Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

[Hurricane Jack]

...preserving what is rare and unusual.

Getting back to this with a purely hypothetical example: if you take a pristine vintage featherweight or lite weight Beaver felt hat & shrink it down one or two sizes in ice water condensing & thickening the felt, cut down & re sew the sweat, do you still have a featherweight when finished? Will it block exactly like it did when original? It still says featherweight in the liner. Does that really add to your collection? Make you a titan?

If you trim the brim & fedora down a Stetson One-hundred to make it look "less cowboy" haven't you changed a rare hat forever?

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Relapse. Hahahahahahaha. You really gave me a good laugh, Brent. My wings have been trimmed, but not shorn.

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Max, I’m sorry if my good natured poke has re-opened this old can of worms. I know you have repeatedly and emphatically talked about coming to see the perspective of preserving these old hats in their original condition. Sorry if my ribbing was too soon.


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[drmaxtejeda]

Max, I’m sorry if my good natured poke has re-opened this old can of worms. I know you have repeatedly and emphatically talked about coming to see the perspective of preserving these old hats in their original condition. Sorry if my ribbing was too soon.


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No, Brent, of course not!
We're friends, c'mon [emoji2]

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[deadlyhandsome]

No, Brent, of course not!
We're friends, c'mon [emoji2]

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Hey brother, I knew you would be alright with it. I thought that maybe everyone else could laugh about it now too; guess I was wrong.


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[Bill Hughes]

Getting back to this with a purely hypothetical example: if you take a pristine vintage featherweight or lite weight Beaver felt hat & shrink it down one or two sizes in ice water condensing & thickening the felt, cut down & re sew the sweat, do you still have a featherweight when finished? Will it block exactly like it did when original? It still says featherweight in the liner. Does that really add to your collection? Make you a titan?

If you trim the brim & fedora down a Stetson One-hundred to make it look "less cowboy" haven't you changed a rare hat forever?

...do you still have a featherweight when finished? (I don’t know)
Will it block exactly like it did when original? (Probably not)
Does that really add to your collection? (Not really)
Make you a titan? (No)

If you trim the brim & fedora down a Stetson One-hundred to make it look "less cowboy" haven't you changed a rare hat forever? (Yes)


I just sent a 40s Stetsonian to Art yesterday. The sweatband is rotten. I guess I could keep it as is and therefore save the prominence. Will it be exactly as it was before? That would be impossible as the sweatband will be replaced and maybe the ribbons if they can not be saved. It is useless as it is. I hope to make it wearable again.



I also sent Art a 40s Stetson XXX. Not a thing wrong with it. Sweatband is perfect the felt is awesome. I bought it here in the classifieds from DOGMAN after three weeks of it not selling. It has a 3 1/2” brim that I am gonna have trimmed and reshape the hat like a whippet. I told DOGMAN that was my plan before I bought it. He said if he kept it he was gonna trim it more than I planned. I don’t wear cowboy hats. I don’t think a XXX is very rare. If it was it would have sold. So again I’m making it a usable hat for me. The last picture is what I am shooting for. I wouldn’t call it a whippet because it’s not. I’d call it a XXX conversion.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I just sent a 40s Stetsonian to Art yesterday. The sweatband is rotten. I guess I could keep it as is and therefore save the prominence. Will it be exactly as it was before? That would be impossible as the sweatband will be replaced and maybe the ribbons if they can not be saved. It is useless as it is. I hope to make it wearable again.

I'm assuming the Stetsonian is your size. Depending on how it fits you & how frequently you will be wearing this particular hat, the sweat may or may not work for you & need to be replaced. If it were me for occasional wear in a rotation I would try & make due with the original sweat for as long as I could. Only you can answer that. But it would be a shame to change out the original ribbon & binding instead of living with whatever stains may be left after cleaning.

I also sent Art a 40s Stetson XXX. Not a thing wrong with it. Sweatband is perfect the felt is awesome. I bought it here in the classifieds from DOGMAN after three weeks of it not selling. It has a 3 1/2” brim that I am gonna have trimmed and reshape the hat like a whippet. I told DOGMAN that was my plan before I bought it. He said if he kept it he was gonna trim it more than I planned. I don’t wear cowboy hats. I don’t think a XXX is very rare. If it was it would have sold. So again I’m making it a usable hat for me. The last picture is what I am shooting for. I wouldn’t call it a whippet because it’s not. I’d call it a XXX conversion.

If a 1940's Stetson 3X is not thought to be rare then why buy a thin ribbon Western & convert it to a wide ribbon fedora forever? Why not buy a 3X fedora in your size for a faux Whippett & let the Western eventually find the buyer that would appreciate it for what it is? That's what I don't get. Why change hats like thin ribbon One-hundreds & Bankers Specials forever when you knew they weren't what you wanted when you bought them?

 

[drmaxtejeda]

That’s disturbing, Max.

Why would it be disturbing? I just meant that now I am restricted to buying hats in my size, but I am still buying.

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[drmaxtejeda]

I think everyone emails Brent when a 7 1/2 or larger shows up!!! At least those of us with smaller heads.

I try and send a note to Dr Max when a nice hat pops up, unless I want it too. Then I sneak back to Mexico and block his phone. Ha!

Daniel

Hahaha. Daniel, you've pointed me to some good ones! And the two Disneys you found for me in Mexico I had almost lost hope of finding.


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[drmaxtejeda]

I’ve had Max contact me to make sure I saw something on several occasions. I’ve done the same for others in the past. I think the respect is still present. But when I see something I want - I don’t broadcast the information.

Agreed. For me, the best part of the Lounge, and of life itself, is the love that I get from the friends I've made.
The love that I give is even better.
My mother's last words to me were "Be happy". I try my best.

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[Hurricane Jack]

My mother's last words to me were "Be happy".

