Lock & Co.

[Bird Lives]

Hello All...
I need to post an addendum to my last post here. I may have misquoted someone at Lock & co. I have a sincere affection for their hats and I don't want to leave this topic this way.

I said their Men's fur felt fedoras were being made by Isesa in Spain now. Well I'm not sure if all are. But my Sandown was and many of the Special Addition "60 years of 007" hats are. They say the new copy of the Trilby Sean Connery wore in Dr No is currently available in its original Greyish Green. And it's made on the original blocks from Locks as are the Sandown trilbys. But the 007 version is a limited numbered addition, made from a special Wool Felt and cost a good bit more than the Brown Rabbit Furfelt Sandown which is in current unlimited production.

I do not know about any other of Lock's Furfelt fedora's origins.

I do have a Sandown which has a tag inside which says Isesa. And it's a fine hat which I love dearly.

I honestly can't help you much in finding the origin of Lock's production. I have a couple of their hats in my collection, without infamy or praise, made in the UK by one of the many manufacturers then operating in the country.
I don't have recent Lock's to compare, so I'll stop here.
You could hire James to find out what you're looking for...if he's available.
I think it's essential to offer him an exotic adventure and an encounter with a Bond girl, at the very least

Lol!!! Thanks Daniele for making me laugh! According to the movies, James has saved the World a few times...But I think it will take more than him to save British Hatmaking. ...Just kidding...I don't want to insite the wrath of any British hatmakers or fans there of....lol

 

[bellatrix]

Has anyone recently purchased a Lock & Co hat? Have heard their quality has dropped off a lot.

Specifically interested in a Montecristi. Between Lock & Co and Worth & Worth, after much research.

 

[belfastboy]

Has anyone recently purchased a Lock & Co hat? Have heard their quality has dropped off a lot.

Specifically interested in a Montecristi. Between Lock & Co and Worth & Worth, after much research.

I picked up a new Worth & Worth - Orlando Palacios hat off Ebay. It is a $700 hat. It is a nice hat but not worth that kind of money. Nice felt but very soft and floppy (european hare not beaver), mediocre sweat band, cheap poly ribbon.....decent build quality. If you plan to spend anything over $500 go custom instead.

 

[bellatrix]

I picked up a new Worth & Worth - Orlando Palacios hat off Ebay. It is a $700 hat. It is a nice hat but not worth that kind of money. Nice felt but very soft and floppy (european hare not beaver), mediocre sweat band, cheap poly ribbon.....decent build quality. If you plan to spend anything over $500 go custom instead.

Who do you like going custom with? Optima is probably who I would call personally.

 

[belfastboy]

Who do you like going custom with? Optima is probably who I would call personally.

I have never owned an Optimo. But I do own hats from about a dozen other custom hatters. I would check out Northwest Hats & Michael Gannon....both master hatters and both under $500 for a 100% beaver. If you have a grand to spend check out Rodney at NorthValley Hatco. He puts the finest finish on a felt I have ever seen.

 

[jlee562]

I had a Worth and Worth Panama for a few days. I knew going into it I was paying a premium for the, shall we say, fashion forward design, which I didn't fundamentally have an issue with per se. And I knew that similar weave count Cuencas could be had for less (I really wanted a black wide brim straw). But the hat I got was so supremely underwhelming. There were several stray ends sticking out and the crown was blocked lopsided. W&W tried to give me the whole "these hats are handwoven" line and said that unless I purchased a "Museum quality" hat, that such imperfections should be expected. And like, no. They might be able to pass that logic off to a fashionable NYC customer who didn't know anything about hats. OTOH, I can just compare it to the Stetson Panama in my closet that I paid less than half of the W&W for.

If you're prepared to throw around that kind of cash, grab that Optimo or do some more research into Brent Black. Though I don't own a Northwest hat, I've seen plenty of them on here (hat tip to Bill Hughes) that I would easily recommend NW sight unseen over W&W.

 

[bellatrix]

My budget is $5-700. And I have a big head. Like 63cm. So it's hard to fit.

