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[Gumbo Book]

Hi There fellas.

I'm new to the lounge.

I get good deals in the UK on ebay. I get a lot of old vintage hats from British manufacturers though. This is sadly because the felt is way better on anything that you can by new. But I pick vintage Locks and Battersbys, and if I'm lucky enough a Stetson. I get these all for only a few pounds and in quite good condition. I envy the ebay customers in the states though, where hatmaking is still practiced and a day to day basis, a re-block for instance is a little thing it seems there. I couldn't find anyone in the UK and so I started to block my own just so I get what I wanted out of the hat!.
I saw an open road stetson go for a little over 20 pounds the other day, vintage and boxed in a shop in Birmingham - just advertised as "old hat" it was in really good condition - but I was working and couldn't stop. I like the style very-very much.

But here's my question.
Does anyone know how to get leather sweatbands - location - address - it's completely none existent in the U.K.

 

[Canadian Cowboy]

First off Welcome to the Lounge.There is a Thread on the lounge here with some suppliers links here in the US.
The Thread name is Buying Leather Sweatbands?
Just do a advanced search Buying Leather Sweatbands.
C.C.

 

[Yeps]

What does the tool used to put a pencil curl (not that really cool curl from bowlers seen in this thread) look like and how is it used? Would it be possible to put a curl in a brim that has been a snap brim? I have flattened a curled brim before, and I am curious about the possibility of doing the opposite.

Sorry to quote myself, but I appear to have been passed over inadvertently to answer the other questions. So, anyone know anything about curling a brim?

 

[Canadian Cowboy]

Good Afternoon Loungers, When a person is a round or regular oval can they wear a long oval hat of the exact same size?Will it conform to their head shape?Would the hat it have to be steamed to conform it?The question is for both Felt and straw Hats.
Thanks in advance for any answers/replys
CC

 

[Rodkins]

Good Afternoon Loungers, When a person is a round or regular oval can they wear a long oval hat of the exact same size?Will it conform to their head shape?Would the hat it have to be steamed to conform it?The question is for both Felt and straw Hats.
Thanks in advance for any answers/replys
CC

In my limited experience I have seen that sometimes it is not a problem at all and other times it will distort the brim or otherwise change the shape in some manner. I think it really depends on the hat.

 

[Canadian Cowboy]

Thanks for the reply RDK,Cowboy hats mostly but fedoras as well,I know the cowboys are a lot stiffer.
CC

 

[Gumbo Book]

First off Welcome to the Lounge.There is a Thread on the lounge here with some suppliers links here in the US.
The Thread name is Buying Leather Sweatbands?
Just do a advanced search Buying Leather Sweatbands.
C.C.

Many-Many Thanks !!!

Gumbo.

 

[gtdean48]

Good Afternoon Loungers, When a person is a round or regular oval can they wear a long oval hat of the exact same size?Will it conform to their head shape?Would the hat it have to be steamed to conform it?The question is for both Felt and straw Hats.
Thanks in advance for any answers/replys
CC

I am a 7 5/8 Long Oval & I buy 7 5/8 regular since LO is no longer offered from factories. I do have a hat stretcher & will use it as well as my noggin to get hat to better conform to my head shape. I have only bought modern Stetson, Resistol & Akubra. Resistols seem to be a little more oblong than the Stetson which are very round to me. The Akubras seem to conform readily just from wearing. These are modern westerns & fedoras. I do specify 7 5/8 Long Oval when buying custom if a conformer is not used by the hatter.

 

[T Rick]

First, I'll be interested to see the answer to Yeps' question (was wondering about that myself!).

And not to cut in line, but I have a question on vintage Stetson Open Roads. Are they all marked as such on the sweatband, or at least a manuf. tag somewhere? I see a lot of old Stetson's listed as "Open Road style". Obviously some are not (no binding on the brim for example?) but could some of them be unmarked Open Roads? (I know tall crowned Stetsons with a Cattlman's bash are not all Open Road's, but some really have looked like them, right down to a seemingly correct brim size). Vintage Stetson experts (or even those knowledgeable), please help with this rather basic question that I might pick up a nice vintage OR or two. Thanks in advance!

 

[rlk]

Sorry to quote myself, but I appear to have been passed over inadvertently to answer the other questions. So, anyone know anything about curling a brim?

