Ask a question, get an answer

[cormac_denmark]

What do you guys think about brown color for a custom Hufvud Open Road? It's a big investment so I don't want to make a mistake. I have a tan diamond crown Hornskov and a silberbelly Stetson Open Road, so it feels like brown would be a good addition, but maybe camel works better?

 

[rogueclimber]

What do you guys think about brown color for a custom Hufvud Open Road? It's a big investment so I don't want to make a mistake. I have a tan diamond crown Hornskov and a silberbelly Stetson Open Road, so it feels like brown would be a good addition, but maybe camel works better?

Only you can decide which colors you like

I personally choose to have a variety of colors available to me (as well as a variety of hats in said variety of colors )

 

[The Shoe]

What do you guys think about brown color for a custom Hufvud Open Road? It's a big investment so I don't want to make a mistake. I have a tan diamond crown Hornskov and a silberbelly Stetson Open Road, so it feels like brown would be a good addition, but maybe camel works better?

Only you can decide which colors you like

I personally choose to have a variety of colors available to me (as well as a variety of hats in said variety of colors )

I’m with Rob on that. I‘ve got one camel (Hornskov) and two brown fedoras (Stetson and Akubra. I find them both to be very versatile colours. I’ve also got at least another couple of shades of brown.

 

[RickP]

Does anyone know anything about an "American Fedora" made by the old American Hat Co from way back when the original company was in Houston? I had a couple of their 3x cowboy hats, and one of the longhaired Maxi-Felts back in the day and they always seemed to be an ok hat. Just never knew they built a fedora. Would be nice to know if it was a decent felt, or if it was just a rock hard cowboy hat shaped like a fedora.

The hat already sold on an ebay buy it now, so its kind of a moot point, but it got my curiosity up. ( In case another ever pops up for sale) Lots of the old Houston American Hat Co hats are pretty pricey

https://www.ebay.com/itm/356439135857

 

[cormac_denmark]

Of course Stetson went bankrupt and was eventually bought by Resistol / Hatco, and production moved to Texas. Does anyone know if anything whatsoever carried over with the purchase? Anything from methods and processes to machines or specific design etc. Or is modern Stetson merely a heritage brand name for Resistol hats without any continuity?

 

[jlee562]

Lest the resident FB group pedant interject, technically, Stetson still exists as an independent company that licenses their IP to Hatco. But there was also the intermediary time where Stevens was manufacturing Stetsons. Not sure about how much equipment was transferred and what made it from Philadelphia, to St. Joseph, to Garland.

According to a Hatco employee who used to post:

Hello all,


Sorry for the long absence! I got so caught up in the lounge I let some of my work fall by the wayside! I had to catch up.

Well, I talked to a number of people about the clear designation.

First a little bit of background that I'm sure many of you are aware of but some may not.

Stetson as a hat manufacturing company disappeared decades ago. I'm writing this from home so I'm not sure of the exact year but I want to say 1970. Anyway Stevens Hats out of St Joseph Missouri bought out Stetson.

From what I understand they bought the name and equipment but not the factory in Philadelphia. I am unaware of anyone coming from Philadelphia to work in St Joseph.

In the 80's Hatco bought Stevens Hats and therefore Stetson. Regardless there is no one at Hatco from Philadelphia. So I went to the closest source I knew. The man who orchestrated the buyout of Stetson.

I will call him GR. I'm sure many of you know his name, but I didn't ask him if I could use it, so I will just use his initials. I showed GR the pictures of the logo. He had not been included when I originally got my first answer.

GR is a third generation hatter. He started working in a hat factory when he was 13 in the 1930s.

GR's interpretation of Clear Nutria was "100% true Nutria, not a blend"

He had the same feeling about Beaver.

As far as he remembers they never used that die at Stevens Hats or at Hatco. He's sure that we still have the die.

I know you guys are looking for 100% verifiable proof of what "clear nutria" and "clear beaver" mean. I know this isn't the end all be all answer that you were looking for but as you know Stetson has had a wide and varied history. Short of finding someone alive from the factory in Philadelphia or grinding up a hat to test the fibers (please don't do that) I think this mystery is still open.

There are differences between the hats. Different Blocks are used as well as profiles. Resistols are longer while Stetsons are rounder. Colors are different. A Silver Belly in Resistol is different from a Silver Belly in Stetson. There is sometimes material crossover (certain type of leather sweatband..etc) but all in all the designers keep their designs and their vendors/sources to themselves. If Stetson were working on a new felt or straw body, Resistol wouldn't get it and vice versa. The designers of the respective brands have a friendly rivalry...
Personally I think this is the best way otherwise if they were all the same it really does become slapping a brand on a hat, and that is not what we do.