The Resistol Roundup

Duck, I have one that I really like too. Yours are in super shape with great creases!

 

:arated: Gave 1 to my brother, in search of 1 in my size...

 

Resistol Pace-Setter

Measurements:
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Crown: 5" 1/2 (open) / 4" 1/2 (creased)
Brim: 2" 3/8
Ribbon: 1" 5/8
Binding: 1/4


Colors:
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Felt: Medium gray
Binding: Slightly lighter gray
Ribbon: Black


Beautiful hat in very good condition with soft, malleable felt. No spots, stains or moth bites. The only problem with this hat is a home-made one... I rinsed the liner with water and a wee bit of soap as it was a little grimy and the oilskin stuck to the silk; this action rather successfully helped to get rid of the printing on the liner (logo etc.)...

Oh well, apart from that it's a great hat.

​

 

That is a jewel there, Diamond Mario! Excellent hand-blocking of definitely your signature crease. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

"The only problem with this hat is a home-made one... I rinsed the liner with water and a wee bit of soap as it was a little grimy and the oilskin stuck to the silk; this action rather successfully helped to get rid of the printing on the liner (logo etc."
Mario I hade a similar experience with my early Resistol liner logo getting the colors washed out after an over night soaking in camp stove fuel. My Resisto has the oil crown liner.
Any guess on the age of you Ressisto?

 

Hard to say. I didn't have much time to examine the liner as I quickly proceeded to dump it in the water...

Here's the original photo from the 'Bay:



It looked more or less exactly like this one from Sue's recent find (looking at it, I'm afraid that I killed a very nice liner!! :cry: ):



Here's a Pace-Setter ad from 1948:



My guess would be late 40's, early 50's.

 

Oh, Mario! We've all had those heartbreaking experiences. The good news is that when you're wearing your fine lid it doesn't matter at all!

Sue

 

My gray Pace-Setter on the previous page has an OPS tag.

 

Resistol Beaver "125"




Ridgetop Silver-Gray with 3-1/2" brim from Shepler's. Tag seems to have $295.00 written in for price. I'm guessing 1970's. Finely finished and soft but fairly stiff. Highest number Beaver I've seen without X's...
Must be best felt ever.

 

RLK,
I saw that one and saw the hand-written "$295" on the tag.
I think the price write-in was much more recent.
I remember seeing 125's in the early seventies and they were priced at $125.
That was a premium hat at that time and one I handled not too many years back had a great feel to the felt.
I lost a 5 Star Beaver resistol to a low tree limb-bush hog mower incident. The 5 star was just below the 125 in that era from what I could find out.

 

I was suspicious of the hand-written price...Makes sense for the "125" to match the price. It is beautifully finished. Finish is very much like my Resistol 75 Clear Beaver but the fiber is a little less "springy"(hard to describe on short fibers) than all-Beaver felts, so I suspect a blend that is mostly Beaver.

 

That's a beautiful hat, rlk, no matter what the percentage of beaver in it.

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Sue

 

Thanks Sue. Shows the kind of work the factory could still produce. This one was actually worn quite a bit...Some of the gold is worn off on the sweatband and quite a bit of dirt and dust is present, but the felt looks great and no worse for the wear.

 

I asked an elderly relative of mine if she might have any of her husbands old hats and she said "No, I threw them all out but I do have one of my dads".

I drove right over to her house and she presented me with this one. She said he moved near Texarkana in the mid 60's so this is probably about the date on this hat. He died in 1973. It's too big for me but I've padded the lining and wear it occassionally.







She also said it was odd for her dad to have had a Resistol because all he ever wore since she was a little girl was Borsalino's! I wish I had all those too but I'm thrilled with this one and she was happy to give it to somebody that would appreciate and care for it.

 

Beloved Resistols

My first trip to the roundup but definitely not my last.
Of all my hats my favourites are my Akubras and my Resistols* so I am going to put together a nice photo set of each to post to the appropriate threads.

*just a note that I have just ordered first VS so there is a chance my favourites may take on a slightly different outlook lol

 

My first legitimate post! yippeee!

Bought myself my first nice hat(also vintage)for Christmas. 1960`s Resistol stingy brim felt fedora that looks very,very Sinatra.The color is that old school greenish-brownish.Brim is:1 1/2",crown is:4 1/2",hat band is:2" wide grosgrain w/bow and feather.Lined interior and leather sweat band.
http://www.anothertimevintageapparel.com/stock_7790.htm

That link has all the particulars(condition described as "new/never worn").

So,that`s my one and only Resistol and will take some real pics when I actually have it.

HosManHatter

 

Great for converting

Older Resistol western hats are great for converting into daily wear fedoras.

I had several that I wore daily years ago when I came to work in western wear, but over the years they ended up in storage and then I decided to try working with them.

Our local western wear shop cuts the brims for me. I've done a couple, but it's worth the money to get a professional looking brim.

The Resistols reshape well and make a fedora that you can wear out in any weather without worrying about it getting ruined.

One reshaped — before the movie came out, so this was pure coincidence — to look almost identical to the grey fedora Harrison Ford wore on the train in the most recent Indiana Jones movie.

They look dressy, go just fine with a sports coat, but are tough enough that you don't have to be as careful as we all are with vintage dress hats.

Other brands probably work well, too, but the Resistols really reshape well.

 

I picked up a not-so-old western Resistol for a good price and reshaped it - was easier than I imagined.

Before (auction pic):

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After - I have to clean up some shadows left by the original shape but I don't even notice them in these pics:

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The feather didn't make the cut....

 

great job salty

Salty,

Great job on the Resistol fedora and a great save for a good hat.

Thanks to you, that lid should be around, being enjoyed, for many more years.

It's great to see them made functional again.

There's another generation of hat lovers who will owe a lot to folks who are salvaging these hats today.:eusa_clap