Recent content by mark_m

I'll be there in June - will keep an eye out for your hat!

Stetson does have their "Pure" line which they say is pure beaver, fwiw.

Is there such thing as an appropriate hat for warm summer evenings? Sorry meant to post this in an appropriate sub-forum...

Beautiful hat; it was a bit snug but my hat guy gave it a little stretch this morning while I went out for coffee and it's on my head right now:) Any idea when this would have been made? The label doesn't look too vintage but the price does:) p.s. thanks:)

Here's one of the other hats that's going back to ebay, but it's a beauty. I think this one has made some rounds here if I'm not mistaken. Gorgeous dark chocolate McAndrew. It does measure close to 58, as marked, about 57 1/2, but a little snug on me. I've no idea the actual ages of any of the...

Either your luck is better than mine, or your head is more adaptable:) I'm 0 for 4 now, one of them just being my mistake in not reading the size correctly in the listing...

I just measured a newish Stetson and a new Mayser, both marked 58. I measured 57.8 and 58.5 respectively. And the Stetson does feel a bit more snug than the Mayser. So I think it's possible, just walking your thumbs a half inch at a time along a cloth tape measure. That said, it is tedious (and...

I hope I'm learning. Bought three 7 1/4 hats off eBay and they are all shrunk down to between 7 and 7 1/8. Next time I'll have seller measure the circumference. All of them really great hats though. One, a Wormser I posted earlier, fits my #1 son perfect and suits his face perfectly. His...

Looks good to me...

All very believable - thanks for the advice:)

Another factor there is salt. Salt really wreaks havoc with leather. I remember when my friend bought a beautiful old Mercedes with soft leather seats. He visited while we were at a cottage on the Outer Banks and left the windows open overnight. Salty mist soaked the front seats and they dried...

So fun! Rawhide does expand and shrink tremendously with water. I made some big drums using rawhide that way when I was young. We used to soak cowboy boots and wear them wet for a couple days to break them in. Leather can be stretched when wet. Still might not be a great idea with a hat...

Thanks, will see what comes in the mail and go from there:) Leather might stretch more when wet although I know if you heat it too much when wet you can pretty well destroy it...

Thanks for the answers. All makes sense. Looking at vintage hats online it's helpful to know what the parameters are. Most new hats I try on work in a 7 1/4, but occasionally a 7 3/8 is the better fit. I think I'm probably a 7 5/16... Some hats are tagged as 7 1/4 but seller will say it's kind...

In shopping for older hats, how much can size be adjusted? For instance I'm generally a 7 1/4, possibly a 7 5/16. If I find something that's a 7 1/8 or 7 3/8, can they be made to fit? Is it easier to stretch larger than somehow make smaller?