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[wsmontana]

You never know what someone will pay for a hat (or anything else). As someone who watches the vintage hat market closely, I’m guessing this will sell for a price closer to the bottom range of your estimate…perhaps less. For comps you need to look at what hats have sold for and not what people are asking for them. Even at my size, a size that typically sells for more than hats in 7 1/4, I wouldn’t be interested in the hat even at the low end of your estimate, but all you need is one person who really wants it. Now if it was a 7X from 30 years earlier you’d have people beating down your door.

Brent, thanks for taking the time to lend your expertise. Much appreciated!

 

[wsmontana]

Well look at what I had saved on my tablet...

a little blurry but 7x is there

If I’m reading this correctly, the Open Road quality levels are:

100, $100
7X, $50
25, $25
Sovereign, $20
3X, $15
Royal Deluxe, $13
Royal, $11

That is very helpful! Thanks!

 

[jlee562]

If I’m reading this correctly, the Open Road quality levels are:

100, $100
7X, $50
25, $25
Sovereign, $20
3X, $15
Royal Deluxe, $13
Royal, $11

That is very helpful! Thanks!

this was a 1963 ad and reflects that time period, the X's changed over time. I suspect your hat is slightly later than this.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

If I’m reading this correctly, the Open Road quality levels are:

100, $100
7X, $50
25, $25
Sovereign, $20
3X, $15
Royal Deluxe, $13
Royal, $11

That is very helpful! Thanks!

Your 7X is not the same as the 7X in the catalog. That older 7X in the catalog could have been one of the last years of the Clear Beaver (CB) hats which is a completely different beast from your hat. We all have gone through this. Basically, the “X count” only means something when comparing hats made at the exact same year by the same maker. For example, a 3X beaver Stetson from 1952 probably has more beaver content and is definitely better felt than a 20X Stetson from 1998. There was a time when 7X CB was as high as it went. Now there are 10X, 20X, 50X 100X, etc. and all are subjectively lower quality, or at least generally less desirable, than the old 7X. When your hat was made Stetson almost certainly had a 10X Beaver and quite possibly other higher grades too that weren’t available at the time Stetson made the catalog that Jared @jlee562 posted. Your 7X is almost certainly a completely different hat at a completely different quality level than the 7X in the catalog. Your 7X Beaver is also quite likely mostly rabbit and/or hare felt and not a pure beaver hat whereas the 7X hat in the catalog could well be a 100% beaver hat. Basically, you just can’t compare hats from different dates of manufacture based on model names or felt designations. It is confusing, but that’s the way it is.

Can you post more photos of your hat? The size tag and and other marking could help us give you a better date of manufacture.

 

[wsmontana]

Your 7X is not the same as the 7X in the catalog. That older 7X in the catalog could have been one of the last years of the Clear Beaver (CB) hats which is a completely different beast from your hat. We all have gone through this. Basically, the “X count” only means something when comparing hats made at the exact same year by the same maker. For example, a 3X beaver Stetson from 1952 probably has more beaver content and is definitely better felt than a 20X Stetson from 1998. There was a time when 7X CB was as high as it went. Now there are 10X, 20X, 50X 100X, etc. and all are subjectively lower quality, or at least generally less desirable, than the old 7X. When your hat was made Stetson almost certainly had a 10X Beaver and quite possibly other higher grades too that weren’t available at the time Stetson made the catalog that Jared @jlee562 posted. Your 7X is almost certainly a completely different hat at a completely different quality level than the 7X in the catalog. Your 7X Beaver is also quite likely mostly rabbit and/or hare felt and not a pure beaver hat whereas the 7X hat in the catalog could well be a 100% beaver hat. Basically, you just can’t compare hats from different dates of manufacture based on model names or felt designations. It is confusing, but that’s the way it is.

Can you post more photos of your hat? The size tag and and other marking could help us give you a better date of manufacture.

 

[Frunobulax]

I'll stick my neck out and say it's pre-1974. No UPC. The box was in use at least in the mid-1960s (if compatible with the hat). My guess is it's a Philadelphia product, rather than one of the later ones.

 

[belfastboy]

this was a 1963 ad and reflects that time period, the X's changed over time. I suspect your hat is slightly later than this.

