The Resistol Roundup

[KC Capellor]

jlee562,
Thanks for the link, nice helpful tutorial. I started in changing an older Resistol cattleman crown to simple telescope for practice. KC

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[KC Capellor]

Resistol "Dalworth" Open Road clone 3X Silver Belly

Here's my newly acquired Resistol "Dalworth" Open Road clone. Silver Belly 3X beaver, near mint, original price tag $25.00. Quickly dry-bashed it into a rough diamond, snapped the brim down, then dampened overnight into a little smother teardrop pinch.
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on the noggin looks better than I do this morning...maybe if I shave?!

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[jlee562]

Wow KC, I'm a bit jealous, looks like you scored a hat in pristine condition! Nice job on the new crease, it looks great.

 

[hatophile]

Wow KC, I'm a bit jealous, looks like you scored a hat in pristine condition! Nice job on the new crease, it looks great.

+1

 

[KC Capellor]

thanks guys!

 

[randooch]

Wow KC, I'm a bit jealous, looks like you scored a hat in pristine condition! Nice job on the new crease, it looks great.

+2

Very nicely executed.

 

[Chepstow]

+2

Very nicely executed.

+3

sharp

 

[KC Capellor]

thanks guys, I was able to smooth out the teardrop crease a lot more by leaving a damp cloth on it overnight and gently forming with fingers. Now, if I could get the strong smell of moth repellent out... at least the upside is zero moth bites!

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[gtdean48]

.... Now, if I could get the strong smell of moth repellent out... at least the upside is zero moth bites!

Get a plastic trash can liner & crumple up some newspaper. Stick the hat in the liner with all the newspaper & tie up the liner end. Let is set for 3-4 days.
I did this to get strong pipe smoke smell out of one. Maybe it'll work with moth repellent.....

 

[SGT Rocket]

Resistol Open Road Clone

Ok, I'm looking at buying a Resistol Open Road clone. My head is a long oval, and those Stetson hats are all round-- I'm not wanting to stretch a hat out either. I know that lots of Resistols come in long oval so I'm hoping they can give me what I'm looking for. I found a straw Resistol called the Sportsman, that looks like an open road clone, but the crown seems a little small to me.

http://www.resistolhat.com/products_detail.php?id=1064

I also looked for a Waco and a San Antonio on their site but could not find it. I'm actually interested in a felt silverbelly. Can anyone identify what hat Resistol makes that meets these specifications?

Thanks

 

[gtdean48]

HatCo no longer makes a Resistol model like the OR. They just make the Stetson model.

Ok, I'm looking at buying a Resistol Open Road clone. My head is a long oval, and those Stetson hats are all round-- I'm not wanting to stretch a hat out either. I know that lots of Resistols come in long oval so I'm hoping they can give me what I'm looking for. I found a straw Resistol called the Sportsman, that looks like an open road clone, but the crown seems a little small to me. http://www.resistolhat.com/products_detail.php?id=1064
I also looked for a Waco and a San Antonio on their site but could not find it. I'm actually interested in a felt silverbelly. Can anyone identify what hat Resistol makes that meets these specifications?
Thanks

 

[SGT Rocket]

Really? Man, that's depressing.

 

[barrowjh]

KC Capellor, I just love that liner. The liner crests that pre-date clear plastic tips are just tops IMHO - the embroidered version of the last teardrop, etc.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Jedwbpm and jlee562, I have San Antonios that do not say it on the sweatband; in fact, I have never seen a San Antonio that was marked as such on the sweatband. Most of the time, if the paper production tag is still behind the sweatband, you might see San Ant or San An, of if it is in the original box, there might be a similar paper tag on the box itself showing San Ant or San An, typically along with Sil Bel for color (silver belly). If it looks like an OR and the liner crest includes Byer Rolnick, it is a San Antonio unless you have clear proof to the contrary!

I have a San Antonio OR with a Harry Rolnick liner that is stamped "San Antonio" on the sweat in small black letters.

 

[KC Capellor]

KC Capellor, I just love that liner. The liner crests that pre-date clear plastic tips are just tops IMHO - the embroidered version of the last teardrop, etc.

Thanks, barrowjh, my Kitten Finish Telstar has the same white satin Resistol Byer-Rolnich liner which I thought was early 1960's, but I thought my Dalworth was more late 1960's? I would be curious to learn more about dating vintage Resistols by liner style. (as I am thinking of - gulp - investing in more?!)

