Checking felt quality

[LexB]

I am currently ordering samples from different suppliers to start my hat making journey. They are all the same weight, and 100% rabbit fur felt.. but being a beginner I am seeking advice on how to check & compare quality across the 4 different suppliers.
Or maybe I could seek advice from an outside source?

Or will this be a matter of feeling the different hat bodies and just "knowing"?

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I am currently ordering samples from different suppliers to start my hat making journey. They are all the same weight, and 100% rabbit fur felt.. but being a beginner I am seeking advice on how to check & compare quality across the 4 different suppliers.
Or maybe I could seek advice from an outside source?

Or will this be a matter of feeling the different hat bodies and just "knowing"?

I understand four suppliers, but are the felts from four different felters?

I’m unaware of any metrics used to judge felt. It’s all about the look and feel of the finished hat, and most of those attributes don’t lend themselves to quantification.

 

[belfastboy]

I understand four suppliers, but are the felts from four different felters?

I’m unaware of any metrics used to judge felt. It’s all about the look and feel of the finished hat, and most of those attributes don’t lend themselves to quantification.

I concur with "Deadly's post. You may be buying felts from 4 different suppliers but are you getting felts from 4 different manufacturers? I too am in the process of learning the craft and am seeking out suppliers. It seems each supply house has slightly different offerings: price points/weights/colours even from the same manufacturer.
My approach is buying a variety of felt types, rabbit, hare, beaver, beaver blends, nutrias, different finishes, differing weights and then playing with them to learn what works; what felt do I want to work with, what felt works best with certain styles, does it require stiffener etc etc?

 

[belfastboy]

A further thought; even a master hatter will not know, when pouncing, how far down into the felt to take the pouncing before exposing the shellac core. You just know when you have gone too far. So learning the feel, the look of the felt by working with it is an integral part of learning the craft and I suspect the learning process involves the screwing up of a number of felts along the way.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

A further thought; even a master hatter will not know, when pouncing, how far down into the felt to take the pouncing before exposing the shellac core. You just know when you have gone too far. So learning the feel, the look of the felt by working with it is an integral part of learning the craft and I suspect the learning process involves the screwing up of a number of felts along the way.

Do all fur felt hat bodies have a shellac core? Some seem to not have a core of any kind when I handle them.

 

[belfastboy]

Do all fur felt hat bodies have a shellac core? Some seem to not have a core of any kind when I handle them.

I managed to get my hands on a Winchester full beaver. The felt is thick and lush. I pounced it lightly and when finishing it with a 1200 grit one pass and the colour changed to mottled...somewhat like a dappled pony. Rick advised that the mottling is what hitting the shellac core looks like. I think it is on the Agnoulita site where he lists the shellac/stiffness measure? One other thing with the Winchester felt....in the pouncing I created what looks like a divot...early stage of a moth nibble. Rick also advised the Winchester felts can do this and suggested a very very light hand on the pounce. Too aggressive can pull a chunk of felt away and create a void in the felt. He says that in his experience Winchester's are more prone to this than any other felts

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I managed to get my hands on a Winchester full beaver. The felt is thick and lush. I pounced it lightly and when finishing it with a 1200 grit one pass and the colour changed to mottled...somewhat like a dappled pony. Rick advised that the mottling is what hitting the shellac core looks like. I think it is on the Agnoulita site where he lists the shellac/stiffness measure? One other thing with the Winchester felt....in the pouncing I created what looks like a divot...early stage of a moth nibble. Rick also advised the Winchester felts can do this and suggested a very very light hand on the pounce. Too aggressive can pull a chunk of felt away and create a void in the felt. He says that in his experience Winchester's are more prone to this than any other felts

I’ve had a few hatters, including Rick, have to start over when they hit the shellac core. Art mentioned using alcohol to coax the shellac back down, but I’m sure that’s only for mild cases. Other felts just don’t feel like they have a “core.” What do I know?

If you could get that dappled effect consistent throughout the hat you might have something!

 

[belfastboy]

I’ve had a few hatters, including Rick, have to start over when they hit the shellac core. Art mentioned using alcohol to coax the shellac back down, but I’m sure that’s only for mild cases. Other felts just don’t feel like they have a “core.” What do I know?

If you could get that dappled effect consistent throughout the hat you might have something!

Yeh, I could call it my "Appaloosa" model. I gave it a good spray with the denatured alcohol and it pretty much went away. I left the divot as it is a very light coloured felt and tough to repair. The felt definitely did not need any additional shellac but the Tonak rabbit really did need it on the brim. I have a really large felt from Guy Morse-Brown in a sky blue...a ladies felt. It is very very floppy and thin felt ….hard to believe there is any shellac in it at all. It will need a generous application if I want the brim to take any shape at all....and perhaps the crown as well.