The Other Open Roads.....

[Bob Smalser]

You could have gone all day without letting that cat out of the bag!

Oh, I don't think my advice will put a dent in Akubra sales, and helping some youngster with 50 bucks to spend instead of a hundred isn't a bad thing. My carpenter would certainly approve.

 

[gtdean48]

Bob, I think JT was commenting more about letting them in on the Cattleman crease OR styles more than hurting Akubra sales. I too shop the western styled & listed OR style hats to get good deals. Now we may have more bidders to compete with....[huh]

 

[Bob Smalser]

Now we may have more bidders to compete with....[huh]

And my point is there are more than enough nice old Resistols out there for me to steal and still give the "I'm new, hatless, and need to pinch pennies" members here less costly advice than dropping the better part of a C-note on a new Akubra.

 

[gtdean48]

Gotcha & totally agree!

 

[J.T.Marcus]

And my point is there are more than enough nice old Resistols out there for me to steal and still give the "I'm new, hatless, and need to pinch pennies" members here less costly advice than dropping the better part of a C-note on a new Akubra.

Bob, It was a light hearted suggestion that with more bidders, the price will go up. I really didn't mind you sharing that info. As you said, there are plenty to go around.

 

[Atticus Finch]

....As you said, there are plenty to go around.

....except in size 7 3/4.

AF

 

[Inusuit]

Or 7 1/2 LO.

 

[ScottF]

I usually just tuck them behind the sweatband so I can take them out for changing creases or when the weather is warmer. The liner holds a lot of head heat...

Thanks gtd - I cleaned a Marathon and Portis liner in mild Woolite last night, then just slipped them back in their hats as you suggested. It worked fine and I'll just skip glueing in for now.

Also soaked a 'beater' Stetson western hat as suggested in the other thread (filled it up and set it in the tub), used mild woolite solution to take out stains along the old creases, then air-dried. It worked so phenomenally well, that I'm currently doing the same with my Portis OR clone....now off to order ribbon for the western conversion.

 

[ScottF]

Experiment finished. Here are before and after pics of the Portis, re-blocked using 'FatDutchman's technique. Other than my dog slipping into the bathroom and drinking all the water out of the hat, it worked well.

 

[carter]

Pictures of Dobbs West Open Trail posted here:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=15342

 

[Kangfish]

Hi. I just ran across a Stetson Open Road for what I consider dirt cheap. It has a couple of moth nibbles but not bad at all. 4X beaver but it looks very "cowboyish" Mainly I geuss because of the bash but it's so stiff I didn't know about being able to rebash it. Some of the pics I see in this thread have nice bashes and are nice looking hats and others are too western for me. Anyway when I got home I came to the forum to check out what other folks have done with them. The moth bites aren't bad and don't bother me so I reckon for 12 bucks I couldn't go too wrong. Any advice on rebashing a very stiff cowboy hat? Can it be "fedoraized"? Thanks - Kangfish

 

[ScottF]

Hi. I just ran across a Stetson Open Road for what I consider dirt cheap. It has a couple of moth nibbles but not bad at all. 4X beaver but it looks very "cowboyish" Mainly I geuss because of the bash but it's so stiff I didn't know about being able to rebash it. Some of the pics I see in this thread have nice bashes and are nice looking hats and others are too western for me. Anyway when I got home I came to the forum to check out what other folks have done with them. The moth bites aren't bad and don't bother me so I reckon for 12 bucks I couldn't go too wrong. Any advice on rebashing a very stiff cowboy hat? Can it be "fedoraized"? Thanks - Kangfish

I first practiced the re-bashing technique described above for a Portis, on a very, very stiff western Stetson - it worked like a charm. It is a silverbelly color and had some ground-in dark staining along the creases, so I used a diluted woolite solution to gently rub those out. It worked well, but not perfect. But the technique is sound. Of course, remove the liner and flip the sweatband up to avoid getting it wet.

 

[gtdean48]

Hi. I just ran across a Stetson Open Road for what I consider dirt cheap. It has a couple of moth nibbles but not bad at all. 4X beaver but it looks very "cowboyish" Mainly I geuss because of the bash but it's so stiff I didn't know about being able to rebash it. Some of the pics I see in this thread have nice bashes and are nice looking hats and others are too western for me. Anyway when I got home I came to the forum to check out what other folks have done with them. The moth bites aren't bad and don't bother me so I reckon for 12 bucks I couldn't go too wrong. Any advice on rebashing a very stiff cowboy hat? Can it be "fedoraized"? Thanks - Kangfish

I have one posted for sale in Classified section that I fedoraized (see 1999 4X Open Road 7 1/2 Long Oval listing for photos http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=40172 ). It takes a good bit of steam or soaking with water. I soaked it with distilled water to get it to shape to a tear drop shape. I also did another "modern" OR years ago. I will tell you it is not a 1 time crease type of thing. You will be working those factory crease lines for some time, like every time you wear it out in the rain.

