The Resistol Roundup

[Neophyte]

Resistol 4X Beaver western

This is a Resistol I picked up on Ebay not too long ago. I don't know if it's vintage or not, but the sweatband is brown rather than the modern black one you usually see. I really, really like this hat. The untapered Ft. Worth crease is fantastic, and the 3.5'' brim width is just right for me.

I think my favorite part about this hat is the liner.

 

[hatophile]

Very cool, pardner!

 

[EggHead]

Does anyone know about Resistol Beaver Fifteen - is "Beaver Fifteen" the name of the hat? Are the other numbers like twenty-five or something similar? Do they refer to style or quality? And is there a catalog of vintage Resistols?

 

[barrowjh]

EggHead - it is a mystery to all of us. We have seen Resistol Beaver 100, I have a Beaver 50, and as you mention we have seen the 25, 15, and 10. I'm not sure whether or not I have ever heard of a Beaver 20, but there probably was one. If they were priced similar to the Stetsons (Dobbs likewise) with similar names, the number likely correlated with the price and 'Beaver' meant it was at least a beaver mix, but we are not sure just how rich a mix. Inflation was driving the prices higher, so all of these could have been the same grade of beaver mix, just sold at different times.

I think that the mention of beaver in the name (in the sweatband) implies at least a 50% beaver content. The real deal would be to find a catalog that showed their lineup - if a beaver 25 and a beaver 50 were selling in the same catalog at those prices, then I would bet the 25 was a 50% beaver and the 50 was 100% beaver. If there was a beaver 15, beaver 25, beaver 50, and beaver 100 all in the same catalog, well, pretty much shoots my theory down. Without some good reference catalogs, hard to nail it down exactly. In the thread about Miller Stockman catalogs, we can see the complete price lineup shown in the Stetsons in the 1950s, in fact by the mid-1950s there were multiple grades of the Open Road listed out to make it relatively simple. We don't yet have a reference standard that clear for Resistols.

If you can find some marker that would help date your Beaver 15, then you could correlate to Stetsons sold at that time per a Miller Stockman catalog from that same time (or close to it) and make a fair guess.

 

[gtdean48]

I've seen a Beaver 12.50...
I'd wager the Beaver 50 & the 100 are 100% beaver fur felt with the 100 being hand finished with upgrade in sweat, ribbon, etc., like the 7X CB & 100 of Stetson...JMHO

 

[EggHead]

The Beaver Fifteen that I have (and it's spelled out "Fifteen") has kitten finish, very good sweat and is well made all around. It's from at least 40's because it's says Byer-Rolnick on the roof of the liner and liner crown protection is not plastic, but some not so clear material. It could be from 30's possibly because Beaver Fifteen/Kitten Finish is on the front of the sweat. not on the side. I read that hat names for Stetsons changed placement to side in the 40's and before they were in the front, but I am not sure about this one. Price tag was around $10.50. I have a custom made 100% beaver fedora, this one compares very well to it, I would guess that it's also 100% beaver or very close to it. The finish and look/feel doesn't look anything like the rabbit felt hats that I have.
Brim 2 1/4 with Cavanagh edge.

From wikipedia "The growing firm needed to expand. In 1938, it moved to a larger facility in Garland, Texas, where Resistol hats continue to be manufactured today. For decades, residents surrounding the hat factory could set their clocks to its whistle."

Mine says Garland, Texas on inside paper label, so that puts between 1938 - 1949.

 

[frussell]

Many pages back on this thread I posted my Beaver 20 and 25. I have no idea on the beaver content, but both are kitten finish, and they are my favorite examples of vintage dress hat felt quality. Thin, pliable, but hold a dry crease like clay. The sweatbands were new-looking, but both were dry as hell, so they got new sweats from Optimo. The liners are still in a box of baking soda and newspaper somewhere in my garage. Optimo got the smell out of the hats, but those liners were the stinkiest I've encountered so far. Like a satin ashtray that hasn't been cleaned in 30 years. If somebody has an actual number for the beaver content on hats labeled like these, I'd be interested to hear it. They sure feel like 100% beaver, or else the best pounced rabbit felt ever. Nice "Selv-Edge" brim treatments, as close to a Cavanagh as I've owned. Frank

 

[Rabbit]

Resistol Kitten Finish Beaver Twenty

Arrived this week..my very first grab off the bay.
Fits like a glove ;-)

Resistol "Kitten Finish" Beaver Twenty 5 3/4" x 2 1/2" Cavanagh edge with 22 ligne shark's gill ribbon and windcord.

There is a matt-translucent tip covering the roof of the liner.
The Kitten Finish/ Beaver Twenty imprint is on the front of the sweatband.
"Resistol Hats Inc. Garland Texas" is on the duplication tag, thus 1938-forties.
Price tag reads $ 20,-. Quite a lot of money back then.

The felt finish is remarkable. Thin felt yet very dense, holds dry creases perfectly. One smack and the hat looks like it's been sat on - another smack and it's back to open crown, then perfectly bashed again.
Came with a nice small feather arrangement which I safely tucked away for now.

Noggin shot

 

[MikePotts]

Well Done Rabbit! - very bonnie titfer.

 

[barrowjh]

The semi-translucent liner tip is 'oilskin' and these were the norm (or no tip plastic at all) before clear plastic tip covers were introduced; somewhere here on the lounge I remember someone stating that Stetson introduced the clear plastic tip covers in 1952. I would agree that $20 for Beaver 20 during the 1940s-ish time frame might very well have been 100% beaver. I also believe that the exact proportion of beaver did not become an issue until later during the 1950s, so a 'beaver' vs a 'beaver blend' might have been a 2/3rds to 3/4ths beaver vs 50% to 1/3rd during that time. Until one of the hatters began touting the purest beaver content as a marketing hook, the highest quality hats were probably more noticeable from the overall combination of quality, the density of the felt, purity of the felt (ie better filtering out of coarse hair), finish of the felt, et cet. You have an absolute top-shelf hat there, IMHO.

