Open Road questions ??

[Irish4]

I have seen some pictures of the open road here at fedora lounge and they seem to be shaped to the fedora style.It is sold in a cattle mens style ,not with a pinch front and the front of the brim snapped down.Is this correct or can you explain lucy?

 

[Dinerman]

I have seen some pictures of the open road here at fedora lounge and they seem to be shaped to the fedora style.It is sold in a cattle mens style ,not with a pinch front and the front of the brim snapped down.Is this correct or can you explain lucy?

They were originally sold open crowned, as were most hats, so you could shape them any way you wanted. A good percentage of them were shaped into what you'd consider fedora creasing. Now they have much more stiffener and come pre-creased with a cattleman's crown.

 

[GWD]

Yes, you are correct. Nowadays the Open Road comes "Standard" with the cattleman's crease. But a lot of gentlemen here find the Open Road looks nice with a teardrop or diamond bash.

It is much easier to re-bash the older hats, as the felt is much softer and pliable. I have a brand new Open Road which is almost brittle to the touch and very thin.

It took great effort to turn this hat into a fedora.

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Irish, I do not claim to be the ultimate authotity on vintage hats. That being said, every vintage Open Road that I ever came across or saw in a photo has a cattleman's crease. Many, including mine have been converted to a c crown with forward pinches. Were there some with c crowns back in the day? I am sure there were, but I feel the majority were of the cattleman crease variety. Maybe James Powers can clarify this, he has a wealth of information after years of study.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Yes, you are correct. Nowadays the Open Road comes "Standard" with the cattleman's crease. But a lot of gentlemen here find the Open Road looks nice with a teardrop or diamond bash.

It is much easier to re-bash the older hats, as the felt is much softer and pliable. I have a brand new Open Road which is almost brittle to the touch and very thin.

It took great effort to turn this hat into a fedora.

That looks perfect! :eusa_clap

 

[Irish4]

open road

Thanks guys for your reply.It is agreat help.So if I buy a new open road I can reshape it easy enough?

 

[Irish4]

My spelling sucks tonight........sorry

 

[KY Gentleman]

Re-shaping will probably not be easy. As GWD says the pre-formed cattlemans crease it pretty well "set-in".
I really like the Stetson "Open Road" with the cattlemans crease, so I haven't fooled with it much. But if you have a newer one after awhile it does soften up, maybe then it would re-shape into a C-crown or "tear-drop" easier for you.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Seems I've heard many times around here that if you want a new OR-type hat for purposes of a non-Cattleman's Crease, your best bet is to get an Akubra Campdraft. (Akubra had the Stetson license in Australia for many years, and the Campdraft is virtually their old Open Road model - under a different name to avoid litigation.) The Campdraft comes open-crown to shape yourself, with much less stiffener in the felt to fight... Many respected Aussie dealers (e.g., HatsDirect, Everything Australian, etc.) carry it.

Do a search on "Campdraft" in the Hats forum - this has been discussed quite a bit.

 

[mingoslim]

Maybe this is true in Texas . . .

Irish, I do not claim to be the ultimate authotity on vintage hats. That being said, every vintage Open Road that I ever came across or saw in a photo has a cattleman's crease. Many, including mine have been converted to a c crown with forward pinches. Were there some with c crowns back in the day? I am sure there were, but I feel the majority were of the cattleman crease variety. Maybe James Powers can clarify this, he has a wealth of information after years of study.

But my grandfather always wore his OR with a fedora Bash, and I always have as well . . .

I have bought several and converted them . . . and bought some that were already in fedora mode . . .

And how would you know from a vintage photo of a hat whether it was an OR with a Fedora bash, or some other brand or style with a cattlemens bash?

 

[Stan]

I tend to do it the other way...

Hi,

I've bought vintage Open Road hats that were converted to a Fedora and returned them back to the Alpine, or Cattleman's, crease. I keep the snap brim and wear it turned up in the rear and down in the front like the typical fedora, though.

The reason being that my wife and daughters all think that I look better in that style hat.

As was already mentioned, the vintage felt is easily worked by hand to get the look one prefers.

I have a couple true cowboy hats, which look quite similar. However, I don't like the thicker, heavier felt that they are made from. Well, that was the idea of the Open Road in the first place, right? A 'cowboy' hat made from the same felt as a dress hat for the man that owns the ranch.

As far as how they were styles when new back in the day, I think they came either open crown or with the cattleman's crease. I have yet to see a vintage Stetson ad that shows an Open Road as a fedora.

