Fedora
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- Messages
- 828
- Location
- Mississippi
Ok guys, I want to first admit that I may very well, in the past, confused the finish on a particular hat with "quality". Or perhaps, I just prefer a particular finish on a felt hat. I have always been attracted to felt hats that had a very smooth finish. If I hold the hat up to the sunlight, I prefer to see no, or very little fuzz framing the outline of the hat, if you get my drift. I have some hats that are so slick, you see no fuzz at all. The UK vintage 3x Stetson sets the standards for this, in my collection. I am aware of some of the various finishes on vintage hats, suede, beaver nap, and smooth come to mind. Of course there are others but they escape me at the moment as it is early and the brain has not responded to the caffeine in the Starbucks I am consuming. Now, most of the hats that I have owned that came with a somewhat fuzzy finish, scored lower on the needle test for density. That is, up until I received an Imperial Stetson from fedoralover. This hat does not have a real smooth finish, but is very dense, scoring right up there with my 3x, my UK Imperial, and my belly beaver hat. So, it became apparent that the finish does not always indicate the density of the felt. A no brainer I guess, but also something I was not aware of. Or just really never thought about. So, here is the question. What does one do to get rid of the fuzz? Yeah, I know about pouncing and have pounced many hats. But, even with hours of hand pouncing, you never get rid of all of the fuzz. How did the hatmakers do it? It looks as if they almost used something like a planer, cutting the fuzz off evenly, to create the smooth look that is on my 3x. On the Imperial I acquired from fedorlover, I have pounced that hat for hours, using the differing grades of paper, even trying 1000 grit, to no avail. It still has the fuzz. What gives? I am hoping you guys, Art in particular, has the answer. Was there some sort of machine that was used to create a super duper smooth finish? I even thought that perhaps a flame was used to singe the fuzz, but don't have the nerve to do that on a fine vintage hat. Any ideas? thanks. Fedora