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Messages
18,446
Location
Nederland
C of for Cavanagh (see above) and Champ. This was the surprise hat of the lot really. Champ featherweight in grey. Kasmir Finish. Size 7, unlined with the bound brim at a hair under 6cm and the crown 10,5cm at the pinch. Factory creased, but it suits the hat, even though I'm not a great fan of rake on my hats I'm keeping it that way. It would probably resist another crease anyway. Nice hand to the felt. I have another Champ hat that feels more pedestrian by comparison and the Kasmir Finish on that one is not as good as this one. At 81 grams a fair bit lighter than the Adam Feather-Lite. Guess it depends on the feather. Sleek lines and lovely understated bow treatment. I like it a lot.

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Steinbockhase

Practically Family
Messages
514
Location
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
C of for Cavanagh (see above) and Champ. This was the surprise hat of the lot really. Champ featherweight in grey. Kasmir Finish. Size 7, unlined with the bound brim at a hair under 6cm and the crown 10,5cm at the pinch. Factory creased, but it suits the hat, even though I'm not a great fan of rake on my hats I'm keeping it that way. It would probably resist another crease anyway. Nice hand to the felt. I have another Champ hat that feels more pedestrian by comparison and the Kasmir Finish on that one is not as good as this one. At 81 grams a fair bit lighter than the Adam Feather-Lite. Guess it depends on the feather. Sleek lines and lovely understated bow treatment. I like it a lot.


Looks nice; unfortunately "7" is rather small.
A question concerining terminology.
I have often read people refering to the rake of a hat ... "not a great fan of rake on my hats"
I assume it has something to do with inclination or gradient of the crown / crease, but what do you mean exactly?
 
Messages
18,446
Location
Nederland
Looks nice; unfortunately "7" is rather small.
A question concerining terminology.
I have often read people refering to the rake of a hat ... "not a great fan of rake on my hats"
I assume it has something to do with inclination or gradient of the crown / crease, but what do you mean exactly?
You assume right. "Rake" refers the amount of slope the crown of the hat shows front to back, when viewed from the side of course. So in a sense: how much lower is the back of the crown compared to the front. This hat shows that slope clearly (fourth picture). The way the hat is creased determines in part how much rake a crown shows.
Size 7 may be rather small for you, but for me it's just right:)
 
Messages
12,384
Location
Albany Oregon
I'll pick up where I left off yesterday. B is for Brent (it was for Borsalino yesterday). This hat has been seen before here, but it's new to me, so...
Brent in blue. Made for Montgomery Ward. Size 7 with a bound brim at 7cm and the crown at 11cm at the pinch. Glorious blue colour, which is considerably more subdued in the shade than it shows here in full sunlight. A nice touch is the windcord button that is attached to the bow. Looses its function that way of course, but who uses those things anyway?
Many thanks to @BobHufford who gracioulsy let me be the custodian of this hat. I've learned that the "conformatic" emblem on the sweat means that it's made by Byer-Rolnick.
Of all the hats in this batch, this one was a standout. That color is truly one of the nicest blues I have handled. Very envious of your tiny head!

That was five, and here's number six. Cavanagh homburg in "midnite". Listed as a homburg in black and was actually lowered twice in price before it dropped down to $25 I believe. Well, if you're gonna twist my arm...
It is in fact not black (but "midnite") but a very dark blue. It can be seen by the contrast between the black ribbon and the felt here. Size 56 with the brim at 5,5cm an the crown 10cm at the pinch. It's a later Cavanagh but the quality is still very much there. It has been worn, but been taken care of very well. Superb hand to the felt and the finishing is great. The smell lets me act out my capelolfactophilia fully:)
Like I titled our email conversation "You need another black homburg like a hole in the head". Yes, but one can never have "enough" black homburgs! This is such a fine example of a high quality Cavanagh at the end of the 1950s. Class act!