However, the Stetson Stratoliner is pretty much the same as an Open Road styled as a fedora winds up being, so perhaps it's a simple case of Stetson not wanting to compete with itself at the time.....

Later!

Stan

 

[Uncle Vern]

I've never seen an Open Road that could be easily reblocked into a fedora, even the old ones--there's always the ghost of the old block trying to reappear. Seems like the best bet is to simply have someone like Art make a custom version and have it blocked to your taste when it's being made.
I prefer the traditional Open Road block, but I look like a dork in it because I'm too big for the hat. Maybe I look that way without the hat, too. Snapping the brim down in front seems to help.
Interestingly, I own several OR knockoffs with the cattlemen's crease and I can wear them in the traditional Open Road block. They all measure out to pretty much the same numbers. Go figure.

 

[Lefty]

I've never seen an Open Road that could be easily reblocked into a fedora, even the old ones--there's always the ghost of the old block trying to reappear.

4 words: 7 X Clear Beaver.

 

[Justdog]

Sriffner

Thanks guys for your reply.It is agreat help.So if I buy a new open road I can reshape it easy enough?

Would recommend open crown no stffiner if you want to shape yourself.
Am currently trying to reshape 2 cattleman creases from 2 vintage ORs. The 2 I have that did not have stiffner are soft and easily reshaped. Cutomize the one you get the way you like and an open crown is the easiest template.

 

[enrique]

I am a newbie to these forums and to the world of vintage hats. But I need a dress hat and my great grand dad, and many other members of my family, wore a Stetson OR in Grey with a cattlemans crease. So I have been looking, and looking, and looking.

My size is almost 7 5/8 -- so that is what I have been looking for.

Question #1 -- Am I gonna find a Grey OR (a resistol "san anotonio" would also be fine with me) in a 7 5/8? or should I be looking at the 7 1/2's with the plan to stretch it?

Question #2 -- I found a mint Grey OR 7 3/8. I assume it is just out of the question to pick that up and stretch it a size and a half. True?

Question #3 -- Roughly what would be a fair price for a mint Grey OR in 7 3/8? I am considering picking it up with the hopes of trading with someone on this forum who has the same thing in a bigger size.

Question #4 -- How much does it matter for the trading value of said hat above if it is a Sheplers by Stetson, vs. a Stetson?

I have looked at the Akruba Campdrafts -- and I might go that route. But I want to work the vintage end of things first.

This is a whole new world for me, but I have been obsessed for a week now, and I dont even have a hat.

Thanks for dealing with a newbie.

E

 

[Historyteach24]

Questions 1 and 2. I hate the idea of stretching hats. I know some people do it but I would think more than a half size would destroy the hat. Questions three depends on if you want a Stetson, Resistol etc brand matters very much in vintage hats. Not a question but the Akubra Campdraft is a kick ass hat that can be found in our classifieds and can be had for less money than a vintage OR.

 

[jlee562]

1) Finding larger vintage sizes is difficult, period.

2) Not necessarily. It's not unheard of, but would need to be done by a professional hatter. What would likely need to be done is to have the whole thing reblocked and have a new sweatband installed. You'd be changing the brim break though, so you may lose a bit of brim. You're also greatly devaluing the hat by doing so. If it's just for you, you may or may not care.

4) Shepler's was just a retail store that like many stores of the day had their logo imprinted on the sweatbands. In fact, my 50's OR is from Shepler's as well. It doesn't impact the value in any way.

 

[Historyteach24]

Forgot to mention that finding vintage hats above 7 1/4 is quite the chore. As a big headed guy I have almost entirely resigned myself to customs

 

[jlee562]

Also, if you're not dead set on having a Stetson or Resistol, most makers had their own take on the OR style. Dobbs had the Westward for example...in fact, a grey one was for sale here a few months back.

 

[gtdean48]

Looking for vintage in our hat size, 7 5/8, you can't be too color selective.
There are some nice OR's out there but majority will be in Silverbelly.
True, Resistol, Knox, etc. have a more silver/grey than Stetson's, which is more tan.
If you ever get your hands on a nice vintage Silverbelly Stetson Open Road, I don't think the grey/tan issue will be an issue.
Silverbelly tends to blend with whatever you are wearing.
Like I said in Classifieds, I have a nice Knox 20 OR style that is grey, looks just like San Antonio that I sold Sam, casechopper.