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bowlerman

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,294
Location
South Dakota
couple days of catching up on this thread--

Che, that is spectacular. Congrats! It sure has gotten the attention of the chicks!

deanglen, very nice stingy Bailey.

Ofcoursemyhorse, this is one of the most elegant and perfectly understated yet sharp as a tack fedoras I've seen!

I found this yesterday... this is my best photo of it so far :} it is a not-very-old XXXX Stetson classic ole western, but it fit great so I couldn't leave at the shop.



qy8y7eza.jpg
 
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jskeen

One of the Regulars
Messages
120
Location
Houston
Shudde Bros would be renovating 7X CB hats with new 7X CB sweats & liners. They would not risk their reputation in Texas otherwise. Only thing you are losing is dating information because sweat & liner would be from a newer batch than what they are replacing.

Late reply to this thread, but I may have some relevant information on the subject of Shudde Brothers renovations. I spoke to Neil Shudde recently at his new store in Brookwood. He reopened there last year after closing down the store and factory his family had operated since 1907 in Houston's old sixth ward. Since moving, Neil is doing a limited number of renovations, and is still a licensed dealer of Stetson hats. The equipment for manufacturing new hats is in storage on site, but has not been set up yet.

Here's the possibly new info. While they did and still do renovate Stetson hats with the correctly marked sweats and liners, they have and use their own private labeled sweats and liners for other restorations. These are unique from their House label bands and sweats used in hats made and sold as "Shudde Brothers Hats".

photo.JPG

This was identified by Neil as a renovation sweat and liner, and he said that he couldn't say for sure what the original body was, but that it was not manufactured by them, and that it was not a stetson, as either of those would have a different sweat and liner, either original or restored.


So, it's a mystery hat, but still one of my favorites! Neil did a complementary steam, brush and adjusted the bash on it for me while I was there dropping another hat off for a reblock too :)
 

TheDane

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,670
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
hatofile: Many of my musical heros wore/wear westerns, and the Monroe Brothers were perfect examples. On my head, westerns just don't look like they did on Mr. Monroe's - and I feel too "carnival-like" with a western in the streets of Copenhagen. I love to wear my western inspired fedoras (OR/Strat/etc) here, but that's my limit. Maybe, if I lived in US ... I don't know. It's probably all about what's in my head - not on my head :)
 

Landman

One Too Many
Messages
1,751
Location
San Antonio, TX
jskeen,

How can you tell the hat you posted is a renovated Shudde Brothers rather than one they made? I have several Shudde Brothers hats and I always assumed that sweatband and liner represented a hat they made. I need to get mine out and take a closer look. Thanks.
 

bowlerman

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,294
Location
South Dakota
I like my westerns even though I don't always wear them further than my back yard. ;)
Sometimes I feel weird because there are still working ranchers who always wear them in these parts. Whatever...

The beaver brand Matt Deckard cagney arrived today. It will tAke some coaxing to become a long oval. It was sized slightly big but I think it will shrink or conform over time. It is a very wearable hat and has really nice dimensions and color.

The felt is not soft, nor finely pounced. Wrinkled striations formed when I creased it, about what I expect from beaver brand entry level felts. It feels a bit like cardboard. I hope those of you who have the Powell found it nicer. Honestly I'm glad I didn't pay Deckard' s price for it back when (sorry, Mr Deckard, if you are reading this-- no offense to you). I'm even a little miffed by what I did pay, but as I said before I had been eyeing this one for a long time. I like the look, and I will wear it, but next time will put that kind of dough toward a custom.

Here is a quick preview.


Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2
 

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bowlerman

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,294
Location
South Dakota
Thanks guys! I'm going to try and really break it in, as I like the look a lot.

Ole, I'm a smaller guy than you think. ;) The brim is actually 2 1/8" and the crown was probably just under 6" open.

From http://www.mattdeckard.com/ : "The Cagney has a 2 1/8" brim, a 6" open crown, and a 2 1/8" inch ribbon.
Also has a very soft roan leather sweatband and satin liner with Deckard Headwear logo in gold. "
 

Joshbru3

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,409
Location
Chicago, IL
Thanks guys! I'm going to try and really break it in, as I like the look a lot.

Ole, I'm a smaller guy than you think. ;) The brim is actually 2 1/8" and the crown was probably just under 6" open.

From http://www.mattdeckard.com/ : "The Cagney has a 2 1/8" brim, a 6" open crown, and a 2 1/8" inch ribbon.
Also has a very soft roan leather sweatband and satin liner with Deckard Headwear logo in gold. "

I REALLY like the look of that Powell, Jeff. I am not surprised at the quality of the felt however. I never had a beaver brand hat (beaver brand label, or private label) that wasn't either stiff as a board, or had improper shellac impregnation in the felt. On the other hand, I am not a fan of Winchesters felt quality either. I have played around with many modern Winchester felted hats and even though they block just fine, because they are not felted very densely at all, they tend to shrink and taper over time when steamed and creased. Also, they just seem to get their shellac
mixture wrong. They are either too stiff, or not stiff enough when sanded down. To be honest, the best modern felt I had come across from a major manufacture was from Biltmore before the Canadian factory closed. Hatco also does some nice felts sometimes when they are not heavy handed with the shellac. My opinion, Fepsa still makes the best modern day felt bodies.
 

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