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Messages
19,001
Location
Central California
Tried Seratelli 100x. Great value for money. New on eBay about $600. For the money a great value. Serratelli used to make Resistol in their earlier days. The hat beaver felt is not as soft as Stetson el presidente 100x but is nice and dense. This hat should take the weather just fine. They look rich. It’s a great hat. The Stetson 100x is a $900 hat. Is Stetson a better hat? I think they are about same but Stetson is softer felt which I am not so concerned with. So for price of a Stetson 30x el patron get a Serratelli all beaver 100x. Makes sense. Stetson spends a lot on marketing and keep their prices high. I find the high end Stetsons are very good hats, their lower priced hats are not good value for the mobey at all. I also think Stetson cowboy straws are overpriced by a lot. My opinions only.


Are you sure they used to make Resistol? That doesn’t jive with the Resistol history I’ve read.

Personally, I’d never consider paying $600 or more for a factory hat. I can get a 100% beaver or nutria felt hat made to my exact specifications and size for less. I can also get the type of felt I prefer over what the modern top end factory made hats use.
 
Are you sure they used to make Resistol? That doesn’t jive with the Resistol history I’ve read.

Brent -- the article stated that they were a hat body maker/supplier before doing their own hats. It also stated they supplied Stetson, so they may have supplied Resistol before they started doing their own.
 

kenbid

New in Town
Messages
13
I agree the 50’s and , 4.0’s hats are wonderful, really but try to find a good one in your size in a color and style that you like. A very hard task even leaving price aside.the 80’s resistol 5x is not a museum piece. They are quite nice,not that hard to find and will give one many years of enjoyable wear. Lot of bang for the buck. My opinions only of course
 
Messages
19,001
Location
Central California
I agree the 50’s and , 4.0’s hats are wonderful, really but try to find a good one in your size in a color and style that you like. A very hard task even leaving price aside.the 80’s resistol 5x is not a museum piece. They are quite nice,not that hard to find and will give one many years of enjoyable wear. Lot of bang for the buck. My opinions only of course


I agree that the 1970-1990s 5X is a good hat and I own several. I don’t mean to disparage them, but they are not fantastic hats. Even when we compare them to their contemporaries or even current production hats they are not fantastic…serviceable and “good,” but none of mine have been great. The 1960-70 Resistol 10X is great, and some of the Resistol “dollar” hats are fantastic ($100, $135, $140, etc.).

Coincidentally, I just bought this hat and I’m waiting for it to arrive:

0196D32F-80B8-4222-863A-484FB4C32B25.jpeg
A7D84B01-0CEF-4FD9-8E4B-83750E76F1A1.jpeg
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433630BE-D6C8-4741-A92B-458F7C931672.jpeg
 

Rmccamey

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,838
Location
Central Texas
Many soft felt hats of the 50's and prior (Stetson 3x, for example) were sold in an open crown configuration and the hat store put in the crease. These hats, still today, can be steamed and shaped, or creased, to almost any style you want them to be. Most modern felt hats (Stetson 4x, for example) are quite stiff with the crease stamped or pressed in which makes them virtually unchangeable. Thin felts, lighter weight, better construction and greater versatility are what draw many of us on TFL to vintage felt hats. No, you can't buy vintage at most local hat stores but, with a little patience, some great vintage felt hats can be had at bargain prices.

I agree the 50’s and , 4.0’s hats are wonderful, really but try to find a good one in your size in a color and style that you like. A very hard task even leaving price aside.the 80’s resistol 5x is not a museum piece. They are quite nice,not that hard to find and will give one many years of enjoyable wear. Lot of bang for the buck. My opinions only of course

Dobbs fedora.
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MikeinRome

One Too Many
Messages
1,010
4X Miller, of Denver, Colorado. 3 1/4 inch brim, 6 1/4 inch open crown. Don't know the date of this hat. Opinions, anyone? 40's? Could it be from the 30's? The style looks like a San Fran to me, except for the shape of the crown.
Came across a hat with same size tag as my Miller hat. The tag was in a Herbert Johnson fedora made for Brooks Brothers. The seller said Herbert Johnson made the hats for the Indiana Jones films, but this hat was vintage, dating to the period when the film was set, which was 1936. However, this Johnson isn't that old became it says By Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen, so it's made in 1953 or later.
 

