The Open Road Guild

steur said:

Another one that came in from Oslo is this one. Filled a gap in my collection that was there to fill.
Stetson 3X beaver Open Road in silverbelly. You know these hats better than I do. Not as stiff as I had expected and I really like the shallow brim flange.

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Bamaboots said:

It’s about time! Excellent example, Stefan.

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ghostman said:

Hello. I just purchased my first felt OR RD in silverbelly and have a noob question. With the softer feel of the hat can the brim be shaped at all? I feel like steaming it wouldn’t really “take.” I just want to add a little more curve in the sides to give it a slightly more western look. I was able to shape my straw OR and love the style. Thanks.

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Ross Young said:

Pure Open Road in tobacco. This hat arrived with the ‘hand pressed’ traditional cattleman, had long ribbon tales and their new 1865 pin. The machined pressed crease offer very little head space inside the crown, so this hat sat awfully high on my head and looked, well, terrible. After I pushed the crown out, the cattleman shadow was still very prominent, even after several doses of steam. The liners appear to be just put in place, and not secured by stitch, tape or glue. Overall, I was disappointed.
I let it sit overnight, and spent more time on it yesterday. I was able to make a more suitable cattleman, so that I can wear it low enough to secure on my head, trimmed the long ribbon tails, removed the hat pin, and lastly moved the liner around to be centered. Some positives are the color, sweatband, felt quality, embroidered LD liner and the gold sweat lacing (first for me). Had this been made open crown with less taper and more crown height, I’d say it’s worth it.

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Ross Young said:

Pure Open Road in tobacco. This hat arrived with the ‘hand pressed’ traditional cattleman, had long ribbon tales and their new 1865 pin. The machined pressed crease offer very little head space inside the crown, so this hat sat awfully high on my head and looked, well, terrible. After I pushed the crown out, the cattleman shadow was still very prominent, even after several doses of steam. The liners appear to be just put in place, and not secured by stitch, tape or glue. Overall, I was disappointed.
I let it sit overnight, and spent more time on it yesterday. I was able to make a more suitable cattleman, so that I can wear it low enough to secure on my head, trimmed the long ribbon tails, removed the hat pin, and lastly moved the liner around to be centered. Some positives are the color, sweatband, felt quality, embroidered LD liner and the gold sweat lacing (first for me). Had this been made open crown with less taper and more crown height, I’d say it’s worth it.

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Winterfeld said:

Hi all, I just bought an Open Road (my first hat) and I was hoping for some advice on sizing.
My head measures 58.5cm so I bought both a 7 1/2 and a 7 3/8 to try. The 7 1/2 is really tight on the front and back of my head, but isn't snug on the sides (lots of space at the temples). The 7 3/8 is also fairly snug on the front and back, but has even more room at the sides (I can easily stick a finger between my head and hat at both temples) and thus doesn't feel secure on my head at all.
It feels the hat is just too round for my oval shape head. I think the 7 1/2 would be snug but would fit if it was actually shaped like my head, whereas the 7 3/8 would definitely be too big if it were shaped like my head. Will the hat break in and become more "oval shaped" with wear? What size would be suggested?

Thanks for any suggestions

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Winterfeld said:

Hi all, I just bought an Open Road (my first hat) and I was hoping for some advice on sizing.
My head measures 58.5cm so I bought both a 7 1/2 and a 7 3/8 to try. The 7 1/2 is really tight on the front and back of my head, but isn't snug on the sides (lots of space at the temples). The 7 3/8 is also fairly snug on the front and back, but has even more room at the sides (I can easily stick a finger between my head and hat at both temples) and thus doesn't feel secure on my head at all.
It feels the hat is just too round for my oval shape head. I think the 7 1/2 would be snug but would fit if it was actually shaped like my head, whereas the 7 3/8 would definitely be too big if it were shaped like my head. Will the hat break in and become more "oval shaped" with wear? What size would be suggested?

Thanks for any suggestions

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deadlyhandsome said:

Using either a band block, hat Jack/hat stretcher, or a crown block; and with a lot of steam, you can make the hat into a long oval; however, it will make the brim go wonky and the tensioning of the flanges brim will be messed up. Honestly, there isn’t a real good solution other than buying a hat made as a long or extra long oval. You can have a custom hat made for you for less than what a new Open Road costs once you add in having it re-blocked and reflanged. Send a PM to @belfastboy: he has a near complete set of long oval blocks and he can make you a great custom Open Road style hat.

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belfastboy said:

I have a friend that is an Extra Long Oval. Reblocked a Reg Oval hat to fit him and even though it fit perfectly front to back he could still stick three fingers between the hat and his temples. I made him a hat from scratch after using a conformateur on his head. The hat fit him but was so long and narrow it just looks weird. I told him that I am thinking some heads were just not made to wear a hat....he is still my friend!

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deadlyhandsome said:

I own a couple vintage westerns that were marked “Extra Long Oval,” but I didn’t notice any difference from standard “Long Oval.”

The proprietor at Taton Baird said I was an extra long oval, but most all vintage soft hats (fedoras) work for me. They naturally conform and don’t look deformed.

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Winterfeld said:

Thanks all for your thoughts. Regarding the fit, I find that the top of my head touches the crown when I put it on. Should this be the case? I've found differing opinions online, so wanted to hear your thoughts

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