Cappellificio Cervo - Opinions?

[Vermifuge]

Yep, mark me as one of the unsatisfied. I bought myself a Stetson Gaylord a while back just to see what they are producing now.:eusa_doh: Junk to say the least. The sweatband was made of some psuedo-suede stuff. Glued in liner of course and the stitching looked like it was done by a machine that needed adjustment. It literally tore up the binding when it went through it. The ribbon around the crown looked like it was stapled onto the crown by the way the stitches held the ribbon on. The block looked like a five year old had smacked it a few times with a wiffle ball bat and the felt had wrinkles in it!
Clearly they could do better than that. I didn't expect vintage felt but I did expect decent felt---not skunk felt. I would be willing to settle for close but this missed by a mile. At least our custom hatters get close in the felt. Their workmanship is on par with vintage though. I have seen some great customs with detail that was as good or better than vintage. Innovative designs, ribbon usage and high quality materials used throughout.
My only plea to off the rack hat factories is: "Can you get close at least?!" :eusa_doh: I might be able to live with cheaper materials if the workmanship was better. [huh]

Regards,

J

Thats very odd. my downs is very clean inside. i agree the leather sweatband could be a lot better, but the stiching was clean and i didn't see any glue inside.

 

[Vermifuge]

The standard is that of the vintage hat. The felt should be pliable yet hold its shape through abuse. The sweatband should be made of the highest grade of leather possible and sewn in straight with even neat stitches.
The ribbon and bow should be neatly applied without visible stitching to hold them in place. The liner should be sewn in--not glued in. If the edge is bound it should be tight to the brim edge no matter if you snap the brim or not. Those are just some of my standards that need to be met. Others involve various resistance to wear issues.
I was not speaking of Optimo as a custom choice. I think you can do just as well going with Art and that is no where near that high a price. Throw in maybe $75 bucks and you would meet my standards and a high quality hat. Order the Optimo if you like but in my book it costs too much.

Regards,

J

but i am not looking for "vintage" i am looking at new hats. new. not old. so as far as NEW hats go what can you say abou them?

 

[jamespowers]

but i am not looking for "vintage" i am looking at new hats. new. not old. so as far as NEW hats go what can you say abou them?

I've already said what I have to say about them. I don't know exactly what else you need to know. What other brands are you looking at? How much do you want to pay?
I'll reinterate in case you missed it---custom is the way to go if you want something new worth a darn. Its just the way it is.

Regards,

J

 

[jamespowers]

Thats very odd. my downs is very clean inside. i agree the leather sweatband could be a lot better, but the stiching was clean and i didn't see any glue inside.

Well then you had a better experience than I have or you just aren't looking close enough. [huh]
There is no glue inside per se. I meant the liner is glued in instead of stitched in. Mine was not only glued to the bare felt but it was also glued to the sweatband in the back. I suppose this was an accidental action but not a very good quality control if you ask me. Then they have the nerve to put a sticker into the hat that says:
"I personally checked this hat. I hope you enjoy it. N. Hughes"
I suppose someone has to employ the blind but as hat quality control?! :eusa_doh:
We'll also see how well it takes a soaking because I just came in from using it out in the rain. Quite a downpour to be out clearing a rain gutter but it had to be done and I needed to test this hat anyway.
Perhaps I should also mention that the reason you don't glue in a liner to bare felt is that it doesn't come out easily without taking some of the felt from the hat with it. Glued in liners tell me that the hat was not meant to last to the point that it might need a cleaning or reblock. I don't like disposable hats.

Regards,

J

 

[feltfan]

but i am not looking for "vintage" i am looking at new hats. new. not old. so as far as NEW hats go what can you say abou them?

Let me see if I have this straight. You asked about Cervo hats.
Jamespowers described the hats as "not exactly vintage quality".
You said, "how do you set your 'standards'?". Jamespowers said,
"The standard is that of the vintage hat" and he layed out custom
options for new hats. You then say,
"but i [sic] am not looking for 'vintage' I am looking for new hats".
Who's on first?

 

[Vermifuge]

Let me see if I have this straight. You asked about Cervo hats.
Jamespowers described the hats as "not exactly vintage quality".
You said, "how do you set your 'standards'?". Jamespowers said,
"The standard is that of the vintage hat" and he layed out custom
options for new hats. You then say,
"but i [sic] am not looking for 'vintage' I am looking for new hats".
Who's on first?

I sure he means well but in reality he is just distracting from my question.

I am fully aware there are plenty of great custom haters out there. I have my eBay optimo and I have another Optimo on order. I plan to be ordering a hat from another custom hatter in q1 of 2007. but custom isn’t the only answer.

