The School of Hard Knox

[Good Lukes]

My Knox Tom 'n' Jerry from the 1960s. Made for the H. Kositchek Bros in Lansing, Michigan. Kositchek's Menswear started in 1865 and today is on its fourth generation of family ownership.

 

[VoodooSan]

My Knox Tom 'n' Jerry from the 1960s. Made for the H. Kositchek Bros in Lansing, Michigan. Kositchek's Menswear started in 1865 and today is on its fourth generation of family ownership.
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Very nice! I love it when both the hat, and the retailer, have history.

 

[MikeinRome]

1950's Knox Forty. Has 1 7/8 inch brim and 5 1/2 inch open crown. I suppose this hat might be pre-1955 since Knox came out with their Knox Fifty in 1955. The mfg tag says the block depth is 5 3/4 inches.

 

[VoodooSan]

1950's Knox Forty. Has 1 7/8 inch brim and 5 1/2 inch open crown. I suppose this hat might be pre-1955 since Knox came out with their Knox Fifty in 1955. The mfg tag says the block depth is 5 3/4 inches.

Yowza!!!! What an eye catcher!!!

 

[MikeinRome]

1950's Knox One Hundred. Has 2 1/2 inch brim with Custom Edge. On this hat, the Custom Edge looks closer to a Cavanagh Edge than other Knox hats I have with this edge treatment and don't really resemble a Cavanagh Edge.

 

[VoodooSan]

1950's Knox One Hundred. Has 2 1/2 inch brim with Custom Edge. On this hat, the Custom Edge looks closer to a Cavanagh Edge than other Knox hats I have with this edge treatment and don't really resemble a Cavanagh Edge.

Another SMOKINGLY awesome winner, Mike!

 

[Blare]

1950's Knox One Hundred. Has 2 1/2 inch brim with Custom Edge. On this hat, the Custom Edge looks closer to a Cavanagh Edge than other Knox hats I have with this edge treatment and don't really resemble a Cavanagh Edge.

Another WOW!

 

[MikeinRome]

1930's to early 40's Knox Forty, Clear Beaver hat Has 2 1/2 inch brim and 6 inch open crown. The sweatband is an older replacement with nothing written or stamped on it. See messages following this post. I had originally estimated a 50's date for this hat.

 

[Blare]

About early 1950's Knox Forty. Has 2 1/2 inch brim and 6 inch open crown. The sweatband is an older replacement with nothing written or stamped on it.

I was under the impression this reorder tag style dated back to the 1930s. Did they continue Using it into the 50s On some hats?

 

[MikeinRome]

I was under the impression this reorder tag style dated back to the 1930s. Did they continue Using it into the 50s On some hats?

There were these tags in the 30's or so but they did seem to reappear around the early 50's in HCA hats, most often in some Cavanagh hats from about 1950 to 1955 for some reason but sometimes in other HCA brands I first got sucked into researching them when I bought an early 50's Western style Cavanagh that had such a tag. Brad Bowers aka The Hatted Professor has discussed this tag also. See page 50 of the Cavanagh thread for that earlier research/discussion I went through.

 

[MikeinRome]

I said these tags seem to reappear more often in early 50's Cavanagh hats but I can't swear that's true. It's not like I've done a systematic review of all the different HCA brand hats to see how many of these tags are around.

 

[The Hatted Professor]

The Knox Forty was offered as early as 1925 and was a clear beaver hat. This could easily be a 1930s or early 1940s hat. I feel the brim is too wide for 1920s, but that’s just a guess.

 

[MikeinRome]

The Knox Forty was offered as early as 1925 and was a clear beaver hat. This could easily be a 1930s or early 1940s hat. I feel the brim is too wide for 1920s, but that’s just a guess.

So do you think that liner was used back in the 30's or early 40's? I do think the feel of this felt seems to have more of a beaver feel than the other 50's Forty that I posted on this page. As I check it yet again, I swear I think you are correct and this IS one of those Beaver Fortys, Brad!

 

[Louis Mountbatten]

So do you think that liner was used back in the 30's or early 40's?

Liner could have been added later, of course. Since it has a new sweat, there is no telling if the liner was orig. to the hat.

 

[MikeinRome]

Liner could have been added later, of course. Since it has a new sweat, there is no telling if the liner was orig. to the hat.

If so, they would have had to come up with a Forty liner, which this is. On the other hand, if this hat has been through 2 sweatbands, maybe that's a sign of greater age. Added note: This liner is old enough that it has never had any kind of oil silk or plastic on it. Note: The Hatted Professor later told me he thinks this is the original liner.

 

[MikeinRome]

1930's to early 40's Knox Forty, Clear Beaver hat Has 2 1/2 inch brim and 6 inch open crown. The sweatband is an older replacement with nothing written or stamped on it. See messages following this post. I had originally estimated a 50's date for this hat.

Someone asked me what kind of cloth is the liner made of in my Clear Beaver Knox Forty. It's not the shiny, slick satin that's in 1950's Knox Fortys or in Stetson 100s, so I guess it's made of silk. It hadn't occurred to me that it would be different from later hats.

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Forty Westlite:

Crown	5-1/2" (open crown)
Brim	3-1/4" with 3/16" symmetric binding
Ribbon	3/8"
Weight	159g

 

[VoodooSan]

Forty Westlite:
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Crown	5-1/2" (open crown)
Brim	3-1/4" with 3/16" symmetric binding
Ribbon	3/8"
Weight	159g

Oh.My.Heavens.

 

[jeffgarf]

Literally just got this in and wanted to document it before the refurb began. It was advertised as a Knox Beaver Fur Hat and sent from OK. As the picture below shows, it was sold in a now closed store in Enid, OK so while it may not have travelled far, it looks like it did work hard.
I am going to guess it is from the 1930's. It is a Premier Knox as shown on the liner. I think the liner bottom is covered in glassine and is now disintegrating, making the picture hard to get. The brim is 3" and the open crown is 5". Not sure what the original bash was, but it may have been worn as an OR clone or teardrop alternately. The sweatband needs to be reattached in places so getting the under-band shots was delicate. Hopefully it cleans up nicely.

 

[MikeinRome]

Literally just got this in and wanted to document it before the refurb began. It was advertised as a Knox Beaver Fur Hat and sent from OK. As the picture below shows, it was sold in a now closed store in Enid, OK so while it may not have travelled far, it looks like it did work hard.
I am going to guess it is from the 1930's. It is a Premier Knox as shown on the liner. I think the liner bottom is covered in glassine and is now disintegrating, making the picture hard to get. The brim is 3" and the open crown is 5". Not sure what the original bash was, but it may have been worn as an OR clone or teardrop alternately. The sweatband needs to be reattached in places so getting the under-band shots was delicate. Hopefully it cleans up nicely.

That mfg tag says 1940's to me.