Roan Leather

[Matt Deckard]

Art, You seem to be the man on the board who handles hats the most, what can you tell me about roan leather sweatbands?

Sweatbands are one thing I have not paid much attention to when Buying a hat. How do I tell the difference and is there any benefit in having a Roan Leather band versus whatever other leather some hat companies use?

Do they last longer?
Are they more elastic?

 

[Art Fawcett]

Matt,
telling the difference can sometimes be tough. Most of the time in the non roan types it will be just a little tougher to the feel, a little stiffer. A good roan is soft, supple, moves , conforms, and responds to the touch and is SO soft ( yes, I'm talking about leather) that it completely conforms to the head when using. I say that sometimes it can be tough because there are some really good non roans out there that imitate the feel.

 

[jamespowers]

So is the roan leather sweatband responsible for Resistol's claim to be self conforming?

Regards to all,

J

 

[Art Fawcett]

JP, I don't know all the facts that lead to their claim, but the quality of the leather must certainly be a factor

 

[jamespowers]

I suppose we will never know now because they ended their production of dress hats in favor of western hats in 1968 didn't they?

Regards to all,

J

 

[Matt Deckard]

I own a resistol Homburg that has a self conforming sweatband. It says Kitten finish for the felt too... super smooth.

The leather band is very very soft.

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Matt Deckard
I own a resistol Homburg that has a self conforming sweatband. It says Kitten finish for the felt too... super smooth.

The leather band is very very soft.

Ok, we have a good example in our mix then. Is the leather more elastic feeling than the sweatbands of some of your other hats?
I like Resistol dress hats but they are few and far between in my size. The one I do have is NOS and has a very soft sweatband as well. The felt is light so it is light on the head. The felt finish is very good too.

Regards,

J

 

[Matt Deckard]

I'll see when i get home. I've been in the Open road mood lately and brought that one to work.

The Open Road is 40's and has a pretty thick yet pretty spongy sweatband, very soft. I suppose it could be a Roan.

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Matt Deckard
I'll see when i get home. I've been in the Open road mood lately and brought that one to work.

The Open Road is 40's and has a pretty thick yet pretty spongy sweatband, very soft. I suppose it could be a Roan.

Your message made me check out the Royal Stetson I wore in to work today. The sweatband is not as supple as the one in my Resistol if my memory isn't faulty. It could be just the affects of age but it looks to be in good shape for its age. I guess it was not of the self conforming variety. It fits well and Art did a great job blocking it so it is one of my favorites.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Matt Deckard]

Outside of the Open Road, do you know any dress hats that tout Beaver Quality on the sweatband? The Open Road is sort of a cross cowboy hat and says 3x beaver quality.

It is the only dress hat I can remember from stetson the mentions beaver quality... do you know of any other?

They used
royal
Royal Deluxe and so forth, did they ever mention Beaver quality in any of the dress models you've seen?

 

[jamespowers]

Oh, boy you brought up something that I have not really thought about checking. I will have to check when I get home. It seems to me that they use more of the Royal, Royal DeLuxe and so forth to denote the quality. Dobbs and Knox used numbers like Ten, Fifteen, Twenty, which were also related to the cost of the hat in dollars and then they had terms like Premier. I have attached a picture of the inside of a later model stingy brim that does mention 3X Beaver above the Stetson name on the sweatband.
You sparked something interesting. It is likely that I will have to get back to it late due to going to dinner with my mother and wife (wife's birthday). I hope we go somewhere where I can keep an eyeon my hat.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Matt Deckard]

The stingy brim is close to a modern hat. going by the liner and black sweatband.

It could be that they put the 3x beaver quality in some of the dress hats after the company went out of business and the name Stetson was reused.

If this is a new Stetson company hat I'd disqualify it from the question as the modern standards are up in the air to me.

 

[jamespowers]

I am almost sure it is newer, although I do not know how new. I have see the same patern liner in the 60s stuff. I discounted it too because it was so new---sort of a starting point though.
I agree about Stetson's new stuff. Man that is a load of junk! How do they think they can get away with such inferior goods?
This sort of brings up another question that I have been trying to clarify for a while though. Somewhere I read or heard of a mention that Stetson was going to open some boutiques aqnd offer a better grade of felt hat than their normal dreck. Has anyone else heard this or maybe you can clarify for the feeble- minded. LOL

Regards to all,

J

 

[Matt Deckard]

I talked to one of their guys in New York over the phone after i sent them a letter regarding how I though Akubra was muscling in on a market they could own if they got their act together. They called me.

What I was told is that they were tryin to be more trendy and they sell better quality hats in europe.
They were trying to get into stores here, though not with traditional felt hats... but with newfangled fashion hats.

 

[jamespowers]

Great. I have to go to Europe to buy a decent Stetson made God knows where.
Thanks for passing that along. I can forget hopes of the new Stinksons being worth a darn.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Canadave]

Hey, happy birthday to your wife, JP. Where'd you go?

It's not often that I can hold one of my hats in my hand and contribute to the Lounge, but in this case I might be able to. I have a Resistol "Cattleman" straw cowboy hat with a "Self Conforming" band. When I compare it to the sweatband on my Knox Flying Cloud, I can't see or feel a noticeable difference. I flipped down the band and looked all around, but don't see anything that would make it "self conforming". There is no noticeable "elasticity".

Hope that helps,

David

 

[jamespowers]

The wife and I went to a local place here called El Rancho. Not exactly the Ritz but they have an all you can eat ribs deal that they probably lose money on everytime I walk through the door. LOL Next time it will be Jordan's at the Claremont.
That is interesting that you compared the Resistol to the Knox. The Knox is a fairly high quality hat so the two sweatbands could both actually be Roan. How old is the Resistol?

Regards to all,

J

 

[Canadave]

Originally posted by jamespowers
...How old is the Resistol?

Not old. I bought it new in Scottsdale about 10 years ago.

David

 

[Matt Deckard]

I have an old Dobbs here that I bought from Art at the last local vintage expo. The leather band is super soft. I am pretty sure it would be classified as roan.

I will try to post pics later.

also has a embossed patent on the leather stating "Improved felted welt edge" with the date of may, 19 1931

 

[jamespowers]

Wow! Still soft after 73 years. Now that is quality leather. Must be roan. Take good care of it. Is it one of those "sucker for high crowns?" LOL

Regards to all,

J