 

[Kangfish]

Thanks y'all. I think I'll go back and buy it. I didn't mention that it fits me like glove too. I'm sure just the fun and experience of trying it would be worth 12 bucks to me. I'd just hate to completely ruin it. I'm very new at this but I do have a good 'feel' for doing things with my hands. I've done a couple of simple rebashings using filtered water in a spray bottle with pretty good results and I love putting my own little touch in my hats. Thanks again - Kangfish

 

[redhawks2]

Well, here are some more clones: I have a Stepen L. Stetson in a medium brown, another just closed on ebay by Adam named the Adamajestic that has a wind trolley, and there are two on ebay right now, one by Dobbs named the fifteen and one by Jay Lord Hatters. My Stetson has been rebashed to a teardrop but originally came in the cattlemans/ranchers crease like the JB Stetson standard OR's. This is my first post and once I figure out how to post pictures I will.

 

[gtdean48]

The List...

Adam Adamajestic
Adam LBJ Style R
Adam Mainliner
Adam Texan
Akubra Campdraft
Bailey Beaver 20 ??
Beaver Brand River Runner
Biltmore Wilderness
Borsalino Alessandria
Champ Ranger
Churchill ???
Dobbs 20 ???
Dobbs Westward
Dobbs West Open Trail
Knox Westlite
LaSalle ???
Lee Corral (JCPenney Marathon, Towncraft, etc.)
Lee Trail
Mallory Dallas
Miller Douglas (Beaver Brand or Biltmore ?)
Penney Marathon
Portis Sterling
Resistol Saddler
Resistol San Antonio
Resistol The Wide Country
Shudde Bros ???
Stephen L. Stetson ???
Stevens ??? (Imperial & DeLuxe)
Tanbark 1546
Wormser Texan
Various Store brands (ie Richman Bros, et al)

Thanks, RedHawks2.

 

[buler]

Mallory Dallas

Here is a great Mallory Dallas I got in a 3 hat lot from ebay. Thought the colors on this were really nice. Its very lightweight, thin felt, but doesn't feel cheap. Nice tight stitching on the non-reeded sweatband. Fabric Mallory size tag. Also shown are the 3 tags that were behind the sweat.

The other 2 hats were another Dallas that was breakfast, lunch, and dinner for some moth larvae and a really nice Stetson 3X thin ribbon.

B

 

[St.Ignatz]

Well, here are some more clones: I have a Stepen L. Stetson in a medium brown, another just closed on ebay by Adam named the Adamajestic that has a wind trolley, and there are two on ebay right now, one by Dobbs named the fifteen and one by Jay Lord Hatters. My Stetson has been rebashed to a teardrop but originally came in the cattlemans/ranchers crease like the JB Stetson standard OR's. This is my first post and once I figure out how to post pictures I will.

You have to build up some posts to get picture privileges. It'll be here in no time.

 

[buler]

Disney Ranger

Got a very lucky find today. Received a 5 hat lot from ebay that I knew had a Disney in it. Turns out to be an Open Road style called the Ranger.

The hat is a 7 3/8, medium grey with a black thin ribbon and wind trolley. Both the crown and brim are a fairly stiff felt. But it feels nice. You can work the crown crease pretty well. Brim is 2 1/4" with a grey binding.

I'll post all the details in the Disney Diner thread.

Enjoy
B

 

[gtdean48]

The List...

Adam Adamajestic
Adam LBJ Style R
Adam Mainliner
Adam Texan
Akubra Campdraft
Bailey Beaver 20 ??
Beaver Brand River Runner
Biltmore Wilderness
Borsalino Alessandria
Champ Ranger
Churchill ???
Disney Ranger
Dobbs 20 ???
Dobbs Westward
Dobbs West Open Trail
Knox Westlite
LaSalle ???
Lee Corral (JCPenney Marathon, Towncraft, etc.)
Lee Trail
Mallory Dallas
Miller Douglas (Beaver Brand or Biltmore ?)
Penney Marathon
Portis Sterling
Resistol Saddler
Resistol San Antonio
Resistol The Wide Country
Shudde Bros ???
Stephen L. Stetson ???
Stevens ??? (Imperial & DeLuxe)
Tanbark 1546
Wormser Texan
Various Store brands (ie Richman Bros, et al)

Thanks, Buler.