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Search results
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From bowlers to fedoras, when and why?
There's no reason to speculate. Head over to Amazon's used books to find a wealth of inexpensive reproductions of Sears catalogs....1897, 1902, 1909, 1927 etc. For example by 1902 there were at least 10 fedoras and westerns offered for every bowler.....and "fedora" included what we now call a...- Bob Smalser
- Post #10
- Forum: Hats
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Shearling jackets in the rain/snow.... how will it affect the jacket?
No big problem. My youngest soaks his older Airex B-3 regularly on his motorcycle and in general if you don't wear it in the rain here, you'll never get to wear it. Haven't had one shrink yet. Just allow it to drip dry naturally on a towel and later a good hanger when it's dry enough...- Bob Smalser
- Post #4
- Forum: Outerwear and Workwear
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Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest
A couple days before hand saturate the sweat band with either lanolin or Peccard's and allow it to thoroughly soak in. Then either steam or a cold water soak will allow you to stretch the circumference by a half inch or more. Leave it in the jack til it dries. If it doesn't work, send it in...- Bob Smalser
- Post #2,136
- Forum: Hats
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Moose River Hat
Oh, I suspect just about all hats with 4" brims are made with thicker felt than hats with 2 3/4" brims. Something other than ones ears has to hold up all that additional rain, eh? ;) But I also suspect Imperial Quality means the hats have the same mix of felt and level of finish. And...- Bob Smalser
- Post #41
- Forum: Hats
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Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest
They may well be $348 at Brooks Brothers, but they are $220 or so everywhere else. You may have got it cheaper by allowing the auction to run its course, but in a popular size someone else may have easily bought it first. I don't think anyone'll buy a brand-spanking new one like yours for...- Bob Smalser
- Post #2,129
- Forum: Hats
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Moose River Hat
LL Bean fedora (Moose River Hat? Been so long I don't remember what it was called.) circa 1970, fur felt in Silver Belly with a 2 1/4" brim edged with grosgrain ribbon. Also originally had a thin, matching grosgrain hat ribbon similar to an Open Road. The sheepskin ribbon I replaced it with...- Bob Smalser
- Post #30
- Forum: Hats
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Worth & Worth
My main bad-weather work hat is a lightweight Worth & Worth felt. It was a hundred-dollar hat 20 years ago when I bought it in NYC. An excellent quality felt more comparable to my 1930's Cavanagh fedora than my 4-7X Open Roads. It's a rich, warm felt and very soft and comfy. It compresses...- Bob Smalser
- Post #5
- Forum: Hats
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British Pound hits a 23 year low against the dollar
Aero? Actually, I've been buying these hundred-year-old British game guns since before the holidays. Better investment. ;)- Bob Smalser
- Post #13
- Forum: Outerwear and Workwear
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Guns and shooting advice?
Great job, congratulations. As you've had a brief introduction to Smiths, one aspect you don't often get to see is all 4 basic sizes of classic Smith for comparison. You may be more comfortable with a smaller revolver. From the top: An N-Frame .45 Triple Lock with 7 1/2" barrel. An...- Bob Smalser
- Post #113
- Forum: The Observation Bar
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Alpine, Tyrolean, Bavarian Hats
A classic German painting titled The Forester's Home, circa 1890. His boots are at the foot of the schrank, his loden coat is draped over the chair, his rifle-shotgun drilling is hanging from a wall rack beneath his work cap and his felt hat is on the writing desk. Two dachsunds and a...- Bob Smalser
- Post #4
- Forum: Hats
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Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest
This was taken outdoors without the flash and is accurate. Silver Belly, I guess. That's what the factory sticker beneath the sweatband said, anyway. The felt is surprisingly soft and silky for a middlin-grade hat.....perhaps because it's an older hat. My wife liked it so much I just...- Bob Smalser
- Post #1,958
- Forum: Hats
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Alpine, Tyrolean, Bavarian Hats
They originated as hunting trophies, and vestiges of that tradition remain in force in what is a rather strict etiquette for hunting game animals in Germany. Besides the forstmeister guides, hunting leases and permits, 30 years ago when I was stationed there one also had to wear the correct...- Bob Smalser
- Post #2
- Forum: Hats
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Please Advise
Depends on what you want. If color is important and you can find the same in a fedora, then I don't see any harm in another 60-80 dollar investment as a good custom hat will run you 2-300. But you may not like the result for an entirely different reason. Western hats with wide brims are...- Bob Smalser
- Post #8
- Forum: Hats
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Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest
That Knox is gorgeous. Congratulations. It's interesting to me that most Resistols seem to go for a small fraction of what their Stetson counterparts of the same quality sell for. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250353988083 I won this 3X 7 1/4 Cattleman for 20...- Bob Smalser
- Post #1,949
- Forum: Hats
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Why are original G-1 jackets so cheap compared to A-2s?
Could be. Especially on the crank man. But kinda shiny for chore coats. The third man is behind the saw with the light shining on his jacket.- Bob Smalser
- Post #23
- Forum: Outerwear and Workwear
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Scotch Guard? Scout Felt Hat Protector?
None of that silicone stuff works for very long anyway. Working outdoors all day in a miserable, driving rain is why God gave us tin hoods. ;)- Bob Smalser
- Post #55
- Forum: Hats
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Why are original G-1 jackets so cheap compared to A-2s?
Plus those that were made were quickly used up by other than flight crew. Gander at this shipyard photo from my dad circa 1950. Look what the shipwrights manning this ship's saw are wearing.....all three are wearing what look to be A2's that were probably warehouse giveaways for them to be...- Bob Smalser
- Post #21
- Forum: Outerwear and Workwear
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Maintaining Traditional Oil Skins and “Tin” Cloth
All of these are at least 10 years old and I've had a couple for much, much longer than that. The wool cruisers are whipcord and cavalry twill Filson hasn't made since the 1960's, and when I bought them they were second hand. As I like flat caps in the woods, I usually have to spring for a...- Bob Smalser
- Post #4
- Forum: Outerwear and Workwear
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Maintaining Traditional Oil Skins and “Tin” Cloth
Yeah, I know…nobody wears linseed/wax-impregnated cotton “oilskins” any more…they wear Goretex. Well, that’s not entirely true. Those of us in the lumber and sawmill trades do, as do many outdoor and heavy construction workers. Why? Muscling around hundred-pound planks of rough lumber wear...- Bob Smalser
- Thread
- Replies: 14
- Forum: Outerwear and Workwear
