Open Crown Stetsons: A Call (Plea) to Retailers!!

[Historyteach24]

Any news when these would be available online?

 

[tommyK]

Delmonico's has the Stratoliner now

 

[Benzadmiral]

Delmonico's has the Stratoliner now

Darn! That mink does look great.

 

[VetPsychWars]

View attachment 6660
To more clearly show the difference between Stetsons Cornhill and Tawny.
They are similar light browns but the Tawny is a little olive and the Cornhill is a little more orange. as was stated earlier there can always be batch variation as well.

By the way I've played with my crease and did the distilled water spray soak to facilitate shaping. The hat suffered no ill effects (no dimpling or tapering) from being very wet.

I especially like the contrasting ribbon on the Cornhill.

When a hat has the proper amount of stiffener in it, you can crease it quite nicely. If it's all washed out, creasing is a lot more difficult.

Tom

 

[tommyK]

I especially like the contrasting ribbon on the Cornhill.

When a hat has the proper amount of stiffener in it, you can crease it quite nicely. If it's all washed out, creasing is a lot more difficult.

Tom

Right You are. As with my initial observation these hats are a measurable improvement for Stetson but not quite as moldable as vintage. I just can't get it as tight or as sharp as I'd like. This may speak more to my lack of creasing skill but, I've played with shaping many vintage hats. My opinion is this effort brings Stetson quality on par with, if not slightly better than modern Akubras. YMMV

 

[VetPsychWars]

Right You are. As with my initial observation these hats are a measurable improvement for Stetson but not quite as moldable as vintage. I just can't get it as tight or as sharp as I'd like. This may speak more to my lack of creasing skill but, I've played with shaping many vintage hats. My opinion is this effort brings Stetson quality on par with, if not slightly better than modern Akubras. YMMV

Have you tried using steam? That's really the best way to do it... get your kettle going (I use a giant-ass Griswold cast aluminum monstrosity) and get the area you want to crease soft with steam, and then bend/crease/pinch and hold until it cools and dries out... about five seconds or so.

Here is an example of a new Borsalino creased with steam.

Tom

 

[tommyK]

Yes, I've done both. Partly I'm trying different creases out on this hat. In my comparison to vintage, I mean that I can pick up a vintage Stetson, Knox, etc. and push , pull and pinch it into just about any shape and it holds it, no matter how tight the crease. This hat will almost do it but needs a little steam or water to get a tighter shape.

beautiful job on that Borsalino, I wish you could shape all my hats!

 

[VetPsychWars]

Yes, I've done both. Partly I'm trying different creases out on this hat. In my comparison to vintage, I mean that I can pick up a vintage Stetson, Knox, etc. and push , pull and pinch it into just about any shape and it holds it, no matter how tight the crease. This hat will almost do it but needs a little steam or water to get a tighter shape.

beautiful job on that Borsalino, I wish you could shape all my hats!

Pay shipping each way... ;-)

But that was on a hat that wasn't repeatedly manipulated. You have to start with a virgin hat or it's a lot more difficult.

Tom

 

[jlee562]

Well it's here!

Overall, I have to say, this is a nice hat. It's miles ahead of Stetson's other offerings. The sweatband is nice and supple, the liner is nice with no plastic cover. The felt has a nice soft hand, not too much stiffener. As others have said, holds a dry crease well. The felt is not quite as thin as many of my vintage hats, but it is definitely thin compared to most modern hats. The color saturation is great, no signs of powder dye. The ribbon was properly tacked over the stitches at the brim break on mine. There is one tiny spot on the brim which seems to have felted unevenly, but to be honest, you can really only feel it, it's very hard to see due to the black dye, and is such a small imperfection that doesn't bother me and I'd imagine won't even be noticed by someone who isn't hat obsessive.

The verdict is positive for me, Stetson/Hatco has put out a nice hat here. Kudos to Mr. Deckard and the whole Stetson crew, I hope these new models do well for them.






I really like the flange on this hat!

 

[Lotsahats]

Looks great, Jared!

A

 

[Historyteach24]

Delmonico's has the Stratoliner now

I checked today and they only have the older version not the new one

 

[jlee562]

I saw it there earlier today, teach. Both the Premiere Strat and Stetsonian are up.

 

[Johnny J]

Very Very Nice! I'm gonna have to start saving up for mine! The last modern Stetson I had was a Nostalgia and these Strats and Stetsonians look way better!

 

[RBH]

I checked today and they only have the older version not the new one

Here you go Teach.....


http://www.delmonicohatter.com/product/TFPSTRB12241973.htm

 

[Historyteach24]

Thanks!

 

[Rogera]

That black Strat is sooooo tempting

 

[Kirk H.]

Really liking my Stetsonian I got in the mail today! Really nice felt, easy to shape, nice hand. I plan to see how well it holds up to lots of wear. Regards

[/IMG]

Wow...That is one sweet looking hat. You wear it well sir. Did you put a center dent or c crown in it? This may be my next hat purchase.

 

[jlee562]

By the by, for a relative comparison, this hat is nicer than an Imperial grade Akubra, and feels closer to vintage as well. Obviously I can't comment on durability, but everything about this hat feels nice. That uneven spot in the brim even got less noticable after a few passes with a brush. It's certainly the nicest factory hat I've seen in quite some time. Nice tall crown, good blockshape. I think this hat would please the crowd here.

 

[Lotsahats]

I'm not a big TAR guy, but I'm more than a little tempted by the new Strat. I love the Stetsonian I picked up, so I'm thinking maybe a TAR to match the WAR...

A

 

[Lotsahats]

Does the Strat come with the retro-style hatbox, too, or is that just a picture prop?

A