare comparison as it only tells part of the story. That's all.

Uhh..what?

Don't know why you think my comment was directed at you, John. Jeremiah seemed to express some doubt about the Fepsa product in his reply.

Boy, this thread really didn't go the way I intended. Maybe I came across as being down on Winchester, if so I didn't mean it to be. I've seen finished Winchester felt rabbit and beaver hats and they look fantastic. I also have 2 Optimo fepsa felt fedora's in my collection and they also look great. I just never knew what the raw fepsa felt bodies looked like till now and thought I'd post some pics of them compared to Winchester. So my apologies to anyone who took this the wrong way. My Optimo fedora's have much less stiffner in them than the body I saw at Northwest hats, so I know they come in a wide selection. And maybe after Mike finishes one it will be softer as well, but it's probably due to the different specs by Optimo. But I am anxious to see the difference on the two done by the same hatter.

fedoralover

jlee562 wrote:

BendingOak wrote:Never said I was. I have both. I like both felters. Wouldn't use them if they were not of high quality.My point is that this isn't a fare comparison as it only tells part of the story. That's all.

Uhh..what?

Don't know why you think my comment was directed at you, John. Jeremiah seemed to express some doubt about the Fepsa product in his reply.

Sorry. I don't see that post, so yes it looked like it was directed at me.

Fedoralover, without all the info of knowing that fepsa pre pouncing their raw bodies one would assume that there is a vast difference between the two. I'm sorry if I derailed what you wanted this thread to be.

When will I learn to just stay out of it. People really don't want to know.

Yeah, no worries. If John approves of Fepsa, good enough for me. Sorry if I spoke outnof turn.

BendingOak wrote: People really don't want to know.

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I want to know.

John, if you or Art lived in Eugene I'd be at your shop weekly to look at your work and to see what's new. That's why I was fascinated by the look of the fepsa felt body. I love to learn new stuff about hats.

The Northwest is indeed blessed by a number of really great hatters and you all have a niche and offer something a bit different than each other. I know it can be a competitive market but if you think about it that is good because it helps all of you be at the top of your game and I know enough about you all to know you wouldn't want to be anything less.

best regards. fedoralover

Where does Fepsa come from, if I may ask? I know Winchester Felt comes from my county seat of Winchester, TN, but Fepsa doesn't ring a bell.

Regards! Michaelson

Portugal, you can read a bit about them here.

https://www.fepsa.pt/company" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

fedoralover

AH, Portuguese felt. Say no more. Love any felt out of there. GREAT stuff!!!

Thanks for the link!

I just don't recall hearing a company name before.

Either one is a home run when choosing materials. Great choice.

I think the Portuguese felt seems 'denser', but then I have a couple Winchester felts that are JUST as dense as those offerings, so it's all in what is ordered by the hat maker at the time.

Either way, great felt!

Regards! M

This info may be out there, but did Marc ever say whether or not the Henry was a Fepsa body? But I guess that blend wouldn't be a good example of one of their standard offerings, really.

I got to see this fepsa rabbit felt fedora in person before it was sent out to the owner. All I can say is, if anyone has a chance to get a fedora made from this felt, whether it be from Penman or Northwest hats or anyone else that has it, you will not be disappointed. This pic does not do the felt color justice. It is really rich and lustrous. I saw some more bodies in different colors and "WOW" they all look great. If I didn't have so many fedora's already I would be getting one.



fedoralover

I have a fepsa color swatch book in my shop and they do have a good selection of colors. On e I get the details worked out this will be a offering of mine. Most like start with a couple of Cora then expand.

BendingOak wrote:I have a fepsa color swatch book in my shop and they do have a good selection of colors. On e I get the details worked out this will be a offering of mine. Most like start with a couple of Cora then expand.

Do you have any beaver bodies from fepsa John? All I've seen are the rabbit.

fedoralover

fedoralover wrote:

BendingOak wrote:I have a fepsa color swatch book in my shop and they do have a good selection of colors. On e I get the details worked out this will be a offering of mine. Most like start with a couple of Cora then expand.

Do you have any beaver bodies from fepsa John? All I've seen are the rabbit.

fedoralover

Yes. I have 3 brown and 3 grey but these are their standard beaver bodies. These are Marc Kitter beaver bodies.


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