Rank relative quality of vintage lids?

[dawgvet]

I would like to start collecting some vintage hats and have only handled a few in person. As I am becoming more familiar with vintage hat companies and brands, I would like some input on your opinions of relative quality of the vintage hat makes. Main factors being quality/durability of felt, finish on felt, bands, ribbons, etc. I realize this will be subjective, but without being able to handle alot of different vintage hats in person, its the best I can do. Thanks in advance.
Jedidiah

 

[feltfan]

There is no substitute for handling

Your request is a little bit like asking for the relative quality
of vintage wines. In order to really know about terroir, the differences
between countries, and years, you have to buy and drink a lot of wine.

Rather than collecting a bunch of opinions here,
why not use The Fedora Lounge as a resource?
There are literally many years of photos of vintage
hats, usually accompanied by comments, on this site.

You'll learn a lot more if you read through the archives.
And you really do have to buy a few hats to understand.

My opinion.

 

[barrowjh]

feltfan's advice is good. There were levels of quality within brands, and then there were brands whose product line 'span' of quality was a notch or two below the leaders. Within brands, the model names for 'top shelf' hats changed over the years, and in some brands, there may have been several models at the same time that were all very high quality. There were local hatters that did custom work on par with the best brands. No matter the original quality, it might be trash now based on how it was treated over the years, how it was stored. Difficult to 'rank' them.

 

[tonyb]

Yo, dawg (sorry, it was such a fat pitch I just had to swing at it) ...

Doing your question justice would take a book, as has already been noted. A thick book.

I can offer this bit of advice, though: Unless you enjoy buying and selling, go slow on the buying. A hat that doesn't fit -- and many of them likely won't, especially those bought remotely, on eBay or whatever -- doesn't do you much good, unless you like having it for the sake of having it. (I happen to have several non-fitting hats myself, so it ain't like I'm passing a negative judgment here. At the very least, I'm preserving artifacts.)

I can also suggest you check out the FL classifieds. The posters here are generally much better informed than your typical eBay seller. Even if the listing in the classifieds is a link to an eBay auction, your chances of getting an accurate description are far higher.

 

[fedoralover]

For a quick primer though, here are some generalities that "usually" but not necessarily always, will give you some clues. If a fedora has a Cavanagh or Mode edge, it is probably a pretty decent quality. A Mallory 20 will probably be better than a Mallory 10 and the same within other brands. The 20 or 10 or whatever, applies to the original price of the hat. Logic should dictate that a hat that cost twice as much "Should" be a higher quality. If a hat states on the liner or sweatband that it is a beaver felt or beaver blend, it should be a higher quality than one that is all rabbit felt, but again that depends too on how it was felted. A lot of variables, but these are some very general guide lines you can use for some occasions.

fedoralover

 

[gtdean48]

Jed,
With our size noggins, finding good quality vintage from multiple makers is a challenge. I've been looking for Knox, Dobbs, Disney, Lee, Adam, Champ but only own Stetson, Resistol, Borsalino & one lonely Sears Pilgrim. IndyCop John beat me out of a Penney's Marathon that was a 7 1/2. My Stetson 100 is a 7 1/2 slightly stretched as well.
Then you have to look at styles that limit your search as well. I can't do stingy, doesn't fit my face shape & I don't do wide ribbons, doesn't fit my eye.
Big size hats were rarer in those days & rarer to survive in serviceable shape today. Jimmy the Lid at 7 3/8 has a nice selection of different vintage brands & can wear a wide ribbon very dapperly.
We are at the mercy of our large mellons...