Vintage Borsalino verses New Winchester felt

[fedoralover]

Okay just for fun, here's a pic of a vintage borsalino and below it I've reposted the pic of my new 100% beaver felt that is made by Winchester felts from which Steve Delk made into a very nice vintage style fedora.

The borsalino has a smaller brim and crown and the felt is probably half the weight of the Winchester felt. I like the dimensions of the new one better than the old one. But the color on the vintage one is richer than on the new one.

fedoralover

 

[riccardo]

very beautiful hats.

Hi fedoralover,
very beautiful hats, compliments, and very nice face...you wear very well those hats.
But i see,by your pics, that there is a lot of sun...is there hot?
How are you ,with your felt hat, in a sunny day?
How is the temperature here...how many degree centigrade?
...
It's for me a recurrent querstion!!

Beautiful hats, nice face, beautiful place...house!!
Best regards.
Riccardo

 

[riccardo]

the first one is better than the second....

Okay just for fun, here's a pic of a vintage borsalino and below it I've reposted the pic of my new 100% beaver felt that is made by Winchester felts from which Steve Delk made into a very nice vintage style fedora.

The borsalino has a smaller brim and crown and the felt is probably half the weight of the Winchester felt. I like the dimensions of the new one better than the old one. But the color on the vintage one is richer than on the new one.

fedoralover

Hi,
for me you wear better the first hat (the Borsalino i think) than the second...
But both are very beautiful.

Riccardo.

 

[fedoralover]

Riccardo, thanks for the compliments. I like both of these hats, they are a bit different but I like the variety so that's okay. It gets up into the 80s and sometimes 90s here in Oregon where I live. Occasionally into the 100s. I wear felt hats in all degree's of weather. Of course I have some that are lighter weight than others and those are the main ones I wear.

regards fedoralover

 

[fedoralover]

Scot, comparing the new Adventurebilt to a federation deluxe (which I have) is like comaring a Rolls Royce to a ford pinto. The Adventurebilt is 100% beaver, the fed deluxe is all rabbit. There simply is no comparison. For another 100 dollars you can get the Adventurebilt and it is well worth it.

The borsalino is very soft and will fold in your hand. I have a Borsalino that is even softer, so I am sure I know what yours is like. It's almost like a dish rag for being soft and floppy. I personally like them like that as opposed to a stiff one, but eveyone has their own tastes.

regards fedoralover

 

[Brad Bowers]

Wow, fedoralover. I have to say I like them both! Steve did a great job on that hat. Looks like he's found a niche for vintage-styled hats, not just IJ. Congrats on the new hat.

Brad

 

[fedoralover]

The borsalino came to me shaped horrible, I had to reshape both the crown and brim, The crown is tapered a little more than I like but not so bad I can't wear it.
As regards the super soft and floppy borsalinos, I think there is a good possibility that these were originally made to be the fold up travel borsalinos and somewhere along the line they were no longer folded up. I have one that is described just as Scott says his is and it is much softer and more pliable than my others are. It is just a theory however and I have no way to substantiate it.

We are fortunate here at the lounge to know of hatters that can really give us an excellent vintage reproduction fedora. Art and Steve are two examples. Steve really came through for me on this one. I had originally intended to let Art put a bound edge on it, but I've decided to leave it as it is.

regards fedoralover

 

[jamespowers]

The travel Borsalinos should be easy to spot. They have no liner, a very soft sweatband, very thin floppy felt and a narrow ribbon that could also be used to hold the hat in a rolled up position. If you have a hat that meets those criterion, you have a travel hat.
My wife has a really floppy Borsalino. It is a dark blue. The thing was a mess. I cheated though. I just took it to Art and had him make it look good again. It is just too hard to get the hat to behave when it has no memory of what it wants to be. It has to be professionally blocked and cleaned to hold its shape right. I suppose you could do it yourself if you happened to have all the blocks, flanges, chemicals, heated sandbag and a host of other tools but that would cost more than having it done and take a long time to find the tools.
Both hats you have there are nice Fed. They both look fine and have different uses really. You can always use both. I am going to have to post a few pics of some of my newer acquisitions.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Winkydink]

great hat fedoralover. steve is the best.

wear it in good health,

winky.