Post New Hats Here!

Blare said:

The CHAMP is Here
Feather Weight Champ - Kasmir Finish

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Feather Weight Champ - Kasmir Finish
Light to Medium Tan Felt with. Warm tones
4 3/4 crown as shaped
3/4 matching grosgrain mid ribbon
2 3/4 brim with 1/8 matching grosgrain binding
Black and Gold Feather Weight Scale logo with feather

Here is the second hat from the trio that arrived recently. These second two hats required a good steaming in addition to the heavy brushing to bring them around. Both of these hats suffered from a phenomenon I refer to as “Puckering” where the base of the crown is actually puckered in in spots around the hat band. I’m not sure what the cause… though I suspect it may be caused when hats were stacked tightly for long periods of time or it may be the hats may have shrunken somewhat… or some combination there of. Whatever the cause.. I’ve had decent results in the past steaming the puckers out. So far I haven’t gotten rid of them entirely but reduced the effect dramatically. I would bet if they were placed on a block and steamed and left to dry it might smooth them out entirely. I’m happy with the results for now though. I have another one of these Feather weight Champs that is a bit more minty condition. Other than condition though the only differences between the two a slight difference in color.. this one a hair lighter with warmer tones compared to the slightly reddish tones of the Toast color indicated on the fresher hat. The other difference is in the sweat logo. They both have the black and gold Feather Weight Champ scale logo. This one has a feather on the left side of the scale the other has two packs of cigarettes. I wonder which was first. There is one small dark spot on the crown I was able to scrub out some but not remove it’s camouflaged slightly in the pinch. I cleaned off some dried sweat salt from the sweatband and smoothed over a damp fingers worth of coconut oil to moisten it up a bit. Had to be pretty careful looking underneath the sweat as even though it wasn’t entirely brittle it was stiff enough to leave some concern. I did not find any manufacturers tag other than a square 7 1/8 size sticker. Interesting enough this 7 1/8 seems to fit closer to a size 7 than even my size 7 Champ. Maybe some evidence toward the “puckering” being a shrinkage issue.

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Rmccamey said:

Another nice hat, Joe.

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Blare said:

It is very possible. I only remember one other hat I had it happen significantly on was my St Regis. If my memory is correct (and it may not be) That one I don’t think seemed to have shrunken in size. This one though does feel a bit more snug than 7 1/8.

here is a look of the before. It actually arrived quite a bit more smashed up than this photo… the Lion on the right I’ll post tomorrow

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Blare said:

Astor Hats of Distinction - Stratoliner Clone

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Astor Hats - Stratoliner Clone
Medium Tan light weight felt
Just over 5 1/2 crown open. (About 5 inch with shallow center dent)
3/8 matching grosgrain thin ribbon
2 3/4 brim 1/8 matching grosgrain binding

This is the first of a trio of hats that showed up this weekend. Astor Hats is not a brand I have come across before but it appears to be a very well made hat. This one of the three needed the least cleaning up. Just a real good brushing. It is a Stratoliner style with 2 3/4 brim and about 5 1/2 crown in a medium tan color with a slight reddish hue. Originally sold at Stevens In Petersburg-Princeton, Indiana. There are some very shallow moth tracks here and there but they do not take away from this beauty. With the slightly wider brim, one might make the case this is more of an Open Road clone but I think the thin light weight felt pointed more towards Strat. Probably splitting hairs there as the style is so similar to both. But that’s my impression. All in all this Astor Hats is a prime example of lesser known brands producing damn fine hats.

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Steve1857 said:

Hückel Novo velour ca. 1930s. Part of a batch I bought from Stefan at the start of the summer. View attachment 354755 View attachment 354756 View attachment 354757 View attachment 354758 View attachment 354759 View attachment 354760 View attachment 354761 View attachment 354762

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moehawk said:

Hey all!

More of this Marathon in the Penney's Marathon thread!

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Check it out!