Think of it this way - would you feel confident that you could judge the difference between 75% beaver content felt and 100% content felt? Well, maybe if all other aspects of quality were held constant, then maybe I could, but maybe not.

 

[Rabbit]

The semi-translucent liner tip is 'oilskin' and these were the norm (or no tip plastic at all) before clear plastic tip covers were introduced; somewhere here on the lounge I remember someone stating that Stetson introduced the clear plastic tip covers in 1952. I would agree that $20 for Beaver 20 during the 1940s-ish time frame might very well have been 100% beaver. I also believe that the exact proportion of beaver did not become an issue until later during the 1950s, so a 'beaver' vs a 'beaver blend' might have been a 2/3rds to 3/4ths beaver vs 50% to 1/3rd during that time. Until one of the hatters began touting the purest beaver content as a marketing hook, the highest quality hats were probably more noticeable from the overall combination of quality, the density of the felt, purity of the felt (ie better filtering out of coarse hair), finish of the felt, et cet. You have an absolute top-shelf hat there, IMHO.

Think of it this way - would you feel confident that you could judge the difference between 75% beaver content felt and 100% content felt? Well, maybe if all other aspects of quality were held constant, then maybe I could, but maybe not.

barrowjh,

thanks for the info. I agree that a 75% and a 100% is probably impossible to tell apart, even with all other aspects held constant.
As for the Ten/Twenty/Fifty etc discussion, I don't know either, it could have meant anything.
To put another idea on the table, it might have had something to do with the amount of different felt grades within one type of felt. The hair was filtered into different purity grades, wasn't it? I picked up the info somewhere around here (it's only half-knowledge and could be entirely wrong) that the finest, purest hair could not be turned into durable felt bodies; it had to be mixed with a bit of less fine hair in order to do so. Just as pure cashmere makes no good pants.
Just a thought. I would perfectly understand if reliable information on this were something of a trade secret.

 

[EggHead]

Resistol Beaver Fifteen. Open crown about 5.5", brim 2.25". Color: woodsmoke

and a noggin shot

 

[barrowjh]

Beautiful hat, EggHead! Rabbit - I have in the past brought up the concept that you mention, that all-the-same fur is difficult to felt. I think there may be two aspects to this - one is the fineness of the fur hairs - I've heard the folks at Winchester comment that the finest pure beaver fur just seems to float around in the air forever, have to give it more time or use a mix of some less-fine beaver to help pull the fur fibers down onto the spinning cone. With a mixed grade of beaver fur this isn't such a problem. The second aspect is the felting itself - the tiny barbs on the fur hairs interlocking as the felt is passed through the machinery - I think that a mix of different fur types may help make a stronger felt. Again, a mixed grade of beaver may accomplish this adequately. In vintage times there were more than one grade of beaver fur; today I think it is more common (and more affordable) with less differentiation, basically one grade of beaver fur, and one grade of bleached beaver fur.

This line of thinking can lead you into some vintage speculation about which is preferred - a portion (1/3rd? 25%?) of the finest grade of European hare mixed with the finest grade of beaver, or an all-beaver mix of mediocre and finest beaver? Since we cannot go back to those days, we'll never really know. We do have some evidence that 100% beaver content did not seem to be important prior to the 1950s, at least, not as important as it became in the 1950s and later.

 

[randooch]

A fine-looking fedora there, Egghead, and a super profile shot.

 

[EggHead]

Thanks guys. This Resistol is a really fine hat and will replace my regular wear hat that you see in my avatar.

 

[alanfgag]

Arrived this week..my very first grab off the bay.
Fits like a glove ;-)

Resistol "Kitten Finish" Beaver Twenty 5 3/4" x 2 1/2" Cavanagh edge with 22 ligne shark's gill ribbon and windcord.

That's a wonderful hat and a pleasure to see your excellent pictures. It seems to share characteristics with the Knox 20 - heavy, dense felt, mode edge - I would think it dates from post WWII - late forties - early fifties. The "beaver" and "twenty" in the model denote a position in the pecking order within the brand and across the market at that time... not sure that we will ever know more than that with regard to the felt composition. But clearly this was an elegant offering by Resistol and it looks smashing on. Enjoy!

 

[johnnycanuck]

I never really gave Resistol a second thought until this weekend. Out garage sale-ing with the wife and kids I came across two great looking cowboy hats. Dark brown with great soft fir felt. Just the right amount of stiffness. They were both 1983 Resistol Comanche, with self conforming sweatbands. Only down side one was size 7 and the other 6 7/8…. Oh well. Gives me something new to keep my eyes open for. Fantastic hats though.
Johnny

 

[johnnycanuck]

Speak of the Devil. Here they are on Kijiji.
http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-clothing-mens-2-Cowboy-Hats-size-6-7-8-7-W0QQAdIdZ309622335
I may have to buy one for my little girl.
Johnny

 

[buler]

Resistol Kitten Finish I picked up recently. Not sure of the age but its a very well finished hat. Really like the felt on this one.

B

 

[barrowjh]

Kitten finsh = awesome, Resistol made hats as fine as any other's offerings. I don't think they were competing on the same scale as many of the other brands in 'vintage' times, becoming more of a nationwide force in the 1970s and 80s as their cowboy hats won over the 'Stetson' nation as that brand struggled through bankruptcy, licensing to different manufacturers, etc. Speculating, of course, maybe someone that was a buyer of cowboy hats through the 1970s up through the new millenium will step in and give a better perspective.