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

[Landman]

Looks great Jared! I'm normally not a black hat guy but I might have to get one of those.

 

[Jedwbpm]

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

A

That is a vintage box that we have in the store.

Jeff

 

[Grizzly Adams]

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.

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I really like the flange on this hat!

Whoa! That's a great looking hat! Looking good, Jared!:eusa_clap

I gotta get me one of those!

 

[hatophile]

Yah, looks nice Jared!

 

[ManofKent]

That does look good Jared.

 

[Rogera]

Nice Jared! I really like that brim. Did you put a center dent in it? I can't tell from the picture. Forgive me if I missed a post showing it.

 

[hatophile]

Darn you guys, I just went and ordered a Mink Strat from Delmonico's website!! I guess it will be a Christmas present to myself.

 

[Joshbru3]

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.

SPECTACULAR new production hat! My hats off to HATCO and Matt for their hard work and dedication. This is the BEST factory fedora I have seen come from HATCO yet. The block profile is beautiful, the trimmings are well done and the dye saturation appears to be very nice. I am VERY glad to hear that HATCO went easy on the shellac. They tend to have a heavy hand with many of their other hats, but that's most likely because they want the pre-creased crown shapes to stay set for a long time. To be honest, I am kind of glad that the felt thickness isn't as thin as vintage Strats. Its awesome to hear that the thickness is still very nice, but here's my take on felt thickness......thinner isn't always better.

I LOVE vintage hats and their ability to crease with just the brush of my finger, but for the modern hat wearer, unless they are a vintage hat enthusiast, might view a flimsier hat as a lesser quality hat. We at the lounge know that isn't true, but not everybody wants a Bantam Weight hat. Some people like a thicker dress weight hat that can be worn in fall and winter. I have owned many hats ranging from the late 1800's until recent times, and not every pre-1950's lid employed thinner felt. I have owned hats from the 20's and 30's that were every bit as thick and stiff as modern day Biltmores, Akubras, or Stetsons. Its really a matter of preference I guess. I don't mind a bit more shellac in a hat crown as long as a couple things come into play.... 1) when I steam the hat it will take shape easily without much manipulation 2) The brim has far less shellac than the crown 3) The crown does not "spider" when creased dry, and probably the most important factor....no matter how thick the felt is, 4) How dense the hat body is felted.

Jared, is the felt dense and did you experience much "spidering" when creasing the hat dry?

 

[Historyteach24]

Tried to order one using paypal's bill me later but it wouldn't go through for some reason

 

[carldelo]

Tried to order one using paypal's bill me later but it wouldn't go through for some reason

First you couldn't find it, now you can't buy it --- seems like the Universe is telling you not to buy this hat, but what does it know?

Personally, I'm more interested in the fuzzy Scholar, although no one seems to have any info about it....

 

[Historyteach24]

Caldelo, it was my first time trying to use the Bill me Later program since they are having a deal right now. I have no clue what happened but I guess I will just wait for a while and pay cash.

 

[VetPsychWars]

The brim has far less shellac than the crown

I still want enough shellac in the brim that it snaps instead of just sort of folds. You can tell when all the shellac is washed out in a vintage when the brim basically folds down like a flap instead of curves.

I look at that crown profile above and have to giggle a bit; I have a prewar Stratoliner at Brass Rooster as we type getting its sweatband replaced and cleaned and blocked... that crown has quite a bit of taper to it, and it's kind of low. I've asked Mr John McLaughlin to crease it on a block this time, as I'm not so good hand-creasing those shorter, tapered crowns. And yet, many of you insist it was a tall, straight crown....

Tom

 

[Joshbru3]

I still want enough shellac in the brim that it snaps instead of just sort of folds. You can tell when all the shellac is washed out in a vintage when the brim basically folds down like a flap instead of curves.

