Stetson Royal Whippet.....

[Fedora]

I received a Stetson Whippet today from a seller on ebay. Almost a mint hat and very nice. 2 7/8 brim, 5 1/2 open crown. Light brown. Now, I read here, or somewhere, that the Whippet felt was a really nice felt. I was therefore somewhat surprised to find that I don't think it to be as smooth, dense and as nice to look at as the other Royal line hats that I own, or the Royal Deluxe line. Not to mention the 3x beaver vintage Stetson felt, or the Imperial line. It is not as nice as these other felts. It has a somewhat fuzzy look to it, much like the PB Borsalino that I examined a couple of years ago. Looks as if it needs a good pouncing. Is this indicative of the Royal Whippet line, or is it likely that Stetsons varied in quality of felt within the same line? Honestly, this is the first vintage hat that I have bought that could pass as modern felt. Ideas? regards, Fedora

 

[Andykev]

Whippet

I think it depends on when your Whippet was made...I have had several that are very nice vintage hats...the early ones from the late 30's and early 40's are spectacular. Later ones are not.

Just my casual observation.

Art? Any professional vintage comment?

 

[Art Fawcett]

You are right Andy, but even the later ones should be nice felt. Fedora, I know they are NOT on par with Imperial but normally they were with Royal line, only their target was younger men. With that said I can offer that first, you are one of the most discerning hat collectors I know of and therefore not easily pleased by felt quality. You already have the best felts made and everything is judged from them. Not a bad position to be in!! If I were to compare this felt with modern, hands down it's a good felt. By Imperial standards, well, lets face it, it's lacking. I've never seen one that I would call "fuzzy" so my instincts tell me that it was either renovated by someone pleased with that look or badly treated, or perhaps by someone inexperienced!!

 

[Fedora]

Thanks guys, interesting stuff. Don't get the wrong idea, this felt is very nice, just different. Like I said, just a little fuzzy, almost as if someone took some course sandpaper to it. It is the Royal line, but unlike my other hats of this line. Still, it is great felt when compared to much of the modern quality. I am happy with it. Some details. It has the tan sweatband with the oiled silk(I think) built into the inside of the sweatband to keep sweat from penetrating the felt. The liner does not have the clear covering over the Stetson script. It had the two normal tags under the liner, one red and white, one orange and white, denoting it was made in Philly, and the reorder number on the other one(orange and white) The wide brim was bound, and the ribbon on the hat is 1 1/2 inches and matches the binding. It looks to be pure stock, with no rework. A very nice hat. I am just puzzled by the finish. regards, Fedora

 

[fedoralover]

I've had 2 Whippets and both were very nice felt. dense and smooth. I have no idea what happened to yours.

fedoralover

 

[Andykev]

Yes

I agree with Art. I have had three Whippets and the felt was very nice. You canot tell what happend to the hat since it left the factory. Just like a used car, you can't tell what some amature did to it !!

A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing! Some guy may have buggered up the finish!

Compare the felt surface with OTHER hats from same era, model, etd. Only THEN can you tell who or how it is supposed to be.

All in all, sounds like you got a great hat!

 

[Art Fawcett]

Fedora, it sounds like you are describing an untouched hat and that's confusing. Maybe I'm taking your "fuzzy" too literal and it's just a "brushed" finish that was sometimes used for distinction ( from other hats) Can you post a pic so that we can get a feel for your definition?

 

[Cliffhanger]

*sigh* This is the Whippet you outbid me on. It looked like it had a teardrop crown. If this is so, then maybe it is a later Whippet.

And again, my question is the same: lightweight, or heavier felt? I remember Skip's Whippet from last year at COW, but that post disappeared. Pics, man, pics!

Peace,
Cliffhanger

 

[havershaw]

I've got four Whippets, and the felt on each one is just a little bit different. I do have one that's a little "fuzzy," you could maybe say...but I will say also that two of these Whippets were the very first two hats I bought, ever. When I finally eventually bit the bullet and bought both a PBBM and a couple of Akubras...well, that's when I discovered modern felt was not the same. (I love those hats, but as you're aware, they are a different beast.)

One of my Whippets (the earliest one) has one of the tightest felts I've ever handled. It feels just the Royal Stetson VitaFelt, which is one of my favorite felts. There's another Whippet I have that's right behind it, and then the other two are just average vintage felt quality (which is pretty great).