There are lots of car manufactures in the world and sure you have you custom one off car makers out there like Foos and others but they are not the only people making cars. I’m sure none of you would turn town a McLaren f1 or Rolls-Royce just because they are mass produced and not hand crafted.

Art did a great job of answering my question. And I’ll add that he didn’t insist I needed to order a custom hat to be satisfied.

All I wanted to know was if the quality of Cappellificio Cervo has changed drastically in the last few years (the 10 since the article was posted specifically) JamesPowers insists any hat manufacturer will be inadequate at producing vintage hats. Well that’s pretty obvious don’t you think?

So, simply put. Is Cappellificio Cervo just another KIA or are they closer to a BMW? Perhaps they are something else all together?

That’s all. Would I just be getting another Stetson for $200?

 

[Vermifuge]

Well then you had a better experience than I have or you just aren't looking close enough. [huh]
There is no glue inside per se. I meant the liner is glued in instead of stitched in. Mine was not only glued to the bare felt but it was also glued to the sweatband in the back. I suppose this was an accidental action but not a very good quality control if you ask me. Then they have the nerve to put a sticker into the hat that says:
"I personally checked this hat. I hope you enjoy it. N. Hughes"
I suppose someone has to employ the blind but as hat quality control?! :eusa_doh:
We'll also see how well it takes a soaking because I just came in from using it out in the rain. Quite a downpour to be out clearing a rain gutter but it had to be done and I needed to test this hat anyway.
Perhaps I should also mention that the reason you don't glue in a liner to bare felt is that it doesn't come out easily without taking some of the felt from the hat with it. Glued in liners tell me that the hat was not meant to last to the point that it might need a cleaning or reblock. I don't like disposable hats.

Regards,

J

There is no glue holding the liner of my Stetson downs in. I have no clue how it will hold up in the rain. It it becomes unavoidable and the hat gets wet i will be sure and post my findings.

 

[Vermifuge]

Cervo will always be in the shadows of Borsalino . The quality is not what it was ,but then what is as good today as was 50 years ago? I am expecting the salesman from Cervo in my store in about two weeks . I will report on what I see then.


Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

That's what i was looking for. see this is great help. a real asset to the community.

 

[jamespowers]

That’s all. Would I just be getting another Stetson for $200?

If that is all you wanted to know then---yes, you would.
By the way, the Rolls Royce is hand made and various aspects of the McLaren are as well.

regards,

J

 

[jamespowers]

There is no glue holding the liner of my Stetson downs in. I have no clue how it will hold up in the rain. It it becomes unavoidable and the hat gets wet i will be sure and post my findings.

What holds the liner in then? Is it hand sewn in? [huh]

Regards,

J

 

[jamespowers]

Who's on first?

Third base.

Regards,

J

 

[Vermifuge]

If that is all you wanted to know then---yes, you would.
By the way, the Rolls Royce is hand made and various aspects of the McLaren are as well.

regards,

J

And thank you for your input I’m sure it will be a factor in my final decision. You will of coarse understand if hold out for an opinion from someone who has had recent hands on experience however.

 

[jamespowers]

You will of coarse understand if hold out for an opinion from someone who has had recent hands on experience however.

I just got one last year. Recent enough?

Regards,

J

 

[Vermifuge]

What holds the liner in then? Is it hand sewn in? [huh]

Regards,

J

The sweatband. A little stitching holds the overlap together and it looks like there are small stitches tacking it in at 4 points but for the most part the sweatband is holding it in place.

 

[Vermifuge]

I just got one last year. Recent enough?

Regards,

J

Maybe I‘ll just be a little more clear. Thank you but no thank you. I’m looking for an unbiased opinion

 

[jamespowers]

The sweatband. A little stitching holds the overlap together and it looks like there are small stitches tacking it in at 4 points but for the most part the sweatband is holding it in place.

Perhaps we are not talking about the same thing here. When you look under the sweatband, the liner is either held in place with stitching, glue or loose. Is it one of those?

Regards,

J

 

[jamespowers]

Maybe I‘ll just be a little more clear. Thank you but no thank you. I’m looking for an unbiased opinion

Remember you asked. :kick: :whistling

 

[Vermifuge]

Perhaps we are not talking about the same thing here. When you look under the sweatband, the liner is either held in place with stitching, glue or loose. Is it one of those?

Regards,

J

stitching. similar to the ribbon at 4 places. it doesn’t circle the whole interior of the hat. possibly plastic?

 

[feltfan]

I’m looking for an unbiased opinion

Say what? lol [huh] lol

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

My thought exactly, an opinion according to Webster is " a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter " . Now I ask, how could an opinion not be bias? doh