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Messages
18,377
Location
Nederland
Failsworth once held the Stetson license for the UK. Occasionally I find one of their own brand hats. These days they still produce felt hats, but these are nowhere near the quality they once produced.
This one I picked up recently and it sits somewhere in the middle. The felt quality is fantastic, but it is pre-formed and its proportions are more modern. It's more what I think of as a trilby instead of a fedora.

Failsworth trilby (or a stingy brimmed fedora) in black longhair finish with some heathering going on. Raw edge brim at 4,5cm and the crown at 10cm at the center dent. This felt deserved a better proportioned and shaped hat. Pity.

failsworth longhair_1.jpg
failsworth longhair_2.jpg
failsworth longhair_3.jpg
failsworth longhair_4.jpg
failsworth longhair_5.jpg
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failsworth longhair_8.jpg
 
Messages
11,365
Location
Alabama
Never owned a Biltmore or gave them much thought until a short time ago when Rusty, @RBH reached out offering this one up. Bought for himself, he said it was a little too snug on him and measurement’s confirmed it would work for me.

He gifted me this hat w/o considering doing otherwise. I offered to buy it and he wouldn’t discuss it. He wouldn’t even let me cover shipping.

So, people like Rusty and there aren’t
many around, are one of the few reasons I hang around this place. The occasional free hat ain’t bad either.

This CAN Biltmore will get some wear. Nice hand on a firm, dense felt that’s easily creased. And it’s a TAR.

Thanks, Rusty
75E62E80-5ACF-4F96-B274-1727189D980F.jpeg
4DDC8F73-C516-4F63-8480-E0911A85282E.jpeg
A1519403-D136-498A-A10D-E323451B77A7.jpeg
1EB3B7AE-1877-4E7F-81D6-D711455002CD.jpeg
 

Granville

One of the Regulars
Messages
214
Location
Long Beach, NY
Knox Flying Cloud!
Very soft hat; other hats I've gotten of similar weight have been stiffer. Love the color, a deeper blue/blue-green than I expected from the photos, but that's cool with me. I won't have to wait 'til spring to wear it.
front.jpeg
image2-2.jpeg

My first teardrop crease, too.
image1-1.jpeg

A wider brim than usual for me at 2", still a trilby by most accounts but a veritable sombrero for yours truly. $22.50 on the factory tag, and is the color Caspian? Or Raleigh? Not sure what those terms mean.
.
faclabel.jpeg

I'm not sure how to deal with the stains under the brim, either.Any advice on that would be greatly appreciated.
Otherwise the hat is clean. No visible dust came off when I brushed it, and the advertised moth damage is virtually invisible,.
image7-1.jpeg

And the tip logo... words fail me. If it ever had a plastic cover, someone already took it off.
image8-1.jpeg

image5-1.jpeg

Cool signal flag pin, keeping with the nautical theme.
Sweat band details:
knoxedgealt.jpeg
sweatalt.jpeg

In the freezer for a couple of days. Headshots when it comes out, look for them in the School of Hard Knox thread.
 
Last edited:
Messages
11,365
Location
Alabama
Thanks to a keen eyed friend who knew something didn’t look quite right, I now have a hat that I never figured to run across.

Stetson may have produced more 4X western hats than any other but seems the 4X BQ is something different. There’s a thread here that shows 4 of them along with a 4X Beaver Vic has that’s another animal entirely. There may be others scattered about that I’ve missed. Please point them out. There was a 7 or so sold on the bay in October. The first I’ve run across in my searches and I’ve looked for awhile.

Mine is a later hat. 2 7/8 x 5 1/2. It’s western stiff with very thin, dense felt and a fairly smooth finish. The thickness and density of the felt is evident when compared to my similarly aged No. 1 Quality, 3X, and NQ westerns.

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johnnycanuck

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,008
Location
Alberta
A co-worker went to Laos over Christmas to be with his wife’s family. I off handed said I would love a typical hat from the area if he had time or space. He was back today and brought me this.
3B28D1C2-4311-4A2A-A2BB-20EF80AA82CE.jpeg
6965EAD7-CE42-4F2E-9DA4-665A94D6A1BD.jpeg
F52BEFBB-CE0C-4418-B51C-CC1E4344A8F8.jpeg

That’s my oldest and is just about as excited as I am. Apparently this is known as a Rice Farmers hat and just about everyone owns one. Apparently cost less than a Canadian dollar and was made by one of the locals.
Can’t wait to put a chin strap on it and try it out gardening this summer.
Johnny.
 
Messages
11,629
Never owned a Biltmore or gave them much thought until a short time ago when Rusty, @RBH reached out offering this one up. Bought for himself, he said it was a little too snug on him and measurement’s confirmed it would work for me.

He gifted me this hat w/o considering doing otherwise. I offered to buy it and he wouldn’t discuss it. He wouldn’t even let me cover shipping.

So, people like Rusty and there aren’t
many around, are one of the few reasons I hang around this place. The occasional free hat ain’t bad either.

This CAN Biltmore will get some wear. Nice hand on a firm, dense felt that’s easily creased. And it’s a TAR.