 

[belfastboy]

My budget is $5-700. And I have a big head. Like 63cm. So it's hard to fit.

I am a custom hat maker and many custom hatters have blocks that can accommodate your size. I would check with them to see what they have. For your budget you can get a beautiful 100% beaver felt hat from either Northwest or Gannon. I think with Optimo you are looking at upwards of double your budget. I have many of their creations personally and I can say for a fact that they are on another level of quality above that of Worth & Worth - orlando palacios.....no question.

 

[bellatrix]

And how do people feel about Lock & Co? Hearing their quality has gone down.

 

[belfastboy]

And how do people feel about Lock & Co? Hearing their quality has gone down.

If you use the google: enter Fedora Lounge and Lock & Co. and you will get any threads available in the Lounge. Lock is not a brand that gets much coverage here in the Lounge.

 

[bellatrix]

If you use the google: enter Fedora Lounge and Lock & Co. and you will get any threads available in the Lounge. Lock is not a brand that gets much coverage here in the Lounge.

I have. And most posts seem to be about selling hats.

 

[belfastboy]

Yes, Lock & Co is not a brand that gets much attention here in the Lounge. I have not come across many in the used/Ebay marketplace either.

I have. And most posts seem to be about selling hats.

 

[BobHufford]

Anyone know how to put an estimated date to this? The liner appears to be stuck to the factory sticker and I am afraid to pull on it.

Stingy!

a

Side seam:

 

[bellatrix]

I ordered a wide brim Panama from Lock & Co. Was about US $500 shipped to NY. It looks pretty good to me. Not the finest weave but for the price didn't expect that. There's a few imperfections though that I am on the fence about. Especially on the crown. Curious how the community thinks.

 

[belfastboy]

I ordered a wide brim Panama from Lock & Co. Was about US $500 shipped to NY. It looks pretty good to me. Not the finest weave but for the price didn't expect that. There's a few imperfections though that I am on the fence about. Especially on the crown. Curious how the community thinks.

Price seems high for what looks to be a coarse weave. Better buys, higher quality, lower price from custom hatters here in the US. Hard to spot the imperfections.

 

[bellatrix]

Price seems high for what looks to be a coarse weave. Better buys, higher quality, lower price from custom hatters here in the US. Hard to spot the imperfections.

Any recs for custom? Curious to know how much better I would get. Have looked around a lot and didn't see a lot of options.

 

[belfastboy]

Any recs for custom? Curious to know how much better I would get. Have looked around a lot and didn't see a lot of options.

I own two custom Panamas from Mike at NW Hats in Eugene, OR. He brings in the blanks and completes the hats in his shop. Mine are excellent quality and I paid $375 two years ago.

 

[Rmccamey]

I ordered a wide brim Panama from Lock & Co. Was about US $500 shipped to NY. It looks pretty good to me. Not the finest weave but for the price didn't expect that. There's a few imperfections though that I am on the fence about. Especially on the crown. Curious how the community thinks.

Any recs for custom? Curious to know how much better I would get. Have looked around a lot and didn't see a lot of options.

Panama Fedora — The Northwest Hat Co.

www.northwesthats.com

 

[NVHATCO]

Could anyone comment on the quality of Lock's hats? There's only one model that has the right look, in my opinion, and that's the "Chelsea". Has anyone examined these hats from up close? Are they worth the 160 pounds that they're asking?

http://www.jameslock.co.uk/prod2.taf?groupId=100007&_UserReference=E74326F785866E5F44170CAA

They are one of the oldest hat manufacturers in the world now. Very fine quality.

 

[steur]

And how do people feel about Lock & Co? Hearing their quality has gone down.

I have a few Lock&Co hats. They are nice enough hats, at least the vintage ones are. From what I gather Christys makes their hats now and they just style them. Buying one new in their shop now gets you the experience of having been in the oldest hat shop still in existence in the world and the experience of paying a few hundred pounds too much for a hat that's of mediocre quality at best.