The Open Road Guild

[thunderw21]

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

Cheers, thanks guys.

 

[Orvil Newton]

Thought I had one

Last night on ebay. Someone outbid me at the last minute It went for $53. Anyone here?

 

[GI Joe]

Gentlemen of the Guild, I submit to you my application for membership. I am now the proud possessor of a Churchill Open Road clone.

So, whadda ya say? Am I in like Flint or do have to park some cars for a while, or maybe sweep up the cigar ashes after meetings.

C'mon, my self-esteem is hinging on this!

 

[tracyam]

I tried on a brand new Open Road today...hard as a rock. But I got this pre 1970 one in the mail today (brown band so I'm assuming better quality than the "hard hat" one I put on today).
I am REALLY digging this hat. Had it five hours and don't like taking it off...

 

[KY Gentleman]

I'm just asking a question here, but theres a lot of complaints about "new" Stetson hats being hard or stiff. I have had several in my possession since about '76 and they all started out that way. They get softer and more pliable with wear and exposure to the elements. Can anyone attest that a 1950 Stetson didn't start out its life a little stiff or hard? I'm really curious about this.

 

[AlanC]

Gentlemen of the Guild, I submit to you my application for membership. I am now the proud possessor of a Churchill Open Road clone.

Yours must be older than mine. Mine doesn't have the wind trolley (jealous of yours) and the brim on mine is too stiff to turn down all the way around like that. How soft is yours? Any chance of an interior shot?

Who made the bouzouki? Do you play mandolin?

 

[tracyam]

Who made the bouzouki? Do you play mandolin?

It's made by Johnson. I'm just learning to play it. I messed around with mandolins for a couple years but being 6'4" tended to make it hard to play those tiny little necks...especially those chords behind the first and second frets. So I made the leap to bouzouki. They're very similar. I've had this one tuned like a mandolin so it wouldn't be so strange starting out.

 

[RBH]

GI Joe, I would say you did good!
tracyam likewise!
:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap
Welcome to the Guild.

 

[jimmy the lid]

I'm just asking a question here, but theres a lot of complaints about "new" Stetson hats being hard or stiff. I have had several in my possession since about '76 and they all started out that way. They get softer and more pliable with wear and exposure to the elements. Can anyone attest that a 1950 Stetson didn't start out its life a little stiff or hard? I'm really curious about this.

I bought a Stetson Gun Club in '87 that was more on the "Western" felt side of things -- slightly thicker and stiffer felt. Great outdoor hat. Over time, it did just what you said, Kentucky Gent -- it softened up with use and became nicely broken in. Still wear it today. So, I know what you're talking about there.

That being said, I can also say that, yes, vintage ORs started out as softer lids from the get go and were not stiff like their modern day counterparts. It's interesting to me how the felt varies on vintage ORs through the years. But, one common denominator is that they were generally softer, pliable, shapeable lids -- very different from an OR you'd pick up new today.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[GI Joe]

Yours must be older than mine. Mine doesn't have the wind trolley (jealous of yours) and the brim on mine is too stiff to turn down all the way around like that. How soft is yours? Any chance of an interior shot?

Alan, look over on page 22 of the New Hat thread. Shots of the liner, and sweatband. I forgot to take a picture of the pricetag inside the sweatband. I believe it went for $30 from Needless Markup.

It seems fairly stiff. Today I have the brim snapped down in front & up in the back along with the cattleman's crease and the brim is staying put nicely. I'll probably have to wet it to get the sides rolled like a typical Open Road.

 

[AlanC]

My Churchill is from Neimans, too. It seems to have been their standard brand. Of course Neimans is a Texas based store so offering an OR clone would make sense. The interior of mine is similar, but does not have the 'Beaver' designation of yours. I would assume that means yours is of higher quality. The price tag has been removed from mine, alas. It does have embossed initials like yours, so that must have been a standard service.

You've got a great hat--enjoy!

 

[PhilS]

Do I have to resign from the Guild?

I just sold my Open Road. Not big enough for my freakish long head. I just bought this Stratoliner. Even though it's a Long Oval (for which I paid a big fat eBay premium) it's still not big enough, so I may retire from seeking vintage hats and stick with Art.
<a href="http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/philschatz/?action=view&current=Photo27.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/philschatz/Photo27.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[GI Joe]

Do I have to resign from the Guild?
I just sold my Open Road. Not big enough for my freakish long head. I just bought this Stratoliner. Even though it's a Long Oval (for which I paid a big fat eBay premium) it's still not big enough, so I may retire from seeking vintage hats and stick with Art.

Drum him out!

Cue up the music from "Branded"! lol lol lol

 

[AlanC]

We can at least keep you in as an Honorary Member...until you get your HST from Art.

 

[PhilS]

Is he making me an HST?

We can at least keep you in as an Honorary Member...until you get your HST from Art.

You may know something I don't. I gave him carte blanche to do what he thought would work best.

 

[KY Gentleman]

Thank you Jimmy the Lid for your answer. I had wondered about that for awhile.

 

[AlanC]

You may know something I don't. I gave him carte blanche to do what he thought would work best.

I have no idea--I didn't even know you'd ordered something from Art! :eusa_doh:

The HST is Art's OR-esque Limited Edition, so I was just saying if you're going with Art exclusively (not a bad choice, certainly) and want to be in the Guild, the HST would be the hat to get.

Now we can all join your breathless wait for what Art will come up with.

 

[HamletJSD]

I'm sure the Open Road is not the only hat to have this feature, but it's my only hat with it so this seems a good place to ask ...

There is a plastic-y rim just around the inside, sewn in with the sweat band ... I am guessing it is for sweat protection? My real question is this: should the liner be tucked behind this (between the plastic and the felt) or in front of it (between the leather the plastic)?

It is currently half and half, so I can't tell by the existing condition ...

 

[John in Covina]

There is a plastic-y rim just around the inside, sewn in with the sweat band ... I am guessing it is for sweat protection? My real question is this: should the liner be tucked behind this (between the plastic and the felt) or in front of it (between the leather the plastic)? It is currently half and half, so I can't tell by the existing condition ...

*************
I could be wrong BUT if it is to keep the sweat from migrating then I'd think you'd be better off putting the liner behind it to protect as much as possible.

 

[jimmy the lid]

*************
I could be wrong BUT if it is to keep the sweat from migrating then I'd think you'd be better off putting the liner behind it to protect as much as possible.

Yup. The "plastic-y" material should be right behind the sweat. The liner then goes between these two layers and the felt.

BTW, HamletJSD -- great score on that beautiful OR! :eusa_clap

Cheers,
JtL