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mark9765

New in Town
Messages
8
Location
Alabama
Does anyone know anything about Panama hats from Ultrafino Panama Hat Company online. They have a couple of hat that I like. The Venicia Gambler Panama and the Fedora Safari Panama. Both have a 3"-3 1/2" brim and are in the $125 price range. They don't say what type of sweatband they have. I am looking for a good quality hat for sun protection in the hot months. I have a nice Stetson but it is to hot in the summer. Is a leather sweatband an indication of a quality hat vs cotton or twill?
 

FrankMc

Familiar Face
Messages
56
Location
memphis
Hi everyone, I am new to the forum but not new for love of fine hats. I have a vintage Dobbs fedora and I recently purchased a new Stetson Gus cowboy hat. My Stetson is a 7 5/8 and I normally wear a 7 3/4, but I have stretched it to wear it fits great. My question is, how long will it/should it take to train the hat to stay at 7 3/4, it seems I have to put the Hat-Jack to it every other week. Is this normal?
 

job

One Too Many
Messages
1,325
Location
Sanford N.C.
FrankMc, Welcome to the lounge and you will probably have to put it back in the stretcher once in a while. Some people install door stops to add legs to the stretcher for hats that need to sit in one.
 
Messages
10,524
Location
DnD Ranch, Cherokee County, GA
FrankMc, Welcome to the lounge and you will probably have to put it back in the stretcher once in a while...
+1...I have 2 vintage stretchers, 1 Hat-Jack & a band block (made by a customer hatter the exact shape of my noggin). I rotate hats on one of these apparatuses quite frequently, especially those that I have stretched up a size. I am not sure I have ever had one stretched up that became fully trained to remain at the larger size....HTH
 

FrankMc

Familiar Face
Messages
56
Location
memphis
Thanks guys, I guess great hats need to be taken care of more. My Stetson does have the leather band imprint on the exterior, from it's initial stretching, will that ever disappear?
 

Cochese

New in Town
Messages
40
Location
Kennesaw, GA
Are curved, upturned-side hats appropriate for wearing with suits? I got the impression from another website that it was considered informal.
 

Walt

One of the Regulars
Messages
269
Location
Idaho
Are curved, upturned-side hats appropriate for wearing with suits? I got the impression from another website that it was considered informal.

Some images of what you are referring to would be helpful to answer the question....
 

The Wiser Hatter

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,765
Location
Louisville, Ky
To wear a brim up can be seen as informal but many wore Open Roads brim up and it was just considered the style.
stetson_1950_open_road.jpg

Optimobrimup-vi.jpg

Wear the hat the way you want it is your style nota website's style.
 

amillermd

New in Town
Messages
7
Location
Cherry Hill, NJ
Hi. I'm totally new here, so I don't know what I'm doing - but I'll give it a shot.

I have a question about a fedora that I own. I can't recall where or when I bought it. I have been searching for the same model fedora at stores and online for a couple of years without success.
It no longer has any manufacturer markings, so I don't know what company makes it.

Its style is unusual in that the crown is higher in the center than it is in the front and in the back. It is 4and 1/4 inches high at the center of the crown, but only 3 and 3/4 inches high both at the back of the crown and at the pinch front.

The brim is 2 and 1/4 inches all the way around.

Perhaps its most distinguishing feature is the angle of the pinch portion of the crown because it angles backward at approximately 30 degrees (instead of being vertical).

Earlier today I contacted a custom hat maker about this fedora and sent him pictures. Included in his response was the following:

"However, you have what is called a "Cavanaugh" Edge, which is the "tube-like" edging on the brim. It may look simple, but actually creating that tubing is extremely complicated and requires a special sewing machine-like device that alas, no longer exists. I am in deep researching trying to find one, or find someone who could make one, but as of now, it can't be duplicated.

However, I can make you the hat with the very same crown and brim size, along with the extra wide grosgrain hatband with "gentleman's" bowing finish, just as in the picture.

As for the edge, I could create a "pencil roll" (which is like what you have there, but the "tubing" is open ended rather than covered), or with a "raw" edge.

The hat in the photo is made of Dress Weight 100% Fur Felt, which I can also create for you. To hand custom craft the fedora as in the photo with the brim options as described would be $425."

Although I'm glad I found this craftsman, I'm pretty sure that I originally paid only about 50 bucks for the hat.

So, my question is - Does anyone recognize the fedora I'm referencing and know where one can be purchased?
 

Lefty

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,639
Location
O-HI-O
1. post a photo. It's easy to do, and there's a thread on how to do it right on the homepage of this site at the top.
edit - I just looked at that thread, and it's a wreck. Take your photos and upload them to photobucket, flikr, or some other online photo sharing service. Past the code into your message. It should look like this
[url]http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d155/jbbowers/DobbsImprovedEdge.jpg[/url]
With [img] at the beginning of that string of nonsense, and at the end, the photo appears
DobbsImprovedEdge.jpg


What your custom hatter is describing is not a Cavanagh (generically termed a "felted" edge), but a concealed welt edge.

Here's The-Definitive-Cavanagh-Edge-Primer-*

2. Who is this custom hatter and how do I avoid him?
 
Last edited:

FrankMc

Familiar Face
Messages
56
Location
memphis
I measured my head with a cloth tape, it came to 24 1/4", I have seen that to be translated to 7 5/8 and 7 3/4 in various places on the net. What is your opinion. Thanks
 

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