Here's a link with the tool,info and demo.
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/8707

 

[gtdean48]

.... Are they all marked as such on the sweatband, or at least a manuf. tag somewhere? I see a lot of old Stetson's listed as "Open Road style". Obviously some are not (no binding on the brim for example?) but could some of them be unmarked Open Roads? (I know tall crowned Stetsons with a Cattlman's bash are not all Open Road's, but some really have looked like them, right down to a seemingly correct brim size). Vintage Stetson experts (or even those knowledgeable), please help with this rather basic question that I might pick up a nice vintage OR or two. Thanks in advance!

If you have read the MANY posts in the Open Road Guild, you'd get a feeling for this topic. You will also find a thread dedicated to all the non-Stetson versions of the OR style.
Some modern ORs do not have Open Road on the sweatband as did the vintage ones but do have it on a label attached to the hat with color, model number, size & oval shape.
There are vintage Stetsons that do not say Open Road but are identical = bound edge, thin ribbon, identical block. I have a Stetson 25 that does not say Open Road. Some purest say if it doesn't say Open Road then it is not an OR but of the OR Style, same goes for Whippets.
Brim size for OR is not a good measure since I have owned branded ORs from 3 inch to 2 1/2 inch & even briefly a stingy 2 inch one.
You have to decide if it matters to you whether is say Open Road on the sweatband or not.

 

[hatophile]

First, I'll be interested to see the answer to Yeps' question (was wondering about that myself!).

And not to cut in line, but I have a question on vintage Stetson Open Roads. Are they all marked as such on the sweatband, or at least a manuf. tag somewhere? I see a lot of old Stetson's listed as "Open Road style". Obviously some are not (no binding on the brim for example?) but could some of them be unmarked Open Roads? (I know tall crowned Stetsons with a Cattlman's bash are not all Open Road's, but some really have looked like them, right down to a seemingly correct brim size). Vintage Stetson experts (or even those knowledgeable), please help with this rather basic question that I might pick up a nice vintage OR or two. Thanks in advance!

I am definitely not an expert, but I have a lot of Stetson thin ribbons, so I have some experience with those hats. There are many Open Road style hats out there, Stetson and non
Stetson with higher crowns, thin ribbon hat bands and thin edge-binding. Most are about 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 inch brim sizes. I have at least 2 Stetsons that look like OR's but not listed any where on the hat. I will say that the marked Open Roads in vintage usually go for higher prices than those not marked as such, and this goes for some of the "clones" as well. It really depends on if you want an official OR, a Stetson , or a reasonable facsimile. Also, if you have a larger head, any hat in any style will go for more on Ebay. Occasionally, you just happen to find the right hat for the right price.

 

[T Rick]

Thank you both, I am off to research more (hadn't run into the Open Road Guild here yet, that will be the first stop!). In the meantime, I am kicking myself for not pulling the trigger on a NEW OR that appeared in new listings on eBay yesterday. It was a 7 1/4, I wear a 7 1/8 AFAIK, should have worked okay I think. Had a BIN of $50.50 with $13.50 shipping. All in all, a pretty good deal. Of course when I went back, it was gone. But there will be (plenty) more I am sure.

 

[hatophile]

T Rick,

You will find there will be plenty of OR's and OR type hats available. With a size of 71/8 to 71/4 you should be able to find something to suit. I will say I prefer the vintage OR's to modern ones, just in terms of style, but check all out to see what you like best.

 

[ph33nyx]

What hat would one wear if just going out casually (i.e. just wearing jeans or shorts with a shirt or tee)?

 

[gtdean48]

What hat would one wear if just going out casually (i.e. just wearing jeans or shorts with a shirt or tee)?

Just jeans = an Open Road style thin ribbon
Shorts with a shirt or tee = a straw hat

 

[ph33nyx]

Shorts with a shirt or tee = a straw hat

Does a Panama count as straw?

 

[zetwal]

Does a Panama count as straw?

Sure, why not?

 

[ph33nyx]

Ok...Thanks. This is the Panama I just got:

 

[Canadian Cowboy]

I am a 7 5/8 Long Oval & I buy 7 5/8 regular since LO is no longer offered from factories. I do have a hat stretcher & will use it as well as my noggin to get hat to better conform to my head shape. I have only bought modern Stetson, Resistol & Akubra. Resistols seem to be a little more oblong than the Stetson which are very round to me. The Akubras seem to conform readily just from wearing. These are modern westerns & fedoras. I do specify 7 5/8 Long Oval when buying custom if a conformer is not used by the hatter.

I am a regular oval wanting to wear a long oval in my same size.
CC