Clear Beaver Stetson 100

[jimmy the lid]

Art was able to re stitch a sweat on my 7X clear. It had the reed to hat stitching rotting

Cause for optimism!

I'm curious to know the width of the brim.

The brim width is 2 3/4".

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Mr. Paladin]

Jimmy, another of your fabulous finds. I hope you can find a way to restore it without losing that sweat. I'm envious, as ever!

 

[gtdean48]

.... Given this state of affairs, I'm wondering if it might not be possible to re-attach the original sweat. That would be a fantastic result -- but I just don't know...

VERY nice, Chief!
BTW, my OR style 25 had a very nice sweatband but the stitching had given way right at my forehead. I sent it to Major Mike. He restitched it & must have used the same holes because I can't tell there are any new ones. KEEP that sweatband attached at all costs! Mike did an excellent job on mine. HTH :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[carouselvic]

I believe the hat is a complete loss, no hope what so ever. It's time to go ahead and put her down, she is suffering. Send it to me ol' pal and I'll do it for you, it has to be done. TLH

 

[Justdog]

This Stetson 100 arrived earlier this week. Most of the Stetson 100's I have seen are generally silver belly in color. This one is a dead-on match for a 7X Clear Beaver. Really beautiful color. Judging by the Stetson crest info in this thread, I have a feeling that this could be one of the earliest versions of the Stetson 100. The felt is extremely dense and smooth, as is typical of this model. Although the crown is stiffer than on a 7X CB, the brim is almost as soft. Whether this is just a function of being handled for a longer period of time is hard to say -- but, I would have to say that, overall, this Stetson 100 is just a bit softer than later versions I have handled. The felt is in beautiful condition. Tragically, however, the stitches attaching the sweat to the hat seem to have reached the end of the road. As I tried the hat on, I heard a couple of "pops" as the stiches gave out. The hat fits perfectly, but the stitching is just a no go. So, sadly, it looks like I'll have to have Optimo replace the sweat -- something I'll definitely do, since this one is going to see a lot of time on my noggin'.

Cheers,
JtL

Awesome:eusa_clap
Optimo can just restitch this for you. They did my 25 that almost fell out of the hat. Just a superb restoration. You probably knew that though it sounded like you were going to replace it

 

[JessieJames]

Are the photos pretty accurate to a Stetson clear? It's much lighter and bone color like than I have seen in other places

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Here’s a real dirty one. First pic, poor light.
Second pic, and a real clean one next to it with a few other Clear Beaver Silverbellys. The upper right is a sugar white 3X for contrast.
B

 

[steur]

View attachment 169014 View attachment 169015 Here’s a real dirty one. First pic, poor light.
Second pic, and a real clean one next to it with a few other Clear Beaver Silverbellys. The upper right is a sugar white 3X for contrast.
B

There's something I find very appealing about shots of groups of hats. I'll put that on the list alongside my fondness for the smell of hats...

 

[JessieJames]

View attachment 169014 View attachment 169015 Here’s a real dirty one. First pic, poor light.
Second pic, and a real clean one next to it with a few other Clear Beaver Silverbellys. The upper right is a sugar white 3X for contrast.
B

Does :"CLEAR" and "SILVERBELLY" mean the same thing then for Stetson in terms of colour?

 

[carouselvic]

No not the same.

 

[jlee562]

Does :"CLEAR" and "SILVERBELLY" mean the same thing then for Stetson in terms of colour?

See this thread for more info, but the tl;dr version is that we don't know for 100% certainty what "clear" denoted at any given time, but it seems it means that the hat body was bleached before dying.
https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/hatco-could-you-clear-something-up.21471/

 

[suitedcboy]

Odd words those two. Silver belly is a color and clear is a process or quality that can be different colors and different beaver or nutria percentages.
Silver belly as a color has a range even within the same manufacturer. Some SB is light gray with the slightest hint of some tan and others so designated can be almost ivory in color with no hue that suggests gray. Silver belly is not to be confused with the high grade 100% beaver where the hair for felt is chosen from select areas of the pelt, like the belly area (yes, even 100% beaver is not a term without variety). Clear is more elusive. The clear designation hats I have handled seemed to have felt that always has a more luxurious feel and few if any coarse hairs detectable in the felt compared to the same felt type and X count of other hats not marked that way from the same era. I had assumed it meant the hairs used in the felting were clear of odd hairs or impurities. The thread referenced does not come to a definitive conclusion but hair grading for the felt is not mentioned so my assumption seems wrong.