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[danofarlington]

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So that's what a 1931 hat looks like. Good information to have. How do you know it's 1931, by the way?

 

[Joshbru3]

The first time that I saw that hat on ebay, I absolutely loved it! I would have most definitely bid, but it wasn't my size. The colors are perfect, the high flange is perfect, and the dimensions are perfect. Its just OUTSTANDING. And looks great on you, delectans!!:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap

 

[delectans]

Rob: Thank you, kind Sir!

Dan: The seller believed that the numbers 5/31 written on the tag indicated that his grandfather purchased the hat in May of 1931. However, as Brad very astutely noted, those numbers could represent 5131, the Block Number. Brad believes the hat to be of '30s, possibly late '20s vintage.

Josh: Thanks for your generous comments! I surmised you may have seen this lid during the auction. This may be one of the rare occasions I feel fortunate to have a melon head! :yo:

 

[alanfgag]

Stetson Aristocrat

Purchased from Kleinhans, the prominent Buffalo Men's Store, now back home.

More on the Pre-1940's Stetson Dress Hats thread:

 

[Chinaski]

Delectans, the Dobbs is beautiful!

Alan, nice score on the homburg.

 

[delectans]

Purchased from Kleinhans, the prominent Buffalo Men's Store, now back home.

Splendid!

Delectans, the Dobbs is beautiful!

Thank you, Chinaski, I appreciate it!

 

[DJH]

Picked up two nice VS hats from the post office this morning.

From fellow lounger MarkL came the Sand coloured one and Art just finished the Silver Belly Sportaire. Thanks guys, I love these!

I'll post more in the Hall of Fame later.

 

[Neophyte]

Nice! That Silverbelly Sportaire looks incredible. You better always have some whiteout on hand, though lol.

 

[DJH]

Thanks Neo. How are you doing with keeping your light colored hat nice and clean?

 

[Alex Oviatt]

Just bought a new Stetson Temple in Caribou. Great workhorse of a hat. May get it in Mink, too.

 

[VetPsychWars]

Gentleman and honored ladies,

I recently purchased three similar hats and thought I would post some pictures and my impressions. First the pictures:

From left to right we have:

Miller Edson

Stetson Stratoliner

Akubra Campdraft

The Miller is "silver belly"; the Stetson is "silver belly"; and the Akubra is Bluegrass Green.

The color

The Miller is a light grey with a "silver" color ribbon and binding. As the Miller felt oxydizes, though, it seems to turn a light yellow color, so faint as to be nearly impossible to see. I've brushed it and that hasn't mattered much. I'll try a sponge next and see what happens. Some white talc might make a difference.

The Stetson is their normal version of silver belly. Looks the same as my early 50s Open Road. Not much to say about it other than it looks fine.

The Akubra is Bluegrass Green. Didn't know what to expect from them but I saw some pictures online and thought it was worth a shot. I wasn't disappointed. It's dark enough to wear with my black jacket and it's interesting enough to wear with my seal brown A-2 flight jacket.

It's my hope that the Miller will be light enough to wear in the summer when it's cooler out and at night. We'll see.

The felt

The Miller and the Stetson are the same weight and stiffness as my early 50s Open Road. There is honestly no difference that I can feel. The Akubra is perhaps just a touch better finished and just a touch stiffer, this is touching the brim. No complaints about any of them.

The ribbon

The Miller and Stetson have the same width ribbon and the Akubra is somewhat wider. All three have well-made bows. The Stetson ribbon is actually a little high, you can see on the front where it should have been set farther down. I wouldn't doubt it was positioned and sewn completely by machine. That said, when you're not staring right at it, it's not awful. The Miller ribbon is pretty long and I cut the ends to more closely match the Stetson and the Akubra.

It could be argued that the ribbon on the Akubra is too wide, but since it's a dark hat and ribbon, it doesn't look terribly wrong.

An aside, all of them have DC-3 pins, with the Miller and Stetson having vintage pins snagged on ebay and the Akubra having a gold-plated replica.

Edge binding matches and is well-stitched. Only complaint is that the Miller has some threads sticking up that I need to burn off.

The sweatband

All are good. For feel on the head, I like the Stetson first, the Miller second, and the Akubra third. The Akubra is still a little large and hasn't shrunk itself down yet. The Stetson is the tallest of the three by far.

The lining

All three have a satin lining. Only the Akubra has the plastic piece in the crown. The Miller is black, the other two are white. Not much more to say.