I was making $2 an hour, working 12 hour days in 1963 so I could have purchased a Stetson 25 with just a days wages......oh to contemplate!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I think it’s a later hat. We don’t have a definitive date, but it was in the late 1970s when Stetson went to the combo size tags with US sizing and metric sizing. It’s definitely not the same 7X as shown in the 1963 catalog. Nice hat, and I think there will be a lot of interest on eBay if that’s the way you go. Good luck and thanks for sharing your hat.

 

[wsmontana]

I think it’s a later hat. We don’t have a definitive date, but it was in the late 1970s when Stetson went to the combo size tags with US sizing and metric sizing. It’s definitely not the same 7X as shown in the 1963 catalog. Nice hat, and I think there will be a lot of interest on eBay if that’s the way you go. Good luck and thanks for sharing your hat.

Thanks again for all your help!

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Good morning to all loungers.
I have a problem with some sweatbands that have dried, although they are new old stock, over time and probably due to an inaccurate leather tanning. I used a German product consisting of jojoba and beeswax to soften them. On some it worked, on others the situation remained almost the same and that is dry skin on the verge of breaking. What do you use to restore or make them more malleable?
Thanks for your reply

 

[Bamaboots]

Good morning to all loungers.
I have a problem with some sweatbands that have dried, although they are new old stock, over time and probably due to an inaccurate leather tanning. I used a German product consisting of jojoba and beeswax to soften them. On some it worked, on others the situation remained almost the same and that is dry skin on the verge of breaking. What do you use to restore or make them more malleable?
Thanks for your reply

Daniele, that is a problem that many of us have faced and the discussion has produced some debate and a number of threads. Google ‘sweatband care fedora lounge’ and a number of responses will show. It’s been my experience that those sweats that have reached the point of nearly breaking, little can be done to mitigate it to the point of making it wearable.

 

[cube18]

Kind of a duplicate. Posted this question in another spot. Seems like this might be better. Just bought first Stetson Open Road. Brand new 6x Silverbelly from Boot Barn. After about 6 hours of wear the X’s on sweat band have disappeared. And the John B Stetson logo on the side of sweatband already starting to fade. Normal?

 

[jlee562]

I've certainly experienced some fading of the stamps on modern Stetsons, but definitely not after only 6 hours.

 

[Belkar]

For a hat that I plan to wear as often as possible, is it best to store it on a hook that sits inside the Crown, or outside on the Brim, and why?

 

[belfastboy]

For a hat that I plan to wear as often as possible, is it best to store it on a hook that sits inside the Crown, or outside on the Brim, and why?

I think either of those is a good choice. I keep mine in hat boxes with inner supports for the brim. The ones I am wearing I throw the on the table, the bed, the dresser, sometimes the floor. No harm done as long as I don't step on them.

 

[Belkar]

I think either of those is a good choice. I keep mine in hat boxes with inner supports for the brim. The ones I am wearing I throw the on the table, the bed, the dresser, sometimes the floor. No harm done as long as I don't step on them.

I have 4 cats, one of which chews on wool and soft cloths, and a 3 year old with a passion for making things sticky.

When not on my head my new Gannon Hat will have to be in the box or hung up.

 

[belfastboy]

I think either of those is a good choice. I keep mine in hat boxes with inner supports for the brim. The ones I am wearing I throw the on the table, the bed, the dresser, sometimes the floor. No harm done as long as I don't step on them.

Oh, the only caveat is if you get them drenched. With the added weight you need to be cautious lest they dry in a deformed state if they are hung. If my hats get wet I place them brim down on a towel until they dry making certain they are not deformed from the wetness.

 

[belfastboy]

I have 4 cats, one of which chews on wool and soft cloths, and a 3 year old with a passion for making things sticky.

When not on my head my new Gannon Hat will have to be in the box or hung up.

I have neither of those mine fields! But my general point is that while I take care of my hats but I do not baby them.

 

[Belkar]

I have neither of those mine fields! But my general point is that while I take care of my hats but I do not baby them.

Fair enough. It would be a shame to have spent this money and hide it in a box.

 

[belfastboy]

Fair enough. It would be a shame to have spent this money and hide it in a box.

I box them as we have forced air heating in the house that creates dust and hats are adept at collecting it.