carouselvic
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 4,931
- Location
- Kansas
The following is all quoted material from THE COWBOY HAT BOOK, by William Reynolds and Ritch Rand (Salt Lake City : Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 1995). Used with permission.
Fur
We begin with the specific material desired to create the hat-in nearly every case fur felt. Felt differs from every other fabric in that it is made of thousands of short, single, animal-fur fibers, which tend to twist together when kneaded and manipulated in hot water and steam. Felt can be can be made into the smoothest fabric known (due to the interlocking of the fibers) and the lightest fabric known (in relation to its tensile strength), because a minimum of fiber are required to create the necessary toughness. These factors also make the felt one of the most resilient of fabrics and one of the fabrics most impervious to water, due to the close, interlocking fibers and the fact that animal fibers themselves do not soak up moisture.
Felt hat can be made of either fur (mid to high price range) or wool felt (low price range). The best and most durable hats are made with fur felt, which is composed primarily of rabbit fur or beaver fur. Some hare fur is used to make better hats, but beaver and nutria are usually used in the best hats. (Nutria is a South American animal similar to a large vole or a small beaver.)
Beaver is still the most popular fur for felt hats. Pure undyed beaver fur, known as "clear hair," is some of the better fur on the market. Beaver fur is very dense, hold its shape, has more oil, felts together tighter, and repels water better than blends or rabbit fur felt.
By "fur" we refer to the downy under-fur of these animals, not the long, coarse hair commonly known as "fur." Only this under-fur has barb-like projections on the surface of each fiber that will lock the fibers together to make strong felt.
The long hairs are pulled out or sheared off, and the remaining under-fur is chemically treated to raise up the microscopic barbs for better felting. The under-fur is then cut from the skin and separated into grades of felt to be used for different qualities of hats.
Fur felt hats are superior in their lightness of weight and in their ability to keep their shape and withstand weather and renovating. A good fur blend encompasses large and small fibers, imparting smoothness and compactness. As many as eight different types or grades of fur may be used to create a single fur mixture.
The X Factor
In the hatmaking field, felt has traditionally been graded according to its X-factor. The X-factor was originally determined by the density ans shape of the material, and ranged in grade from a low of 1X to a high of 10X. Hats made of material rated below 5X generally contained a poorer grade of fur and little or no beaver fur. A 10X hat was made of 100% beaver fur. The X-factor was also a fairly reliable price guide, with a 3X hat costing $30, a 4X hat costing $40, a 5X hat costing $50, and so on. Fifty years ago, a 10X Stetson cost $100, was made of 100% pure beaver fur, and was the finest hat available.
Today, however, the X-factor rating system is rather subjective. Manufacturers and dealers are not only rating hats differently, each according to its own criteria, but they are also using the X as a pricing plateau rather than an actual quality rating system. In general, today's X-factor works out like this: a 2X beaver will cost under $100; a 10X beaver about $250; a 30X, $450; and 100X beaver hats generally cost upwards of $1000. One company's 5X beaver might actually be better than another's 10X-it's a tricky system. Prospective hat buyers are advised to discuss the material's X-factor with the hatmaker or dealer in detail to ascertain the true X-rating. The real test, ultimately, is the look and feel: a good hat is soft and silky.
Fur
We begin with the specific material desired to create the hat-in nearly every case fur felt. Felt differs from every other fabric in that it is made of thousands of short, single, animal-fur fibers, which tend to twist together when kneaded and manipulated in hot water and steam. Felt can be can be made into the smoothest fabric known (due to the interlocking of the fibers) and the lightest fabric known (in relation to its tensile strength), because a minimum of fiber are required to create the necessary toughness. These factors also make the felt one of the most resilient of fabrics and one of the fabrics most impervious to water, due to the close, interlocking fibers and the fact that animal fibers themselves do not soak up moisture.
Felt hat can be made of either fur (mid to high price range) or wool felt (low price range). The best and most durable hats are made with fur felt, which is composed primarily of rabbit fur or beaver fur. Some hare fur is used to make better hats, but beaver and nutria are usually used in the best hats. (Nutria is a South American animal similar to a large vole or a small beaver.)
Beaver is still the most popular fur for felt hats. Pure undyed beaver fur, known as "clear hair," is some of the better fur on the market. Beaver fur is very dense, hold its shape, has more oil, felts together tighter, and repels water better than blends or rabbit fur felt.
By "fur" we refer to the downy under-fur of these animals, not the long, coarse hair commonly known as "fur." Only this under-fur has barb-like projections on the surface of each fiber that will lock the fibers together to make strong felt.
The long hairs are pulled out or sheared off, and the remaining under-fur is chemically treated to raise up the microscopic barbs for better felting. The under-fur is then cut from the skin and separated into grades of felt to be used for different qualities of hats.
Fur felt hats are superior in their lightness of weight and in their ability to keep their shape and withstand weather and renovating. A good fur blend encompasses large and small fibers, imparting smoothness and compactness. As many as eight different types or grades of fur may be used to create a single fur mixture.
The X Factor
In the hatmaking field, felt has traditionally been graded according to its X-factor. The X-factor was originally determined by the density ans shape of the material, and ranged in grade from a low of 1X to a high of 10X. Hats made of material rated below 5X generally contained a poorer grade of fur and little or no beaver fur. A 10X hat was made of 100% beaver fur. The X-factor was also a fairly reliable price guide, with a 3X hat costing $30, a 4X hat costing $40, a 5X hat costing $50, and so on. Fifty years ago, a 10X Stetson cost $100, was made of 100% pure beaver fur, and was the finest hat available.
Today, however, the X-factor rating system is rather subjective. Manufacturers and dealers are not only rating hats differently, each according to its own criteria, but they are also using the X as a pricing plateau rather than an actual quality rating system. In general, today's X-factor works out like this: a 2X beaver will cost under $100; a 10X beaver about $250; a 30X, $450; and 100X beaver hats generally cost upwards of $1000. One company's 5X beaver might actually be better than another's 10X-it's a tricky system. Prospective hat buyers are advised to discuss the material's X-factor with the hatmaker or dealer in detail to ascertain the true X-rating. The real test, ultimately, is the look and feel: a good hat is soft and silky.