C of for Cavanagh (see above) and Champ. This was the surprise hat of the lot really. Champ featherweight in grey. Kasmir Finish. Size 7, unlined with the bound brim at a hair under 6cm and the crown 10,5cm at the pinch. Factory creased, but it suits the hat, even though I'm not a great fan of rake on my hats I'm keeping it that way. It would probably resist another crease anyway. Nice hand to the felt. I have another Champ hat that feels more pedestrian by comparison and the Kasmir Finish on that one is not as good as this one. At 81 grams a fair bit lighter than the Adam Feather-Lite. Guess it depends on the feather. Sleek lines and lovely understated bow treatment. I like it a lot.
This one is a another American classic looking hat. I find the stitching of the cover over the tip logo interesting. All of these hats cleaned up very nice. A tribute to your stewardship of fine men's head wear of days of yore!
 
Messages
18,446
Location
Nederland
Of all the hats in this batch, this one was a standout. That color is truly one of the nicest blues I have handled. Very envious of your tiny head!


Like I titled our email conversation "You need another black homburg like a hole in the head". Yes, but one can never have "enough" black homburgs! This is such a fine example of a high quality Cavanagh at the end of the 1950s. Class act!


This one is a another American classic looking hat. I find the stitching of the cover over the tip logo interesting. All of these hats cleaned up very nice. A tribute to your stewardship of fine men's head wear of days of yore!
Thanks, Mike. It really is an excellent collection of hats as you can attest yourself. The Brent speaks for itself and it does so in volumes. The Cavanagh could easily hold its own with the best of them even it had been another black homburg. It being dark blue elevates it even further in my view.
I first saw that crown patch stitching on a hat posted by Dogman and it intrigued me right away. The Champ may not have been a high dollar hat, but it's absolutely a high quality hat, certainly by today's standards.
 
Messages
18,446
Location
Nederland
Last one of the batch. S stands for Stetson. Royal Stetson in Carbon grey. Bound brim at 5,5cm and crown 10cm at the pinch. Felt is well-behaved but the brim needed a strict hand before it did what I wanted. The original Stetson liner it came with was nothing to write home about, so I replaced it with this custom one. Bit of a beater hat this one, but it came cheap as a companion to the Champ I posted earlier from the same seller.

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Messages
12,384
Location
Albany Oregon
Last one of the batch. S stands for Stetson. Royal Stetson in Carbon grey. Bound brim at 5,5cm and crown 10cm at the pinch. Felt is well-behaved but the brim needed a strict hand before it did what I wanted. The original Stetson liner it came with was nothing to write home about, so I replaced it with this custom one. Bit of a beater hat this one, but it came cheap as a companion to the Champ I posted earlier from the same seller.

View attachment 133738 View attachment 133739 View attachment 133743 View attachment 133744 View attachment 133745 View attachment 133748 View attachment 133749 View attachment 133750
These liners turned out fantastic! It takes a rather mundane hat from the early 60s and turns it into a real conversation piece! Now you have a proper stingy with a lot of stories to tell. Not a plain Jane anymore.
 

ScottF

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,755
Gorgeous French-made Collins & Fairbanks black dress hat that actually fits me!!! Finally I can have that 1930's film noir look AND stand out at funerals. You can see in the first pic that it tended toward a very strange bash with three dents on each side. It likes it that way and it looks fine, so it shall stay.

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ScottF

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,755
I picked up five hats altogether today. I just want to show one more, just because it was a very strange pick-up. Beautiful 1950's Stetson Royal DeLuxe with soft pliable brown felt. First I saw the price tag of $79, which is high for an antique store, even a perfect hat. Then I saw the '7' size tag. I put it back and kept digging through the hats. Then I went back to it and put tried it on. It fit perfectly - 7 1/4 style! There was no indication of stretching - just a perfect hat that fit me when it should not have.

When I got it home I checked under the sweat, and the blocking tag also read '7'. I measured it - 22 3/8. Also, I have never seen this white-bordered version of this tag - only shiny gold or flat yellow.

This makes no sense, but I'm very happy about it.

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Richard Morgan

One Too Many
Messages
1,642
Location
Central Tesxas
Gorgeous French-made Collins & Fairbanks black dress hat that actually fits me!!! Finally I can have that 1930's film noir look AND stand out at funerals. You can see in the first pic that it tended toward a very strange bash with three dents on each side. It likes it that way and it looks fine, so it shall stay.

