Landman
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,751
- Location
- San Antonio, TX
Looks great Jared! I'm normally not a black hat guy but I might have to get one of those.
Does the Strat come with the retro-style hatbox, too, or is that just a picture prop?
A
Well it's here!
Overall, I have to say, this is a nice hat. It's miles ahead of Stetson's other offerings. The sweatband is nice and supple, the liner is nice with no plastic cover. The felt has a nice soft hand, not too much stiffener. As others have said, holds a dry crease well. The felt is not quite as thin as many of my vintage hats, but it is definitely thin compared to most modern hats. The color saturation is great, no signs of powder dye. The ribbon was properly tacked over the stitches at the brim break on mine. There is one tiny spot on the brim which seems to have felted unevenly, but to be honest, you can really only feel it, it's very hard to see due to the black dye, and is such a small imperfection that doesn't bother me and I'd imagine won't even be noticed by someone who isn't hat obsessive.
The verdict is positive for me, Stetson/Hatco has put out a nice hat here. Kudos to Mr. Deckard and the whole Stetson crew, I hope these new models do well for them.
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I really like the flange on this hat!
Well it's here!
Overall, I have to say, this is a nice hat. It's miles ahead of Stetson's other offerings. The sweatband is nice and supple, the liner is nice with no plastic cover. The felt has a nice soft hand, not too much stiffener. As others have said, holds a dry crease well. The felt is not quite as thin as many of my vintage hats, but it is definitely thin compared to most modern hats. The color saturation is great, no signs of powder dye. The ribbon was properly tacked over the stitches at the brim break on mine. There is one tiny spot on the brim which seems to have felted unevenly, but to be honest, you can really only feel it, it's very hard to see due to the black dye, and is such a small imperfection that doesn't bother me and I'd imagine won't even be noticed by someone who isn't hat obsessive.
The verdict is positive for me, Stetson/Hatco has put out a nice hat here. Kudos to Mr. Deckard and the whole Stetson crew, I hope these new models do well for them.
Tried to order one using paypal's bill me later but it wouldn't go through for some reason
The brim has far less shellac than the crown
I still want enough shellac in the brim that it snaps instead of just sort of folds. You can tell when all the shellac is washed out in a vintage when the brim basically folds down like a flap instead of curves.
I look at that crown profile above and have to giggle a bit; I have a prewar Stratoliner at Brass Rooster as we type getting its sweatband replaced and cleaned and blocked... that crown has quite a bit of taper to it, and it's kind of low. I've asked Mr John McLaughlin to crease it on a block this time, as I'm not so good hand-creasing those shorter, tapered crowns. And yet, many of you insist it was a tall, straight crown....
Tom
And yet, many of you insist it was a tall, straight crown....
No, Stratoliners were made with a tall, straight crown. The #122 block, that Stetson used for Stratoliners for many years, was indeed tall and with quite straight sides. That's a fact - not an assumption
That doesn't mean, that your Strat didn't shrink. The Stratoliner was "just" a Royal Stetson - an entry level hat - and not made from the most stable felt available. It's not at all rare to see vintage hats with a lot more taper than they were born with.
A 122 block from 1940 might vary slightly from a 122 block made in 1950. I have seen first hand variations in 6 inch 52 blocks. Sure they are all 6 inches tall, but the top is rounder on some than others. Still none to very little taper on top.
True, but I have still to come across a Stratoliner with "short tapered" crown. Sure, some Strats were also more rounded than others, but all I have seen were quite full/straight.
Like I said, possibly re-blocked at one time?? [huh]