Thanks, Rusty
View attachment 479581 View attachment 479582 View attachment 479583 View attachment 479584
Sharp looking hat, Greg. The hat pin makes a nice touch. Rusty found it the right home. I look forward to seeing it make its appearances.
 

Steve1857

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,813
Location
Denmark
A co-worker went to Laos over Christmas to be with his wife’s family. I off handed said I would love a typical hat from the area if he had time or space. He was back today and brought me this.
View attachment 479639 View attachment 479640 View attachment 479641
That’s my oldest and is just about as excited as I am. Apparently this is known as a Rice Farmers hat and just about everyone owns one. Apparently cost less than a Canadian dollar and was made by one of the locals.
Can’t wait to put a chin strap on it and try it out gardening this summer.
Johnny.
A cool new addition to your collection, Johnny. One of the forefathers to the pith helmet.

That's a lot of hat for a dollar.

.
 

Daniele Tanto

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,215
Location
Verona - Italia
One of the hats bought in 2022 left waiting to be shown to fellow FL.
HOMCafro 6.jpg

It is a particular hat for the Italian market due to its shape and colour
HOMCafro 8a.jpg
Borsalino Qualità Extra Superiore size 6 French point, 59 cm. EU or 7 3/8 in US.
HOMCafro B.jpg

The shape is that of a lobbia or homburg with the brims curled and short, without a ribbon to edge them. What is called Lord hat often here. The ribbon is the same color as the felt.
HOMCafro Etichetta carta.jpg
Gulaela is the type in the Borsalino denomination, Cafro is the color indicated, but it is particularly reddish compared to a Borsalino of the same color that I wore a few weeks ago. Borsalino mysteries.
HOMCafro 1.jpg
The hat is very light and above all particularly well preserved.
HOMCafro C.jpg
Measurements are: the brim at 5cm, the ribbon at 4cm and the open crown at 13.5cm.
This is one of my favorites in the Borsalino collection, without a doubt
 
Messages
11,629
One of the hats bought in 2022 left waiting to be shown to fellow FL.
View attachment 480032
It is a particular hat for the Italian market due to its shape and colour
View attachment 480033
Borsalino Qualità Extra Superiore size 6 French point, 59 cm. EU or 7 3/8 in US.
View attachment 480034
The shape is that of a lobbia or homburg with the brims curled and short, without a ribbon to edge them. What is called Lord hat often here. The ribbon is the same color as the felt.
View attachment 480035
Gulaela is the type in the Borsalino denomination, Cafro is the color indicated, but it is particularly reddish compared to a Borsalino of the same color that I wore a few weeks ago. Borsalino mysteries.
View attachment 480036
The hat is very light and above all particularly well preserved.
View attachment 480037
Measurements are: the brim at 5cm, the ribbon at 4cm and the open crown at 13.5cm.
This is one of my favorites in the Borsalino collection, without a doubt
Splendid color and shape
 

Rmccamey

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,813
Location
Central Texas
Beautiful color on that one, Stefan.

One of the hats bought in 2022 left waiting to be shown to fellow FL.
View attachment 480032
It is a particular hat for the Italian market due to its shape and colour
View attachment 480033
Borsalino Qualità Extra Superiore size 6 French point, 59 cm. EU or 7 3/8 in US.
View attachment 480034
The shape is that of a lobbia or homburg with the brims curled and short, without a ribbon to edge them. What is called Lord hat often here. The ribbon is the same color as the felt.
View attachment 480035
Gulaela is the type in the Borsalino denomination, Cafro is the color indicated, but it is particularly reddish compared to a Borsalino of the same color that I wore a few weeks ago. Borsalino mysteries.
View attachment 480036
The hat is very light and above all particularly well preserved.
View attachment 480037
Measurements are: the brim at 5cm, the ribbon at 4cm and the open crown at 13.5cm.
This is one of my favorites in the Borsalino collection, without a doubt
 

Daniele Tanto

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,215
Location
Verona - Italia
Another hat arrived in the last days of 2022, worn, but never photographed for this thread.
Speciale Cervo C.jpg
The hat has a particular history: it was owned by a sales agent for Cervo, Bantam, Barbisio, Inca, Doria, Guerra and owner of a well-known hat shop in Milan.
Speciale Cervo F.jpg
He has a good number of hats left and he has some problems selling them, but I think in the future it will be easy, we'll see :)
Speciale Cervo A.jpg
This is a "Bantam Special Creation" made by Cervo, size 60 cm. or 6 1/2 in US. more than what i need for my head.
No paper label to know more on this velour
Speciale Cervo Interno.jpg
It belongs to the latest generation of Bantam, let's say the Seventies.
The felt is very nice and in line with those Italian velour ones I've found in the last few months.
Speciale Cervo D.jpg
The felt probably comes from Panizza, the only one in Italy at that time to produce velour.
The finishes are excellent, the dimensions are generous and are these: the brims are 6.5 centimeters, the fully open crown is 14 and the ribbon, in contrast with the color of the felt, is 1 centimetre.
Speciale Cervo I.jpg

I was lucky even if completing the purchase was difficult. It was worth it
 

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