The Open Road Guild

[GI Joe]

Well, this is not going as well as I had hoped.

The Valleycountry website is rather misleading as to delivery time for a standard size Silverbelly. When they emailed me with the ship timeframe, I replied asking when my credit card would be charged, now or when the hat ships in June. They replied that they had already charged my card! I was not pleased. I have asked them to either retract the charge until shipping or cancel the order.

All has turned out well. Valley Country has canceled my order & sent a credit on my card. They have also updated the Campdraft page to indicate that all colors and sizes are a 12 week wait.

They have been very nice about all of this and I would certainly do business with them in the future.

In the meantime, I'm waiting for the Churchill OR clone I won on eBay
http://tinyurl.com/2qgrh7

 

[PhilS]

Nice looking lid!

In the meantime, I'm waiting for the Churchill OR clone I won on eBay
http://tinyurl.com/2qgrh7

I wish I'd seen it. Post some pics when it arrives.

 

[GI Joe]

I wish I'd seen it. Post some pics when it arrives.

I'm glad ya didn't!

Will post 'em when I get it.

 

[Boxerken]

Dating an OR

I'm intersted in buying one and would prefer to have an older one. What do you need to look for to determine it's age? I notice that there are brown & black sweatbands, whats the diffrence?

 

[GI Joe]

Ken,

As I understand it, the brown sweatband Stetson's are the more desirable. The black sweatbands are newer (1970's?) and from what I've read here, some feel that the felt is not as nice as the older hats.

That's about the extent of my Stetson knowledge so I hope some of the more knowledge members will chime in so I can learn more.

 

[mingoslim]

It is my beleif . . .

I'm intersted in buying one and would prefer to have an older one. What do you need to look for to determine it's age? I notice that there are brown & black sweatbands, whats the diffrence?

The brown sweats are a given, and the liners are the best tell . . . ORs with Royal and Royal Deluxe liners are almost certainly from the 1950s.

Also look for wind-trolleys . . . I do nto beleive any ORs have wind-trolleys after the mid 1960s.

As for the felt . . . the earlier, the better as a rule . . .

 

[jimmy the lid]

I'm intersted in buying one and would prefer to have an older one. What do you need to look for to determine it's age? I notice that there are brown & black sweatbands, whats the diffrence?

If you are interested in getting a true vintage (pre-1970) Stetson, I would absolutely stay away from the black sweatbands. You should spend some time browsing through Open Road-related threads here on the Lounge. There is a wealth of information, and the photos of bona-fide vintage ORs will soon give you a sense of some of the qualities to look for. You will get a sense for what the vintage liners and sweats look like, which will make it easier for you to make some decisions in case you should decide to go fishin' on the 'Bay...

Cheers,
JtL

 

[aliados]

The Campdraft is at the top of my non-vintage Stetson list but I have not yet found a dealer in the US and all the Australian vendors have about a 3 month wait.

Ditto - Akubras are GREAT! I have a Federation, and, awhile back I glommed two NOS Campdrafts on eBay (one was old enough to bear the Stetson Open Road label and liner, and somewhat softer felt!). Apologies to the thin-ribbon crowd, but I replaced 'em with wider ones . . .

The problem, however, is that the oval on Akubras seem to be overly rounded. I wear a 7 long oval. I sanded down an old wooden hat stretcher to fit my profile, shrunk the size 56 (letting it dry on the stretcher), and stretched th 55. The stretched 55 fits perfectly.

Point being, I know they recommend letting the hat shrink to fit, but I had better luck getting one a size small and stretching it (but, naturally, it requires periodic re-stretching, but not very often).

 

[thunderw21]

Behold, all of my OR clones bowing down before the one, true Open Road.

Left to right: Portis, modern panama Stetson Open Road, Foreman & Clark, Penny's Marathon and a vintage Stetson OR in back.

 

[PhilS]

Great group!

Behold, all of my OR clones bowing down before the one, true Open Road.

They are all marvelous.

 

[Viper Man]

Indeed! Man, now I'm itching for mine to arrive. Those look fantastic!

Apologies to the thin-ribbon crowd, but I replaced 'em with wider ones . . .

Got any photos? I'd like to see how that looks.

 

[mingoslim]

Sweeet . . .

Left to right: Portis, modern panama Stetson Open Road, Foreman & Clark, Penny's Marathon and a vintage Stetson OR in back.

What a great collection . . .
I love the Portis . . . heck, I love them all . . .

 

[jimmy the lid]

thunderw21 -- does the photo reflect the actual color of the OR? Looks like a dark tan or a light brown to me. Also, what is the color of the ribbon -- is it a green? It's a great looking OR! Feel free to post more photos of it...

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Justdog]

Open road Sovereign

Only took 45 days to get this. Thought I would post before I have my Hatter form it. It has never been formed and is very light, soft and fits like a perfect glove. Value 20 dollars inside. Silver belly, Box has fabric strap not leather and not plastic. Maybe someone can date it. Will try and get it down to the hatter next week. Feel free to suggest a form.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d138/justdog/Hats/Stetson7.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d138/justdog/Hats/Stetson6.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d138/justdog/Hats/Stetson5.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d138/justdog/Hats/Stetson4.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d138/justdog/Hats/Stetson3.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d138/justdog/Hats/Stetson2.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d138/justdog/Hats/Stetson.jpg

 

[Stan]

Hi,

I have to apply for membership, as I have an older Open Road I picked up recently from another Lounger. It's been around a bit, been chewed in a couple spots (evil moths). It's also been converted into a Fedora, like many I see here. It will fill my desire for something in the mid-range of niceness that I can wear to the feed store and such places without worrying about it.

I'm also having one custom made that's along the same lines. That one will be a 'good' hat, of course. I've grown tired of eBay for the most part, and want a good hat or two that's made to fit.

So, in the end, I'll have two. :eusa_clap

Later!

Stan

 

[jimmy the lid]

Only took 45 days to get this. Thought I would post before I have my Hatter form it. It has never been formed and is very light, soft and fits like a perfect glove.

Wow, Justdog -- that is one really nice lid. Way to go!!! :eusa_clap

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Justdog]

Wow, Justdog -- that is one really nice lid. Way to go!!! :eusa_clap

Cheers,
JtL

Thanks JL.
Always good to have an everydayerer Stan.

 

[Justdog]

History

The History of the hat I posted, always interested in the history of a vintage hat, is that it was purchased to replace an old worn out open road. It was a gift but was never worn as the recipient could not bring themselves to wear it as it was much finer than the the old one and so it sat. I purchased it and will definately wear it.

 

[AlanC]

^Justdog, it's an amazing looking hat.

I think a large percentage of the open crown vintage hats were 'special' hats that were put away like that. It's great for modern buyers, but it's also a cautionary tale: if you have a hat, wear it!

 

[Justdog]

Collection

[ cry..."QUOTE=tonyb]Four Open Roads and 10 impostors.

[/QUOTE]

Love them all!