Beaver Brand?

[funneman]

Hello Gents,

I'm looking at a black fedora that supposedly has the brand name "Beaver"
the seller says the felt is described inside the hat as "Goney" or "Coney" fur.

Anyone have info on this hat? It's a black fedora, looks like 2 or 2-1/2 inch brim, pinched, teardrop crown. The shape looks almost too perfect from the picture.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Coney is slang for rabbit, right?

bk

 

[scotrace]

Coney is slang for rabbit, right?

bk

Yes. And here are additional words to get past the your message is too short thingy.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

So Coney Island is in fact Rabbit Island?

 

[Brad Bowers]

So Coney Island is in fact Rabbit Island?

Hmm, so what does that make a Coney Dog?

Brad

 

[Marc Chevalier]

 

[Baron Kurtz]

A hat made of fur culled from a pile of offal

bk

 

[Twitch]

Don't tell the Warriors from Coney that it means rabbit!

 

[Lion]

I have a Beaver Brand hat I fond in a thrift store. The hat band and sweat band were both imitation leather. the sweat band was sewed in with some god aful thread that looked just like monofiliment. The hat was also a 7 1/8. I'm a 7 5/8. Got to try my hand at stretching and reblocking a hat. Well, improvised reblocking. It involved a pot . Almost forgot, the liner wasn't too impressive either.

The good thing about the hat was the felt. Not great felt, but VERY tough felt. I badly abussed that poor hat and only got one small tear where the sweatband had been sewed in. If they had used actual thread and sewed it in properly, I wouldn't have even goten that.

The point to all of this is that you may end up getting a low end hat. Mine is, but that's what I was looking for. An actual fur felt hat for cheap that I wouldn't feel guilty experimenting with. Should make a great beater hat once I'm done.

Leo

 

[mjbrekke]

I picked up a navy blue Beaver Brand from an antique store. I've no idea of the vintage, but the sweat band is marked with a store that no longer exists (nor have I ever heard of it in my 40 years in this area). It's very nearly mint.

Like Leo's, the sweat band is imitation leather. Otherwise, though, it's a well made hat. It's marked genuine fur felt and is very stiff, almost like a cowboy hat. Good quality felt, though. It's beautifully shaped in a teardrop. I don't wear it often, but it sure gets comments when I do.

 

[thefedorastore]

They have come a long way

They have come a long way with new ownership in 2003. Everyone agrees that their products today are significantly improved over the products that were being produced just three years ago. Beaver brand has been around since 1860, everything is made in the USA (Not China).

Beaver Brand hats were selected for the Oklahoma State University marching band, for the HBO seris Deadwood for 2006, and they supplied hats for the University of Texas' Show Band of the Southwest, and also featured during the halftime of the NCAA National Championship game in January. The hats are much better quality than many manufacturers that just stamp them out or trim hats from overseas. Their varying degrees of quality 5X, 8X, 10X indicates the percentage of beaver used in their fur. It's not 100%, but they are not $300 either.

TheFedoraStore.com welcomes you to view the Beaver Brand line-up on our website. We don't have all of the Western yet, and we are still working on getting a few more dress hats on the page. In the next week, we will have it all. Also, each hat is custom made to order, and you can dictate a number of things including trim, brim and crown size, etc.

Duane

 

[jamespowers]

Hello Gents,

I'm looking at a black fedora that supposedly has the brand name "Beaver"
the seller says the felt is described inside the hat as "Goney" or "Coney" fur.

Anyone have info on this hat? It's a black fedora, looks like 2 or 2-1/2 inch brim, pinched, teardrop crown. The shape looks almost too perfect from the picture.

Beaver Brand Hats was a label for Langenberg Hat Company. There is quite a bit of history there. The Langenberg family states that the factory was family owned since 1860. They didn't produce hats at first though. They were wholesalers (a big customer for John B. Stetson at one time) not manufacturers. Their manufacturing of hats started in about 1892. From then on they produced their own hats for their labels and sent them directly to their clients.
Here is where the story gets interesting. In 1992 the Langenbergs sold out to the employees. That was a huge mistake for the company. They languished through the rest of the 90s until they, thankfully, were bought out by American Hat Company of Texas. They restored the factory to its former glory and now they are producing hats like they did in their glory days. It is rumored that they actually value the talents of REAL Hatters and employ many hatters who have been int he business for generations.
As to quality, those hats made in the 1990s were junk. Let's face it. As you experienced Lion, the finish and accoutrements of those hats were very poor. I have not seen their new offerings but they have to be better than what they were producing just ten years ago.
Just thought you would like to know.

Regards,

J

 

[Pilgrim]

I have a Beaver 5X western hat that I bought in the late 60's. It has been confortable, durable, and I consider it a very decent hat, even after the extensive education I have received through this forum. I've never looked to see what material the sweatband is, but it's sewed in properly and the whole hat is nicely made. The lining is a red satin with a small pastic insert over the brand name, if memory serves.

 

[shoeshineboy]

the beaver brand is made just a couple of hours away from me...perhaps, I could go and visit these people and chat with them....there website expresses that they are one of the few hatters made in the USA....

Perhaps I could take a tour....

would you all like that ???

mark the shoeshine boy

 

[jamespowers]

would you all like that ???

mark the shoeshine boy

I would like it better if you took me along with you but the distance prevents that.
Yes, of course I would love to hear about it. Take notes and pictures. We will expect the full illustrated book in a few weeks.

Regards,

J

 

[thefedorastore]

For Sure!

the beaver brand is made just a couple of hours away from me...perhaps, I could go and visit these people and chat with them....there website expresses that they are one of the few hatters made in the USA....

Perhaps I could take a tour....

would you all like that ???

mark the shoeshine boy

I would particularly be interested. Give Jan a call at 800-428-1860 and tell her that you are checking for the group. The results would be very helpful for me since I have just started selling their hats. I have to look to see how far they are from Chicagoland.

 

[shoeshineboy]

http://www.beaverbrandhats.com/

I will give them a call....i sent them an e-mail earlier. On thier site there is a map to show you there location...it is east of Jefferson City. About a two hour drive for me. That is a rural neighborhood...lots of farm land and Hermann is known as Wine Country....

I think it would be fun to go and see this up close....

Any one else is welcome to come along....just don;t let mysterygal drive...we have heard about her driving reputation down her...

mark the shoeshine boy

 

[ledsled]

An improvement? GREAT!

It's so rare these days to hear about a product improving.... and even more rare to hear of it still being made in the USA. I checked out Duane's recent email announcing the Beaver brand at his website. I liked what I saw! Yes, please let us know how the tour of their facilities goes.