Open Road Panama Hat

[thunderw21]

I just got a new, unworn Stetson straw Open Road hat from Goodwill for $10. It's 7 1/8", 8x. I don't have a camera so here's a photo of another one. One problem with it is that my tall head doesn't much like the center crease.

I need to snap the brim down. Would steam work for this?

Billy

 

[bolthead]

No steam needed, just a good soaking will do the trick for you.

 

[RBH]

Those type Open Roads are hard to shape, I never was able to get mine right.

 

[Kilroy]

RBH,
You might try denatured alcohol. I used it on a Resistol with some success. Unfortunately, I got alcohol on the label glued to the inside of the crown, and it bled through to the outside of the crown. I sure don't know how to get rid of that. If you try it, be careful.

 

[GentlemanFarmer]

Steam

I have that exact hat. Steam worked for me. I left the rear brim like it came out of the box and essentially flattened the front brim with a lot of steam and then worked it down into a near snap brim.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Funny, I had one of these - I got in around 1980* and it was my primary summer hat for over twenty years - and it came with a snap brim. I turned down the front on day one, without steam or anything, and it stayed down just fine. I only turned the front brim up when putting the hat away for the winter every year. (The hat eventually lost its snap and shape, the straw cracked, and it because a mess. I finally retired it about four years ago.)

I'm surprised to hear that newer ones don't have a snap brim!

(* I bought it at the old Worth & Worth hat store on Madison Avenue. It list-priced for $50 there at that point, but I only paid $28 because it was during a September straw-hat clearance sale.)

 

[Atticus Finch]

Hi Folks,

I bought a Stetson Panama on e-bay just the other day. An Open Road, maybe? It sure looks Open Roadish, but the center crease looks a little wierd. It has yet to arrive, so I'm not really sure what I've got. Only paid fifteen-fifty, though, so hopefully I didn't go too wrong.

Here it is.

Atticus

 

[duggap]

Hi Folks,

I bought a Stetson Panama on e-bay just the other day. An Open Road, maybe? It sure looks Open Roadish, but the center crease looks a little wierd. It has yet to arrive, so I'm not really sure what I've got. Only paid fifteen-fifty, though, so hopefully I didn't go too wrong.

Here it is.

Atticus

From the look of that picture, it looks more like a felt hat than a straw hat. But what the heck, you win either way.

 

[thunderw21]

From the look of that picture, it looks more like a felt hat than a straw hat. But what the heck, you win either way.

It might just be the picture but I think I see lines criss crossing, indicating a Panama.

Whether it is or not, you still got a good deal.

I steamed mine the other day and it worked fine. I snapped the front brim down, got rid of the cattleman's crease and put in some front dents.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Thanks, guys. The seller swears it's a Panama. I think I got a good deal because it is a size 7 3/4. I have the largest head in the United States, I'm sure.

Atticus

 

[dostacos]

Thanks, guys. The seller swears it's a Panama. I think I got a good deal because it is a size 7 3/4. I have the largest head in the United States, I'm sure.

Atticus

there is a guy on COW that was talking about how big he could get an adventurebuilt hat, he is in the 8+ range

still anything about 7 1/2 is hard to find on ebay

 

[Atticus Finch]

Hi Folks,

My Perhaps-A-Stetson-Panama just arrived and, sure enough, it is a Stetson Panama. It fits like a dream---7 3/4 long oval. Dang, I've got a big head!

I need to either get it blocked or try to reshape it myself. Evidently, it has been stored for a while too close to something and now the left side of the brim is turned up at a greater angle than is the right side. Also, I would like the front of the brim to turn down slightly in the fedora fashion, as opposed to upwardly in the traditional Open Road style. Did I hear that Panama hats can be steamed and reshaped? I would like to give that a shot because I have no idea where to get a hat blocked. I'm not sure anyone in Eastern North Carolina does that.

While I am very happy with my purchase, I doubt that this is an Open Road Panama. In fact, it doesn't seem to have a style name anywhere in it. The band shows the Stetson logo and "Genuine Leather" on one side, and "Genuine Panama" on the other---but nothing else. Inside the crown is a Stetson label.

Photos as soon as I can get it reshaped.

Atticus