The crease

The Miller appears to have been hand-creased at Miller. I prefer even, sharp creases, so the Miller falls a little short in that respect. It doesn't much match the photo on Miller's site but it's not bad.

The Stetson appears to be machine-creased. Even, sharp, everything this man wants.

The Akubra was creased by me. I tried to make a diamond but the more I tried, the more the hat fought me. The crown was just too stiff and not shaped the right way. We came to an agreement and it now has a teardrop. It's taller than the other two but not so tall I feel like a freak wearing it. I'm satisfied with how it came out.

The brim

All hats seem to have the same brim size. The Stetson is flanged the most, the Miller next, and the Akubra seems barely flanged at all. All are acceptable, however.

Summary

All are good hats and worth the price. The Miller has a funny color thing going on but it's not awful yet. The Stetson could have had the ribbon positioned a bit better, but it's not awful. The Akubra still fits a little loose but as the weather warms up some and I sweat on it more (yes, I do wear it to work with a wet head) it should shrink down some.

I decided to standardize on this style and I think it will work out for me. I have a grey Borsalino of this same style, not pictured, that I don't wear much because it's kind of boring.

One note about the Akubra, it has the wind string, and the button they use has a big-ole loop on it. It shouldn't, and it prevents the button from laying flat. Of course nothing survives the application of lineman's pliers, and the loop is now folded over and the button lies flat.

Hope you find my pictures and review useful.

Tom

 

[danofarlington]

Thanks for the photos and reviews. I do like to read comparisons, because sometimes I have to choose between one kind of hat and another, but have little to go on other than a website photo. I sure do hate those folks who never post photos though.

 

[EggHead]

Here is my new Golden Finch from blacksheephatworks.com. Beaver felt, Moss Green, custom lighter green ribbon 1.5", underwelt. Everything else is as described on their site. It took about 10 weeks from the initial payment. Bob the hatter sent felt and ribbon samples to choose from and also several sweat bands to try on, around my size that I gave him. I have to say that the final color/texture were a pleasant surprise because the sample felts were not finished and color was somewhat dull, they felt almost like the felt on Akubras that I have.

I wore it for several days before posting to get a better feel for a review.
The hat came in a well packaged box and inside was a hat box. Inside a hat box was a hat.
When I took it into my hands, my first thought was WOW!!

My only felt hats before this one were the three Akubras (sounds like a movie title - Sydney, Leisure Time and Stockman, so when if compare this hat to any, that is my only reference.

Felt - 100% beaver, the finish is excellent, it feels velvety and very smooth. Akubras, even Sydney feel rough (although I like that too for certain outings or dress). It's a little thinner than on Leisure Time, but thicker than on Sydney.

Ribbon - gross grain, well made material, hand died (the material is much better than on Sydney).

Bow - well made and attractive. (again, much better than on Sydney)

Underwelt - accurately done, looks professionally made.

Sweat band - wider than on Sydney (Sydney's is wider than on two other Akubras), looks like same roan leather as on Akubras. Workmanship on Akubra's sweat bands is very good, this one is equally good.

Lining - custom color (purple), well done.

Overall the hat is well made, materials used are superb.

Crown is taller than on all of my Akubras. In the site's pictures, it wasn't obvious to me, but I like it.

 

[Neophyte]

Looks great, Egghead! It looks really great in the sunlit pic, congrats :eusa_clap!

 

[jlee562]

Ahh, so now there's at least 2 San Franciscan's in Black Sheep Hatworks lids....very sharp EggHead!

 

[Cliffnopus]

That's a beauty, great color too.

Cliff

 

[delectans]

Splendid! The taller crown looks great on you.

 

[Neophyte]

Thanks Neo. How are you doing with keeping your light colored hat nice and clean?

I failed just recently. Sudden winds and wind tunnels between buildings are the bane of my Moorelite's existence. It very recently took a trip down the street and gathered some black dusty dirt. Most of it rubbed out, but some parts under the brim and one on the top of the crown (all thankfully out of view when the hat is being worn) require skills greater than mine. Luckily, I am in relatively close proximity to the very creator of the hat, so I'm not at all worried. Even still, I hope you will prove to be more fortunate than I in this matter .

 

[delectans]

Beautiful hats all, Tom. Thank you for your in-depth review and observations.

 

[alanfgag]

Knox Milan Premiere Quality

This hat took a while to arrive... probably three days spent packing the box. It was a pleasure to see it treated so carefully by the seller. The condition is as new.