Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

[jlee562]

A little tea kettle steaming /reshaping into a fedora style and I'm golden !!!!~

P.S. If you look inside the brim where your forehead would go, you can make out "open road "
I don't think a lot of people picked up on that !

Fashion Frank,

Congratulations on your find. I'm jealous. But just a quick question. I'm new to the world of hats though I have been wearing cheap fedoras for some time now. I am uninitiated in the ways of the felt. I have seen a few Stetson Open Roads on eBay which were cowboy style and some that were fedora style. It seems you are implying that through the use of steam, you can reshape a cowboy to a fedora. Is this correct? Are there any (4X or otherwise) on which you could not do this?

I appreciate whatever wisdom you can impart.

And again, nice snipe.

Adrian[/QUOTE]

You might not even need steam with some of those old hats. But yes, a good fur felt hat should be able to take a new crease. The caveat is that sometimes felt has a bit of a "memory" and likes to fall back into where it was. A reblock often fixes this significantly.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Just bought this... Been browsing ebay and it caught my eye. First fur felt for me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=181031830664

Opinions?

Nice score and you sure can't beat that price! Hello there in Texas! Gotta love anyone from Texas!

 

[LoveMyHats2]

This is my latest adventure - won tonight - Francato Cappello

I think the $33 shipping must have scared off bidders, but it changed to just $16 when I asked the seller to check on the shipping, so the deal is done now, hat plus shipping only $38. Appears to be a beaver blend (maybe all beaver) cav edge with oilskin moisture barrier behind the sweatband. I hope the brim is at least 2 1/2 in but was afraid to ask - I've noticed that too many detailed questions & answers do draw a crowd, so I gambled on the brim width.

Won this cobalta-fleck borsalino cav edge back in mid-December - note that the seller stated the brim width was 2 1/2, but when it arrived it is only 2 3/8. I kept it anyway and sent it off to Optimo to get a new sweatband, I can sacrifice 1/8 inch to wear that felt, a 'heather' made of mostly grey fur with some cobalt (navy blue) felt mixed in, so I'm calling it cobalta-fleck. The ribbon is also very special, a relatively normal bow until you get a close look at the knot, a shark-gill pleat across the leading side of the knot, I have never seen that before. Looking forward to wearing this one after it gets back from Optimo.

The color of the fleck in that hat sure makes it appear so custom, one of a kind. I love it!

 

[barrowjh]

LMH2, the seller referred to it as a black ribbon and a grey hat, but I already own a totally cobalta borsalino, so I recognized the shade of navy from the seller's pictures, and could not lay off of that felt. I know there are some amongst us with beautiful collections of 'heather' felts (Buler and RLK?), but I have never seen one like this. Looking forward to getting the refurb'd hat and wearing it, will post pictures of it.

 

[howardeye]

Posted this great win in the Homburg section. Here is where I got it and it is like new! Now all I need is a navy blue.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200868760996?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

[Miamibruno]

Thank you all for the welcome and the wisdom. My journey for the perfect hat begins.

Adrian

 

[ottawa_adam]

Thank you all for the welcome and the wisdom. My journey for the perfect hat begins.

Adrian

Welcome, Miamibruno. My quest for the perfect hat seems to be never ending.

 

[Historyteach24]

Welcome, Miamibruno. My quest for the perfect hat seems to be never ending.

I love this quote lol. I have found that there are varying types of collectors on this site. There are people who buy but never sell, some sell a few and then you have people like me. My mania to find the hat that I truly love leads me to always think "there is a better hat out there". Good luck with it and welcome to the lounge.

 

[Lotsahats]

Welcome, Adrian!

I love this quote lol. I have found that there are varying types of collectors on this site. There are people who buy but never sell, some sell a few and then you have people like me. My mania to find the hat that I truly love leads me to always think "there is a better hat out there". Good luck with it and welcome to the lounge.

I've only sold my modern hats, with the exception of one big, black, wide-brim. I'm in the collecting phase at this point, and I'm up to three vintage hats, with one custom VS in production. I do not pretend to think I'm cured, however.

Aaron

 

[gtdean48]

Thank you all for the welcome and the wisdom. My journey for the perfect hat begins.

Adrian

Welcome Adrian. The thread for your journey is = http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?51581-HOLY-GRAIL-What-fedoras-are-you-pining-for

 

[Historyteach24]

Lots I buy vintage that dont fit and sell them on here. My fav past time is to go go antique shops and pick hats. I also have sold some customs that I have been unhappy with but when I find a hat I like I keep it.

 

[hatsRme]

Thank you all for the welcome and the wisdom. My journey for the perfect hat begins.

Adrian

Hi there, Adrian!

Keep your eyes open, watch the for the variety of brimmed hats you 'll see in Randolph (where I reside).

Also, check out the selection of new lids at Salmagundi, on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain. They're only minutes from beautiful, sunny Milton.

Welcome in, and enjoy the hunt!
Charlie

 

[Lotsahats]

Lots I buy vintage that dont fit and sell them on here. My fav past time is to go go antique shops and pick hats. I also have sold some customs that I have been unhappy with but when I find a hat I like I keep it.

This is the next step for me, too. I'd guess that being in Kansas City, I should have a pretty good supply of Stetsons and Stephens to pick from at antique shops! Now, that will possibly mean that I have to learn how to restore hats; hrm, maybe I can work a deal with one of the restorers around here where I supply them hats and get commission in restoration work for hats I want to keep...

Best,
Aaron

 

[LoveMyHats2]

This is the next step for me, too. I'd guess that being in Kansas City, I should have a pretty good supply of Stetsons and Stephens to pick from at antique shops! Now, that will possibly mean that I have to learn how to restore hats; hrm, maybe I can work a deal with one of the restorers around here where I supply them hats and get commission in restoration work for hats I want to keep...

Best,
Aaron

Geez, if I could find a large number of antique hats in shops, I would have to buy them all. Doomed....I tell ya, dooomed! lol!

 

[howardeye]

Thank you all for the welcome and the wisdom. My journey for the perfect hat begins.

Adrian

Welcome Adrian. I hope you find your perfect hat! For me the perfect hat is one that fits. I buy them to wear. Since joining the forum I have found many old new additions for my head.

 

[splintercellsz]

Won what seems to be an older Knox Homburg, that seems to have been rarely used. Here are some auction photos.

 

[alanfgag]

A beauty... congratulations!

 

[splintercellsz]

Thank you, Alan! I can't wait for it to arrive... I just hope it fits

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

Just got this from Etsy. I believe the seller dated it incorrectly as a late 1930s hat. I believe it's a 1920s or early 30s horsehair hat that someone added a yellow ribbon to at a later date. The size label in the second picture has me convinced even more of this because I have only ever seen that type of size label in 20s and early 30s hats, which are the types I mainly collect. These usually go for well over 100 bucks but the seller was selling it for 40 so of course I jumped on it. I can see myself wearing this when I go down south this summer

 

[bowlerman]

Wow-- that's beautiful. Horsehair, really?


That Knox looks great, splinter!