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Blare said:

The CHAMP is Here
Feather Weight Champ - Kasmir Finish

View attachment 355132

Feather Weight Champ - Kasmir Finish
Light to Medium Tan Felt with. Warm tones
4 3/4 crown as shaped
3/4 matching grosgrain mid ribbon
2 3/4 brim with 1/8 matching grosgrain binding
Black and Gold Feather Weight Scale logo with feather

Here is the second hat from the trio that arrived recently. These second two hats required a good steaming in addition to the heavy brushing to bring them around. Both of these hats suffered from a phenomenon I refer to as “Puckering” where the base of the crown is actually puckered in in spots around the hat band. I’m not sure what the cause… though I suspect it may be caused when hats were stacked tightly for long periods of time or it may be the hats may have shrunken somewhat… or some combination there of. Whatever the cause.. I’ve had decent results in the past steaming the puckers out. So far I haven’t gotten rid of them entirely but reduced the effect dramatically. I would bet if they were placed on a block and steamed and left to dry it might smooth them out entirely. I’m happy with the results for now though. I have another one of these Feather weight Champs that is a bit more minty condition. Other than condition though the only differences between the two a slight difference in color.. this one a hair lighter with warmer tones compared to the slightly reddish tones of the Toast color indicated on the fresher hat. The other difference is in the sweat logo. They both have the black and gold Feather Weight Champ scale logo. This one has a feather on the left side of the scale the other has two packs of cigarettes. I wonder which was first. There is one small dark spot on the crown I was able to scrub out some but not remove it’s camouflaged slightly in the pinch. I cleaned off some dried sweat salt from the sweatband and smoothed over a damp fingers worth of coconut oil to moisten it up a bit. Had to be pretty careful looking underneath the sweat as even though it wasn’t entirely brittle it was stiff enough to leave some concern. I did not find any manufacturers tag other than a square 7 1/8 size sticker. Interesting enough this 7 1/8 seems to fit closer to a size 7 than even my size 7 Champ. Maybe some evidence toward the “puckering” being a shrinkage issue.

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BobHufford said:

This is what $67 shipping looks like.

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I figured this hat would not fit me, but was hoping it would fit my wife. It was too small. Into the sale/trade pile.

4” / 3-3/4” dimensional brim and 4-1/4” crown as creased.

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steur said:

Nice weave on that one, Bob. Pity about the size. The ridiculous costs of shipping keep me from bidding on Ebay these days. That and the customs fees more or less triple or quadruple the bidding price. No fun.

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BobHufford said:

This is what $67 shipping looks like.

View attachment 355347

I figured this hat would not fit me, but was hoping it would fit my wife. It was too small. Into the sale/trade pile.

4” / 3-3/4” dimensional brim and 4-1/4” crown as creased.

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Bill Hughes said:

So what is the size?

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steur said:

Looking good, Steve. It's getting close to velour time (or with this kind of weather you might as well)


I will! Killer hat, John.


Another great find, Joe. The puckering has to do with the sweatband shrinking a bit over time. I've had good results with putting them on the stretcher for a while to get them back to original size.

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BobHufford said:

This is what $67 shipping looks like.

View attachment 355347

I figured this hat would not fit me, but was hoping it would fit my wife. It was too small. Into the sale/trade pile.

4” / 3-3/4” dimensional brim and 4-1/4” crown as creased.

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BobHufford said:

I’ll try and figure that out when I get back home Bill. Probably around 7-1/8.

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BobHufford said:

This is what $67 shipping looks like.

View attachment 355347

I figured this hat would not fit me, but was hoping it would fit my wife. It was too small. Into the sale/trade pile.

4” / 3-3/4” dimensional brim and 4-1/4” crown as creased.

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steur said:

That is a score, Joe!

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steur said:

Another great find, Joe. The puckering has to do with the sweatband shrinking a bit over time. I've had good results with putting them on the stretcher for a while to get them back to original size.

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Bamaboots said:

More in the pre 40’s Stetson Westerns.

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BobHufford said:

Another “7-1/2” does not equal size 7-1/2.

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