Amazing. That is a beautiful lid!
Very nice7X CB rebuild.
Thanks to a new sweat that I procured from Bond ( 4th sweat From him I've used. Really great sweats!), I just completed my annual Holiday Hat rebuild. A nice old 7x CB ( with the stars in the crest). Dirty and the sweat threads dry rotted. I tried to sew the original sweat back in, but the threads holding the leather to the backing was rotted, too. So, I went with a new sweat. Cleaned the liner with Woolite. Naphtha & hot water bathed the felt. Sewed in new sweat, old size tag. Managed to save the old labels under the sweat and glue them back in after cleaning. Awesome felt! One fine old hat lives again!
After water bath.
Labels re-installed under sweat.
Finished install.
Finished job.
The headshot! Merry Stetson Christmas!
+1,nice save.
A fantastic education Alan. Thank you.Morphology of a 7X Clear Beaver Quality sweatband
I posted pictures of my first 7X to this thread when I received it. A superb piece of post war felt, I am a fan and have purchased quite a few others since. The hat unfortunately was too small to wear, and I decided to send it to Optimo to be cleaned and sized to fit my head. They advised that it would not be possible to reuse the original sweatband and rather than have it wind up on the cutting room floor, I removed it before shipping the hat to Chicago. It gives us an opportunity to get a close-up look at the fixings of a c.1950 high end Stetson.
The meat of the pudding is a 2" wide strip of nice leather - similar to the quality seen in the other 7X and Stetson 100 hats of that era. The reed tape is a thin ribbon of oilcloth material... like what you might find in a vintage rain slicker, but thinner. It is folded around the reed, which you can see in the third photo... not true reed (which was used in earlier hats) - more like catgut. It appears to be a natural material and snaps if you bend it in half. Added to the sandwich is a moisture barrier - likely nylon, which is cut on a bias and seamed with a waterproof gusset.
In the close-up photos you can see some loose threads that show the location of the stitching that attaches the package to the hat body just below the reed channel.
Hey Brent:This eBay purchase arrived a couple days ago. I think the color is more sand than Silverbelly, but aside from needing a light cleaning and a ribbon the hat is in excellent condition. The sweat is soft and undamaged. It doesn’t look like it is was worn much at all.
This is my second clear beaver and my first Stetson 7X Clear Beaver. The felt is dense and has a great hand. The box is intact but has some damaged sections. I took the crown to open for cleaning. The felt is firm, but not too stiff. I think I could change the crease, but I think this hat deserves to stay as it is. I’m just not a fan of the cattleman crease. I’m 90% sure I’m going to re-list this on eBay; it’s a great hat, but there are other hats I’d rather have and with finite resources I have to pick and choose. If anyone is looking for a 7 1/2 long oval 7X Clear Beaver hit me up.
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Alden 403 Moc Toe Boot - Brown Chromexcel - $680 The classic "Indy" style Alden Boot in the classic Horween brown Chromexcel. 
Grant Stone Diesel Boot Dark Olive Chromexcel - #395 Goodyear welted, Horween Chromexcel, classic good looks. 
Himel Bros. - The Ross Mk. 1 Leather Jacket Classic D-pocket motorcycle/aviator style jacket. 
Definitely interested. Looking for more western 7X CB than Open Road style I have...
