Panama Hat Thread

[johnnycanuck]

Here are mine

A cheep (but not so cheep) Olney

Panama Bob Optimo 600 wpsi

Panama Bob Fedora 300wpsi (my summer beater)

Panama Hats Direct 550-600wpsi Optimo

Johnny

 

[Tom-n-Perris]

I just recently got my second hat from Art within the last month. The other you can find on the thread My First Work of Art.
Here is my Semi-Calado Panama Hat that I ordered from Art.

This hat is just outstanding! It is a 500 wpi on the brim.

The weave pattern in the crown is exceptional.

Here is a better picture of the color of the ribbon. It is eggplant. It goes from being almost black and then to a slight reddish color as you can see here.

Here is the inside of the hat. The mark located on the lower left quadrant is the signature of the weaver. Art told me that they request them not to do it in pen but you know how that goes. It is still a great hat.

Hats are like potato chips You just can't have one. :eusa_doh:

 

[jimmy the lid]

Dobbs Planter's Punch

This lid just arrived today -- a Dobbs Planter's Punch with a sales receipt dating to 1963. It really is in beautiful condition. Any thoughts on the nature and weave of this lid would be welcome, as I am a bit of a grasshopper on the Panama front.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[RBH]

Very nice Jim!!!
How long till you can wear it? !!

 

[carter]

Looks like about 144 wpsi. Cuenca? Nice hat.

 

[Panamabob]

Cuenca, yes. Brisa, yes. Since it is a brisa weave, the wpsi doesn't really relate to a llano weave.

 

[Neil]

How to judge? Who knows?

When I was at Optimo in Chicago recently (where their Montecristis start at $450), I pointed out to Graham that a lot of people on this lounge swear by the value to be gained when ordering from certain online merchants. I also pointed out that some of them offer higher weaves per inch than he does for a lot less money. In some cases, half as much money.
He scoffed. Many of them, he averred, are perfectly good "tourist-grade" hats, but his are chosen for creamy consistency, lack of nubs that result from weaving errors, and weave density. But weave density, he said, was only one factor. He argues, and of course he would argue, that his product is, overall, superior for the same money paid.
Thoughts?

 

[Panamabob]

That's right, Graham cherry picks the best hats. He's in the business to make money. We started in order to give my wife's family an alternative in making money and to help all of the people we'd come into contact to on the coast (i.e. weavers, hat finishers, etc.).

There are plenty of people on here who have hats from both Graham, from us, and from others and they've been plenty happy with the quality/price ratio. They usually don't speak up, though. You do, however, usually here from the detractors.

As I've said before, I'd gladly put up one of our $1000.00 hats vs. anyones and one of our $69.00 hats vs. anyones $69.00 hat.

Right now, we've had some terrible things happen and have been clawing and scratching our way back. We'll get all of our orders fulfilled, but I'm tired of the BS in Ecuador and in losing money to thieves in Ecuador and then to people in USA who put chargebacks or demand refunds for commissioned hats that are taking longer than normal.

 

[Neil]

Agreed

No question, Bob, everybody says your hats are great.
It's just that I've read dozens of articles and done a ton of research, and I am still pretty much in the dark over how to objectively judge the value of a Montecristi, which, let's face it, can be a pretty pricey item.

 

[portolan]

Bob, I hope things are settling down for you

I know you have had a rough couple of months and our thoughts and prayers are with you....My advice??? Go take a drive south of Fort Wayne a few miles, have a big piece of shoo fly pie and some eggs with scrapple and apple butter on top......Your cholesterol will soar, but you will feel so much better!

I bet there are lots of us who believe in you and are happy to wait until you get back on your feet!

 

[indycop]

1600 wpsi unblocked Montecristi

900 Optimo blocked by hand in Montecristi

Wow! they don't even look like straw.

 

[Neil]

Touristy?

Wow. Those are some hats.
I could see a tourist wearing one, but the tourist would have to be loaded.

 

[Mr. Paladin]

Couple shots of my Stetson straw OR at my stepson's return parade from Iraq at Pendleton:

And a nice straw I picked up in a little shop b/t Cozumel and Tulum in 2002. (Tombstone Hats on the label), hiking at Lake Tahoe:

 

[indycop]

Couple shots of my Stetson straw OR at my stepson's return parade from Iraq at Pendleton:

If I didn't see the star I might have mistook it for the Stars and Bars. lol Good lookin hat and tell your Stepson thank you for his service!:eusa_clap

 

[carter]

Cuenca, yes. Brisa, yes. Since it is a brisa weave, the wpsi doesn't really relate to a llano weave.

Bob, Just for clarifiction, since this is also being discussed in another thread, is this a Grade 2 hat?

 

[jimmy the lid]

I'm hoping for at least a 5/6!

Cheers,
JtL

 

[mineral]

No question, Bob, everybody says your hats are great.
It's just that I've read dozens of articles and done a ton of research, and I am still pretty much in the dark over how to objectively judge the value of a Montecristi, which, let's face it, can be a pretty pricey item.

I don't think you can ever objectively judge the value of these hats. They are essentially handicraft and should be judged as artwork rather than on some contrived figure of merit. Any formula that is invented can be claimed to be biased in a way or another. I suppose if you want to "score" a hat a formula like the following would always work:

Score = (weaves per square inch)/(K * defects per square inch)

where defects include the stuff you mentioned (e.g. nubs) and where K is some (positive number) weighing factor depending on how much you hate defects (the more you hate defects, the bigger you make K).

 

[Ordinary Guy]

Newbie questions here.....

What is the difference between a

PANAMA HAT: FEDORA STRAW HAT

PANAMA HAT: MONTECRISTI FEDORA STRAW HAT

I believe the Panama Hat : Fedora straw is made in Cuenca , am I correct?

And of course Montecristi made in Montecristi am I right?

I think they both made of toquilla fiber..

Now some are natural and some are white, I am assuming they bleach for the white color, No?

And of course the tightness of the weave.... my thoughts:

Looser weave like say 130 would make for a softer and cooler hat... No?

I like the look of a Montecrisit Fedora and would like it in white. Of course I will have no idea what it will look like on my noggin. So before trying to decide what to do there, I thought I would make sure my thoughts are correct on all of the above. I have been reading as much as I can to understand the Panama Hat.

Being retired military I really screwed up not getting into hats earlier in my life as I spent a lot of time in Panama and also spent some time in Quito, Ecuador ... Oh the hats I could have brought home....

 

[duggap]

Ordinary Guy, you need to take a look at Brent Black's site on Panama hats. Not to buy one, mind you as he is way too expensive, but he has a tutorial on the wonderful Panama hats. But basically the Cuenca is the commercial center for the hats and they are often made using the aid of machinery for blocking and bleaching. A true Monticristi Panama will be a little different weave and will have more of an ivory color that will darken some with age. The Monticristi is all hand made. Contact our Panama Bob for a truely good Panama hat. He is the best game going for getting a good Panama.

 

[Lefty]

Here's a discussion to consider.