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Kep81

New in Town
Messages
14
My first purchase. Worked out a good deal (I think) and in doing so, met a really nice gentleman. The hat looks to have barely, if not ever worn. It still has a paper tag inside. What I know: Resistol OR style hat. Lovely tan/brown color that drew me too it. That's the extent of my knowledge. Initially I was looking at getting a new Stetson Open Range or Stratoliner, but this one just called to me. I was told it's a 50's hat, not sure about the model. If anyone has more info and can date it for me, I would greatly appreciate it. Excited to be a new member here and looking forward to learning from the members.
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drmaxtejeda

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,354
Location
Mexico City
I don’t have anything against Stetson and Resistol hats from the 1960s to the 1980s, but the 3X, 4X, and 5X hats of that era don’t impress me as great hats. They are serviceable and can be bargains, but the felt and the sweatbands have never impressed me. I recently had my first encounter with a modern Stetson 20X and the felt and sweatband were both substantially better than the 5X hats from the earlier era in discussion. A lot of this is of course subjective.

I do agree that if I was looking for a solid hat for a good price I’d look at the same hats you are recommending. I’d place a 1950s 3X as 500% better than a 5X from the 1960s or earlier, and I’d place a 3X from the 1940s or earlier as 200% better than the 1950s 3X. The problem is that once you experience some great hats it’s hard to be satisfied with lesser hats even though they are completely functional and look decent.
True
 
Messages
18,401
Location
Nederland
Somewhere above I posted a large size top hat. It has come and gone, but last week my eye was caught by this.
Burton top hat. Size 61 with the brim at 5,5cm and the crown at 14cm. Allegedly this hat once belonged to the mayor of Rotterdam, but seller had no other information than that from the an who brought it in to her. If true the most likely candidate is Pieter Oud, who held the post twice, from 1938 until 1941 and from 1945 until 1952. Before that he was minister of Finance. Coincidentally born in Purmerend, only a few miles away from where I live. No way to back this claim up with evidence, but a nice thought anyway.
It is an older top hat, lined with cloth, which we don't see when Spoorenberg, the makers of Burton hats, started up the factory again post war in 1949.

Interesting to note that apparently they didn't have a sweatband large enough, so they constructed one. Top hats can't be anlarged and the sweatband is not a replacement so thisis orginal to the hat.

burton61_01.jpg


burton61_02.jpg


burton61_03.jpg


burton61_04.jpg


burton61_05.jpg


burton61_10.jpg


burton61_11.jpg



The possible previous owner of the hat mr Pieter Oud on the far left in this picture of 1933.
pieter oud.jpg
 

Steve1857

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,829
Location
Denmark
Somewhere above I posted a large size top hat. It has come and gone, but last week my eye was caught by this.
Burton top hat. Size 61 with the brim at 5,5cm and the crown at 14cm. Allegedly this hat once belonged to the mayor of Rotterdam, but seller had no other information than that from the an who brought it in to her. If true the most likely candidate is Pieter Oud, who held the post twice, from 1938 until 1941 and from 1945 until 1952. Before that he was minister of Finance. Coincidentally born in Purmerend, only a few miles away from where I live. No way to back this claim up with evidence, but a nice thought anyway.
It is an older top hat, lined with cloth, which we don't see when Spoorenberg, the makers of Burton hats, started up the factory again post war in 1949.

Interesting to note that apparently they didn't have a sweatband large enough, so they constructed one. Top hats can't be anlarged and the sweatband is not a replacement so thisis orginal to the hat.

burton61_01.jpg


burton61_02.jpg


burton61_03.jpg


burton61_04.jpg


burton61_05.jpg


burton61_10.jpg


burton61_11.jpg



The possible previous owner of the hat mr Pieter Oud on the far left in this picture of 1933.
pieter oud.jpg
That's a very nice find, Stefan, especially in that size. Looks to be in excellent condition, too.
 

Mighty44

One Too Many
Messages
1,998
Somewhere above I posted a large size top hat. It has come and gone, but last week my eye was caught by this.
Burton top hat. Size 61 with the brim at 5,5cm and the crown at 14cm. Allegedly this hat once belonged to the mayor of Rotterdam, but seller had no other information than that from the an who brought it in to her. If true the most likely candidate is Pieter Oud, who held the post twice, from 1938 until 1941 and from 1945 until 1952. Before that he was minister of Finance. Coincidentally born in Purmerend, only a few miles away from where I live. No way to back this claim up with evidence, but a nice thought anyway.
It is an older top hat, lined with cloth, which we don't see when Spoorenberg, the makers of Burton hats, started up the factory again post war in 1949.

Interesting to note that apparently they didn't have a sweatband large enough, so they constructed one. Top hats can't be anlarged and the sweatband is not a replacement so thisis orginal to the hat.

burton61_01.jpg


burton61_02.jpg


burton61_03.jpg


burton61_04.jpg


burton61_05.jpg


burton61_10.jpg


burton61_11.jpg



The possible previous owner of the hat mr Pieter Oud on the far left in this picture of 1933.
pieter oud.jpg
Love the detective work!
 

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