Bound vs. Raw Edge Brim?

[T Jones]

I like both the raw edge and bound brims, depending on the hats. Bound brims don't always lend to dressy attire. Stratoliners, Stetson Wanderers, and Open Roads, i.e., have bound brims and can be worn easily with casual wear. I agree with Zombie that wider hat ribbons seem to have more of a dressier look than the mid and thin ribbons do. Here's a couple pictures for comparrison...

Here's a raw edge brim fedora with a wider ribbon....(I love this hat. Thanks again John G.)...

Here's an Open Road with a bound brim and a thin ribbon...

 

[barrowjh]

My own opinion was shaped from experience. I started out thinking that some sort of edge treatment was better than raw, collecting cav-edge fedoras, thin-ribbon ORs, Strats, San Ants, and panamas with back-woven brim edges. The only raw edges were a couple of 3 inch or wider-brimmed cowboy hats that I rarely wore. Then along came this hat - a Resistol San Antonio version with a raw edge (eventually beveled/rounded edge):




I have since changed that crown, in the lower right corner of this pic -


The other two hats are Resistols also, Beaver 100 on the left and Beaver 50 upper right. The Kings 25 has really changed my mind and I find myself wearing raw brims much more often now, and seeking them out. That has been such a sweet hat, and it just seems more comfortable and more casual than the bound-edge versions (I have two 3XB San Ants with traditional bound brims). The bound brims are either always or almost always a snap brim, the raw edge is either always or almost always NOT a snap brim, and I think that is what I am liking, as well as the different look.

 

[Lotsahats]

I prefer some edge treatment over a raw edge, myself. Raw edges just feel unfinished to me.

 

[hatsRme]

I prefer some edge treatment over a raw edge, myself. Raw edges just feel unfinished to me.

+1

 

[jlee562]

Depends on what I'm wearing that day. I do have more finished brims in my collection however.

 

[splintercellsz]

I enjoy both the same. Depends on my mood for the day, but I do own more raw edges than finished

 

[ManofKent]

I confess to having just cut off a beautifully stitched bound brim (sorry Mike!) on a new custom hat because I just couldn't get on with it on that hat. I've got other bound brim hats that I enjoy, but some hats seem to support brim edge treatment others don't.

 

[Bird Lives]

I used to think Wide Ribbon looked dressier and raw edge more casual.....But now I'm really thinking each hat has its own vibe....I got a new Lock & Co. Sandown Trilby...and this guy has a very narrow ribbon AND raw edge, but it puts out a very classy vibe....I know they are thought of as country, every Racing felts....Which makes it versatile, because I wouldn't hesitate to wear it in a more formal situation either...

And the Stratoliner Jeff Bridges wears in Sea Bisquit....Very Classy....and Thin Ribbon...

So now I'm thinking, generalizations seem to work less and less for hats the more I dig them....};^))

 

[Bird Lives]

Love that Kings 25 beaver too, my friend....That looks like a very versatile hat....Casual and very Classy at the same time....Reminds me of Jeff Bridges Strat in Sea Bisquit a little....

 

[PHIL1959]

I used to own a Christy Bogart, hated the hat! thought at the time it was the bound brim that I did not like.
since then I've acquired two Akubra stylemasters and think they are great hats.
I own more raw edged hats than bound.

 

[WesternHatWearer]

I do not own any bound edge hats, but that does not mean I am opposed to them. I do believe that such hats have their place, but I find that I would have to dress so that the bound edge color is accented accordingly. Yes, even when the color/shade is black; some black ribbons have a flatter/dull appearance than the felt of the hat. For me, I would feel that I would need to tie this color/shade into the outfit so it is not glaringly obvious and the outfit is balanced.

Just my pair of pennies.