I look at that crown profile above and have to giggle a bit; I have a prewar Stratoliner at Brass Rooster as we type getting its sweatband replaced and cleaned and blocked... that crown has quite a bit of taper to it, and it's kind of low. I've asked Mr John McLaughlin to crease it on a block this time, as I'm not so good hand-creasing those shorter, tapered crowns. And yet, many of you insist it was a tall, straight crown....

Tom

Tom, I fully agree with you on the shellac amount in the brim. I like a brim that is soft yet firm enough to hold shape. As far as the original Strat crown shape.........it had several profiles. The original 5 1/2 inch tall block that was used on numerous strats, open roads, etc was slightly tapered and rounded on top. The reason it appears to be straighter to many loungers is because the thin ribbon allows the crown to be creased down enough to straighten out. Many people use c-crowns and diamonds with strats/open roads so effectively that crown shape does "straighten" the look of the crown. I have owned quite a few 40's/50's stetsons that have used this block included many open roads and strats and I can honestly say that based on when it was made, the profile does differ slightly. Some earlier models were not as round on top and some were more tapered. It just depends. Overal I believe this new Strat that was issued by Hatco has a straighter crown profile than the originals, which I like very much. This new crown block goes perfect with the hat.

 

[TheDane]

And yet, many of you insist it was a tall, straight crown....

No, Stratoliners were made with a tall, straight crown. The #122 block, that Stetson used for Stratoliners for many years, was indeed tall and with quite straight sides. That's a fact - not an assumption

That doesn't mean, that your Strat didn't shrink. The Stratoliner was "just" a Royal Stetson - an entry level hat - and not made from the most stable felt available. It's not at all rare to see vintage hats with a lot more taper than they were born with.

 

[Joshbru3]

No, Stratoliners were made with a tall, straight crown. The #122 block, that Stetson used for Stratoliners for many years, was indeed tall and with quite straight sides. That's a fact - not an assumption

That doesn't mean, that your Strat didn't shrink. The Stratoliner was "just" a Royal Stetson - an entry level hat - and not made from the most stable felt available. It's not at all rare to see vintage hats with a lot more taper than they were born with.

True, but I have seen variations on block numbers. Stetson made their own blocks at one time and I believe Hatco still does. A 122 block from 1940 might vary slightly from a 122 block made in 1950. I have seen first hand variations in 6 inch 52 blocks. Sure they are all 6 inches tall, but the top is rounder on some than others. Still none to very little taper on top.

Tom, its also very possible that your Strat was re-blocked at some point during its life. Dry cleaners used to re-block hats all the time when men would have them cleaned. I would bet those dry cleaners didn't own exact Stetson blocks.

 

[TheDane]

A 122 block from 1940 might vary slightly from a 122 block made in 1950. I have seen first hand variations in 6 inch 52 blocks. Sure they are all 6 inches tall, but the top is rounder on some than others. Still none to very little taper on top.

True, but I have still to come across a Stratoliner with "short tapered" crown. Sure, some Strats were also more rounded than others, but all I have seen were quite full/straight.

 

[Joshbru3]

True, but I have still to come across a Stratoliner with "short tapered" crown. Sure, some Strats were also more rounded than others, but all I have seen were quite full/straight.

Very true. I have not seen a short/tapered crown on a factory strat pre-1960. Like I said, possibly re-blocked at one time?? [huh]

 

[TheDane]

Like I said, possibly re-blocked at one time?? [huh]

Very likely, Josh. Either that or some nasty summer shovers - a hot head and a lot of water. Note to self: "Never drink anything thinner than straight Vodka, when wearing a fedora"

 

[jlee562]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I did just put in a simple center dent for now.

Josh, here is a close-up of the rear dent....spidering is not really evident to me:

Here's also a close-up of the brim with the imperfection I was talking about in the center of the picture, it's really just a few stray fibers, and like I said, almost imperceptible.

 

[RBH]

By pre war do you mean the Korean War?

I did have a shorter crown Stratoliner...1950s I believe, but it was not tapered.