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I had a bit of cardboard taped inside to help shape the front pinch. The felt of this hat is very velvety soft in body unlike most of my others which are quite a bit stiffer and crisper of crease.

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[KC Capellor]

Here is my latest Resistol restoration and transformation project:

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1980's(?) George Strait signature series 5X beaver Encina 5 1/2" cattleman crown, 4" brim, off-white satin liner with clear window over gold Resistol Western logo. Must have been worn by a real cowboy, because it came to me with very soiled exterior, liner musty smelling but excellent shape, several bad dry-crease surface wrinkles on brim and a couple little tears into the edge. Removed liner to soak in anti-bacterial soap solution and started in reshaping following the "Roy Rogers method" (from his famous Resistol crown-bashing video referenced elsewhere). Dampened crown with tap water and reshaped into telescope shape with fingers and a flat countertop. Dampened brim, curled in by hand and wrapped in damp towels to dry overnight. This is how it has shaped up so far:

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I intend to make a fine black cowhide / rattlesnake skin w/goatskin lace whipstitched edge hatband to replace the plain GS black belt.

What do you guys think? Do I clean the exterior or leave its heavily soiled patina? Should I cut a half inch to an inch off the brim to remove a couple edge tears and make it less ungainly style-wise (a 3" brim would make it very close to Russell Crowe's hat in "3:10 to Yuma")? Note: Despite the soiling and obvious hard use, the surface feel of the heavy-weight 5X beaver felt is very soft and luxurious. Vote now, vote often! Thanks!

 

[BR Gordon]

I've had this San Antonio for a while now, just never got around to posting it in the roundup.




The liner says Designed by Harry Rolnick where most that I've seen say Produced by Harry Rolnick, or something to that effect.



I took it to our local hat shop for them to re-block it open. The sweatband didn't hold up to being removed, but I did keep the original.

There was some discussion earlier in the thread about if San Antonio was stamped on the sweatband or not. This one is.

 

[Benzadmiral]

. . . I found a straw Resistol called the Sportsman, that looks like an open road clone, but the crown seems a little small to me.

http://www.resistolhat.com/products_detail.php?id=1064

SGT Rocket, I'm inclined to think the crown height listed on their site is a typo. How could a hat that looks anything like that have a crown less than 3 inches high? Nobody could fit it on his head! I'm thinking they meant 4 3/4", which would make it a decent height. It certainly does look like the Stetson OR.

 

[Landman]

Resistol San Antonio

Below is an older Resistol I recently purchased. It doesn't have any style name in it but it appears to be a San Antonio style hat. Could any of the Resistol experts here give me an approximate date of manufacture based on the liner? Thanks.

 

[barrowjh]

BR Gordon, thanks for posting those pics, now I know more than I did before. That is the 1st time I've seen 'San Antonio' on the sweatband.

I have a dark green fedora with the same brown crest in the liner that yours has, with an oilskin cover. The oilskin liner tip is a marker that indicates the hat is probably no younger than mid-1950s, as Stetson introduced clear plastic liners in 1952 (all such info per this site).

I also have a San Antonio with a liner crest exactly like Landman's, though mine is only 3X Beaver and not in as pristine condition as Landman's appears to be. In both Landman's and my example there is no cover (oilskin nor clear plastic) over the liner crest. This liner is my fave, wish we could put a date on these.

I have another 3X Beaver San Antonio with a brown liner and a clear plastic tip cover; the crest under it is the same outline as Landman's, but it is done with just gold print outlining it on the brown liner, no other colors, original price tag is $10.95. The clear plastic tip gives us a marker for that one; could not be older than mid-1950s. There is nothing in the hat to indicate it is a San Antonio, so maybe it was sold with some other name, no indication of any name.

I have a 'King's 25' Beaver Twenty Five that came to me in its original box, which also states King's 25, and it has a paper tag on the hat box which titles the hat 'San Ant' which I interpret to be another San Antonio. This hat has no covering over the crest, but it is a different crest altogether, and it is the only San Antonio I have ever seen that did not have a bound edge; edge is plain.

Here is a 3X Beaver Resistol 'Wide Country' which I think was a successor to the San Antonio, it has a 3 inch bound brim:

Maybe a person with really wide shoulders can wear a 3 inch bound brim and look ok, or maybe the hat was meant to be worn more as a goucho style (so why the snap brim, if so?), but this hat taught me that there is a practical limit to brim width for a bound edge snap brim. At least for me, beyond 2 3/4 inches, I want the edge plain, no snap, time to curl up the sides and make it a cross-over style.