My grandfather (and my ancestors by their actions) taught me that if you don't back up what you believe in, then you don't really believe it.

 

[steur]

I didn't know that, Stefan. Why didn't you tell me sooner? [emoji2]

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The finer points of hat collecting are only available after the secret handshake, Max

 

[steur]

BTW:
Who are the likely "forum competitors" on eBay.de (Germany)?
I know @mayserwegener and I have already hiked up the price on at least one hat; a German Stetson Stratoliner.
Every time I am defeated in an eBay auction, I check to see if the hat is posted here
Unfortunately even knowing your eBay names doesn't help much, because the competitors on eBay are masked and altered; so you really don't know who you are bidding against.

I'm on the German (and French) ebay sites on a regular basis, but we're not the same size.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Agreed. For me, the best part of the Lounge, and of life itself, is the love that I get from the friends I've made.
The love that I give is even better.
My mother's last words to me were "Be happy". I try my best.

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That’s beautiful, Max. There’s nothing like a mother’s love.

Among the many things my parents and grandparents left with me was the need to be careful of where I keep my treasures.

To me, hats are mere “things” and just transitory possessions not worthy of my love nor my deep concern. They are a fun hobby and I enjoy wearing them. We all have our own ethos and I don’t think it right for me to judge another by my standards. If others care more for their possessions that’s fine with me, but I don’t feel compelled to follow them anymore than I feel compelled to convert them.

I do think we can and should be good stewards and caretakers of the things inherited from prior generations, but it’s way down on my list of things to worry about and in the final analysis I don’t think it will weigh heavily in the balance if I modified an old rare hat.


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[drmaxtejeda]

That’s beautiful, Max. There’s nothing like a mother’s love.

Among the many things my parents and grandparents left with me was the need to be careful of where I keep my treasures.

To me, hats are mere “things” and just transitory possessions not worthy of my love nor my deep concern. They are a fun hobby and I enjoy wearing them. We all have our own ethos and I don’t think it right for me to judge another by my standards. If others care more for their possessions that’s fine with me, but I don’t feel compelled to follow them anymore than I feel compelled to convert them.

I do think we can and should be good stewards and caretakers of the things inherited from prior generations, but it’s way down on my list of things to worry about and in the final analysis I don’t think it will weigh heavily in the balance if I modified an old rare hat.


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There are some, like the pre-war Borsalino, and some others, for which I felt such awe and respect that I didn't dare touch them, even when I was altering many hats.
Other, more modern, mass-produced hats I felt no compunction to alter.


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[Frunobulax]

But, up to now there’s always been a sense of mutual respect, not every man for himself. But what do I know...

There still is, though I am usually loathe to ask the favor. Rick (@rclark) and I often seem to unwittingly compete.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[Frunobulax]

Getting back to this with a purely hypothetical example: if you take a pristine vintage featherweight or lite weight Beaver felt hat & shrink it down one or two sizes in ice water condensing & thickening the felt, cut down & re sew the sweat, do you still have a featherweight when finished? Will it block exactly like it did when original? It still says featherweight in the liner. Does that really add to your collection? Make you a titan?

If you trim the brim & fedora down a Stetson One-hundred to make it look "less cowboy" haven't you changed a rare hat forever?

I've been meaning to ask abou shrinking a body (not vintage, BTW)...

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[Frunobulax]

...do you still have a featherweight when finished? (I don’t know)
Will it block exactly like it did when original? (Probably not)
Does that really add to your collection? (Not really)
Make you a titan? (No)

If you trim the brim & fedora down a Stetson One-hundred to make it look "less cowboy" haven't you changed a rare hat forever? (Yes)


I just sent a 40s Stetsonian to Art yesterday. The sweatband is rotten. I guess I could keep it as is and therefore save the prominence. Will it be exactly as it was before? That would be impossible as the sweatband will be replaced and maybe the ribbons if they can not be saved. It is useless as it is. I hope to make it wearable again.

View attachment 153263 View attachment 153264 View attachment 153265

I also sent Art a 40s Stetson XXX. Not a thing wrong with it. Sweatband is perfect the felt is awesome. I bought it here in the classifieds from DOGMAN after three weeks of it not selling. It has a 3 1/2” brim that I am gonna have trimmed and reshape the hat like a whippet. I told DOGMAN that was my plan before I bought it. He said if he kept it he was gonna trim it more than I planned. I don’t wear cowboy hats. I don’t think a XXX is very rare. If it was it would have sold. So again I’m making it a usable hat for me. The last picture is what I am shooting for. I wouldn’t call it a whippet because it’s not. I’d call it a XXX conversion.

View attachment 153266
View attachment 153268
View attachment 153267

I can see both sides, I guess. Depends on both the rarity and condition. In the case of your Stetsonian, given the condition, I understand. But it's tough to mess with history, y'know?

I find myself nodding along with HJ's posts, too.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I can see both sides, I guess. Depends on both the rarity and condition. In the case of your Stetsonian, given the condition, I understand. But it's tough to mess with history, y'know?

I find myself nodding along with HJ's posts, too.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

Sounds like you have a career in politics waiting for you.

Nah, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.


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[Hurricane Jack]

I've been meaning to ask abou shrinking a body (not vintage, BTW)...

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

Maybe a friendly coroner will rule in your favor.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I can see both sides, I guess. Depends on both the rarity and condition. In the case of your Stetsonian, given the condition, I understand. But it's tough to mess with history, y'know?

I find myself nodding along with HJ's posts, too.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

All of this reminds me of a Classified ad I saw once in Hemmings Motor News:

"For Sale: 1957 Chevrolet 210. Fully restored. Tilt front end. New seat covers."

A 210 is an extremely rare car. I guess the word "restored" means different things to different people.