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excellent find Scott. True 30s style with that high crown.
 

drmaxtejeda

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,363
Location
Mexico City
Last one of the batch. S stands for Stetson. Royal Stetson in Carbon grey. Bound brim at 5,5cm and crown 10cm at the pinch. Felt is well-behaved but the brim needed a strict hand before it did what I wanted. The original Stetson liner it came with was nothing to write home about, so I replaced it with this custom one. Bit of a beater hat this one, but it came cheap as a companion to the Champ I posted earlier from the same seller.

View attachment 133738 View attachment 133739 View attachment 133743 View attachment 133744 View attachment 133745 View attachment 133748 View attachment 133749 View attachment 133750
That liner is of a Mexican "Catrina".

Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk
 
Messages
18,446
Location
Nederland
These liners turned out fantastic! It takes a rather mundane hat from the early 60s and turns it into a real conversation piece! Now you have a proper stingy with a lot of stories to tell. Not a plain Jane anymore.
Thanks, Mike. It's hard to pinpoint why this hat has this mundane appearance. The colours are fine, the crown isn't tapered and the brim isn't exactly stingy (yesterday the term "frugal" was used for such a brim). I'll muck about with it to see if I can make it see the light; the new liner is the first step.
 
Messages
18,446
Location
Nederland
That liner is of a Mexican "Catrina".

Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk
Thanks, Max. I ordered several different fabrics with prints to use as liners inspired by @Dogmans' awesome ones. My seamstress seems to take a veeeery long time to do them though. I'm considering learning myself how to sew them.
 
Messages
18,446
Location
Nederland
View attachment 133770 Here's a beautiful little brown Freimuth homburg I picked up today. Freimuth was located in the Hotel Fürstenhof which was destroyed during a 1943 air raid. Naturally it's too small (7), so if anyone's interested in a trade let me know.

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Gorgeous French-made Collins & Fairbanks black dress hat that actually fits me!!! Finally I can have that 1930's film noir look AND stand out at funerals. You can see in the first pic that it tended toward a very strange bash with three dents on each side. It likes it that way and it looks fine, so it shall stay.

View attachment 133767 View attachment 133768 View attachment 133769

View attachment 133765
I picked up five hats altogether today. I just want to show one more, just because it was a very strange pick-up. Beautiful 1950's Stetson Royal DeLuxe with soft pliable brown felt. First I saw the price tag of $79, which is high for an antique store, even a perfect hat. Then I saw the '7' size tag. I put it back and kept digging through the hats. Then I went back to it and put tried it on. It fit perfectly - 7 1/4 style! There was no indication of stretching - just a perfect hat that fit me when it should not have.

When I got it home I checked under the sweat, and the blocking tag also read '7'. I measured it - 22 3/8. Also, I have never seen this white-bordered version of this tag - only shiny gold or flat yellow.

This makes no sense, but I'm very happy about it.

View attachment 133772 View attachment 133773
Very cool finds, Scott. The look of that Collins&Fairbanks one is fantastic. That one really stands out.
 

splintercellsz

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,142
Location
Somewhere in Time
Thanks. This is only the second 1940's or older black wide-brim fedora I've ever found that fit me, other than a few homburgs. The other was a furry stetson that I should never have let go of.

To my old friends here - I am not back into collecting hats. Really, I'm not.
Scott, some amazing finds! Congrats!

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk
 
Messages
12,384
Location
Albany Oregon
Thanks. This is only the second 1940's or older black wide-brim fedora I've ever found that fit me, other than a few homburgs. The other was a furry stetson that I should never have let go of.

To my old friends here - I am not back into collecting hats. Really, I'm not.
We believe you Scott. Sometimes hats just collect themselves. Wonderful finds, super impressive!
 

bowlerman

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,294
Location
South Dakota
Last one of the batch. S stands for Stetson. Royal Stetson in Carbon grey. Bound brim at 5,5cm and crown 10cm at the pinch. Felt is well-behaved but the brim needed a strict hand before it did what I wanted. The original Stetson liner it came with was nothing to write home about, so I replaced it with this custom one. Bit of a beater hat this one, but it came cheap as a companion to the Champ I posted earlier from the same seller.

View attachment 133738 View attachment 133739 View attachment 133743 View attachment 133744 View attachment 133745 View attachment 133748 View attachment 133749 View attachment 133750

If that’s a beater, I’d better raise the bar in my collection! Looks great to me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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