There were some awfully nice Whippets on Ebay last week. I had to pass, as I got myself a 50s Herbert Johnson and after telling my wife, found it might be advantageous to my health to not buy any more hats for a while.

Fedora, I'd like to hear about this insanely expensive Cavanagh you bought (I guess it's not really expensive when you consider the quality, but both of my Cavanaghs were purchased on eBay for under $20!). Where did you get it, and what's the story?

 

[Andykev]

It took a while

But I pulled my Dark Brown Whippet from the storage area.....this hat has very rich dark brown, with a hint of "redness" to it.......that's not even a good description.

Maybe a bit of a rust twinge.

My Whippet is MINT. It does have a bit of a "smokers" odor..but it is not bad.

The bound edge is beautiful and very evenly spaced...almost a 1/2 inch ribbon. The felt is so DENSE it is not funny. It does have a very velvet fuzzy feel, but is is not fuzzy, it is tight smooth felt.

The brim ribbon is 1 1/2 inches, and the block is genuine 40's teardrop. Lining is ivory satin, with the Royal Stetson logo. This lining has a gold twinge to it.

This is a spectacular hat, and I have had it for about 3 years or more.

Dark brown is not my favorite color..but this hat does look new.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Dark brown is not my favorite color...

Well, gee, if you ever decide you don't want it anymore...You wouldn't happen to be a 7 3/8 - 7 1/2, would you...?

Brad Bowers

 

[Fedora]

That hat looks just like my Whippet. Only difference is the color. Mine is a light brown. Your sweatband is the same color and make as mine, and the same with the liner. An update. I used some very fine sandpaper and got rid of the fuzziness. Looks closer to my other Royal lines of felt now, but still just a bit of difference. What I really like about high quality vintage felt is the lack of any stray guard hairs that you see in modern felt. The Whippet is no different. Now, the Cavanagh that I paid too much for is here, Cavanagh

Well, I don't think that I paid too much really when you consider what you would pay for a modern hat of lesser quality. When I see something that I want, in this case the Cavanagh, I bid with the intention of winning the auction. Sometimes another nut like myself will anty up and drive the price up pretty high. At other times, the price stays reasonable. I wanted a Cavanagh in my collection, and it cost me-this time. Fedora

 

[SHARPETOYS]

How did the cavanagh turn out?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...&category=14065&sspagename=STRK:MEBWN:IT&rd=1

 

[Fedora]

That Cavanagh turned out marvelously. Here she is, Indy conversion almost finished.


I did some more work on the brim edge to get rid of the needle marks from the original bound edge. While I paid too much for it, in the end, I think it is worth every cent. What I really like about this fine felted hat is the shade of gray. I don't go for the blueish gray and this color is a brownish grey. Looks like the Raiders hat on the plane. And, being a Homburg originally, the crown height was there to play with on the reblock. regards, FedoraCavanagh

 

[SHARPETOYS]

I like that fedora can you reblock it to a 7 3/8 thats my size.

 

[rayk]

Great job, Fedora!! That looks like a super hat.

 

[Fedora]

I like that fedora can you reblock it to a 7 3/8 thats my size.

Thanks. That one was blocked on my Raiders block, in my size, 7 1/4. But, if you ever need a good square Indy type rebock, I do have a vintage 7 3/8, 52 style block. Be glad to do it Sharpetoys. I stay fairly busy with reblocks on those two sizes. You pay the return postage- that's all I charge. It is just a hobby with me, and not a business, and gives me something to do when I get through with the yardwork and gardening. regards, Fedora

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Fedora! If you want to ever get rid of it just block her to a 7 3/8 and i'll buy it from you.

 

[Fedora]

Fedora! If you want to ever get rid of it just block her to a 7 3/8 and i'll buy it from you.

Thanks for the offer, but this one will have to stay in my stable. I own 4 vintage hats that I would never sell. You probably have some like that too. My 4 are, that Cavanagh, a vintage Stetson Imperial, a 3x Stetson, sold by HJ in 1971, and a vintage Nutria Quality Stetson. The Stetsons are all pretty much tied for first place with the Cavanagh coming in 2nd. As time goes on, I hope to have more like these. You can really get spoiled and snobbish after you have owned superior felt. Fedora

 

[astaire]

Nutria Quality?

Hi Fedora, just wondering what your take on Stetson's Nutria Quality felt is. can you elaborate?

Thanks,
Astaire