I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a Homburger today

[KILO NOVEMBER]

I'm look around for a new Homburg. I'm bidding on one on eBay that will require some restoration effort if I get it, and I've just run across what appears to be a very reasonably-priced Beaver brand Homburg at Hats Plus for $85.00!

Do any of you have Beaver brand hats who can give me the low-down on them?

 

[RHY]

Size?

I have a couple of homburgs that I would be willing to part with, but what size are you looking for?

RHY

 

[cookie]

I've got a NOS beaver one on the classifieds...

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Size matters

What size? Take two normal heads and fuse them together: 7 3/4 LO.

 

[RHY]

No Size

Sorry, no 7 3/4 available.

RHY

 

[babs]

I'm look around for a new Homburg. I'm bidding on one on eBay that will require some restoration effort if I get it, and I've just run across what appears to be a very reasonably-priced Beaver brand Homburg at Hats Plus for $85.00!

Do any of you have Beaver brand hats who can give me the low-down on them?

Funny I just received my 1st "decent" dress hat picked out prior to reading in here and learning-up.. Wool homburg Bailey in black. I'm already shopping for a gray version in fur. The "Beaver Brand" looks interesting.. I wish their company site had a bit more detail about their hats.. They tell all about the grades, but you can't tell which hat gets what.

On the hats plus site you mention.. They've got a fur scala fur homburg that looks sharp as well so there are choices I guess. Being quite the newb, I'd bet though with hats as with all else, even among the same "brand".. you typically get what you pay for. But I get the impression since the beaver brand isn't listed in their manufacturing list, they might be blowing out old inventory or something. Worth it to contact them maybe and ask.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

"Ask me no questions and ..."

Funny I just received my 1st "decent" dress hat picked out prior to reading in here and learning-up.. Wool homburg Bailey in black. I'm already shopping for a gray version in fur. The "Beaver Brand" looks interesting.. I wish their company site had a bit more detail about their hats.. They tell all about the grades, but you can't tell which hat gets what.

On the hats plus site you mention.. They've got a fur scala fur homburg that looks sharp as well so there are choices I guess. Being quite the newb, I'd bet though with hats as with all else, even among the same "brand".. you typically get what you pay for. But I get the impression since the beaver brand isn't listed in their manufacturing list, they might be blowing out old inventory or something. Worth it to contact them maybe and ask.

While I am prepared to be surprised, I don't imagine that if I ask Hats Plus if their Beaver brand Homburg is a good hat that I'm going to get anything but an enthusiastic "Yes!"

"Puffery" is a long-honored tradition in sales and a prudent man would not rely on a seller's description only when making a purchase. That's why "Consumer Reports" sells magazines. So I'm making this inquiry among the disinterested cognoscenti of The Fedora Lounge for opinions.

I did win the Homburg I was bidding for on eBay described as "Vintage 1940s Fedora Taupe John REINITZ New York". You can have a look at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390062502586#description Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the details. I expect that I'll have it in hand on Saturday or Monday and I'll report then.

 

[Slim Portly]

I have a Beaver Brand bowler that I am very happy with, however I did find with this brand a lager than usual variance in felt and ribbon color (on the same model of hat with the same advertised coolr). If this holds true with all of their hats it may be something to consider. In my case I was in a very nice shop with at least a half-dozen of the same model/size, and therefore I simply tried them all on until I found the color comination that suited me best.

I am happy with the construction and fit, and I would certainly consider a Beaver Brand homburg when next I am in the market for one.

 

[babs]

I did win the Homburg I was bidding for on eBay described as "Vintage 1940s Fedora Taupe John REINITZ New York". You can have a look at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390062502586#description Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the details. I expect that I'll have it in hand on Saturday or Monday and I'll report then.

That's a sharp hat. I like the color.

So now as a newbie, I'm searching in here on brim shaping.. I'd kinda like to take the dip out a bit of my homburg to a more of a flatter shape. Problem is, in my vast ignorance when I ordered the hat, I failed... went with a cheap wool hat. Oh the shame.

 

[RHY]

While I am prepared to be surprised, I don't imagine that if I ask Hats Plus if their Beaver brand Homburg is a good hat that I'm going to get anything but an enthusiastic "Yes!"

"Puffery" is a long-honored tradition in sales and a prudent man would not rely on a seller's description only when making a purchase. That's why "Consumer Reports" sells magazines. So I'm making this inquiry among the disinterested cognoscenti of The Fedora Lounge for opinions.

I did win the Homburg I was bidding for on eBay described as "Vintage 1940s Fedora Taupe John REINITZ New York". You can have a look at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390062502586#description Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the details. I expect that I'll have it in hand on Saturday or Monday and I'll report then.

I was looking at a number of hats that this seller had listed and bid on a few. However, I chose to go and get the Bill Taylor fedora that was being listed around the same time. See: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...em=&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT&salenotsupported

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

I won the auction on the Homburg

I won the auction on the Homburg ($44.01 plus shipping). You can check it out on the "Post New Hats Here" thread.

 

[airspirit]

A little late to the party, but I picked up a beaver brand homburg a couple weeks back. At a distance it looks alright, there are some things to note.

1) The stitching on the brim ribbon is horrible and amateurish on every one I handled (went through about 20 of them at Bernie Utz).

2) Maybe the guy on the block had a long hard night, but the blocking on every single hat I looked at was about 5 degrees off-center. I had to get the brim of the one I selected steamed and rotated to match the crease on top.

3) There is a LOT of color variation in any color. The "grey" ones I looked at went from moderately light to very deep grey.

4) There is a LOT of size variation in any size. In the end this is what made me select the hat I ended up with. Some were uncomfortably small, some were quite large, all were the same size.

5) It is a sharp looking hat outside the brim ribbon stitching on the back. Though I ended up buying mine because it was the closest thing to what I was looking for, the color doesn't quite mesh with the suit I planned it with so I ended up finding a vintage black homburg.

6) The felt quality is comparable in stiffness and texture to my Akubra Stylemaster. They are very stiff and sturdy hats, though due to the shaping requirements and wearing of it (you probably don't want a floppy homburg) this is understandable. I'm actually quite pleased with the felt itself, as it is higher quality than expected at that price point.

7) The sweatband is quite stiff and almost plastic feeling. The one I went with is just a touch (1/4 size) large for my head because a perfectly fitting hat would probably become uncomfortable rather quickly. I'm unsure if there is anything that can be done to soften the band.

All said, it is a nice hat. I'm tempted to pull the stitches on the back of the brim binding and resew it myself which would make the hat quite a stunner assuming I don't resell it (I currently don't have anything suitable to wear it with, which is a bit disappointing).