The School of Hard Knox

A great hat at a great price from a great guy...who could pass that up? This brown Knox Superfine homburg came to me from @NewJack and its every bit as nice as he said it was. Thin dense felt and in excellent condition. Thanks, Doc!

 

Gorgeous Hat, love the colour!,could this be from the 30s? with that nice sweatband etc

 

I’ve been dabbling with derbies and found that like westerns the firm felt doesn’t conform well to my long oval head and I’m better going up in size. The problem is there aren’t a lot of vintage derbies in 7 3/4. I decided I’d be willing to compromise and go with a 7 6/8, but in the end all I could find was this 7 12/16.

 

Now if you can just get them ovalized

 

Hey, someone should copyright that! Ovalized Sixteenths...sounds catchy.


[

 

I love a Knox. Glad you finally “compromised” and got a bowler. I actually found mine a LONG time ago in upstate NY. It is my size but was round. The sweat was disintegrated so I shipped it off to Art for repair. Came back long oval and stayed that way. Pretty neat. I only wear it a few times a year, plentiful opportunity to re-round. MAN did that thing give me a headache when it was round!

 

What level and Era is a Knox hat that just says Knox custom? Meaning has no other model delineation. Are all Knox fedoras fur felt? Or there were some wool ones?

 

The only Knox “custom” I’m familiar with is referring to “custom edge” which is a binding treatment. I’ve seen that on many 1950s hats. Not all Knox hats are fur felt. If you have questions about a particular hat, pictures would help greatly.

 

Here's two pics of the hat in question

 

I'm going to take a stab and say 1960s based on style and the sweatband. Are there any other markings on the sweatband? I think the "Custom" designation may be because that model was produced exclusively for somebody like the Levine Hat Co., who for a short time had the exclusive rights to carry the brand.

 

Based on these pictures I’d say 60s or maybe even 70s.

 

Thanks!

My gut says to hold out for a twenty or similar.

 

A while back I looked for more specifics on the quantitative quality of these “Custom” level Knox hats. I did not find not much info on either the original cost or dates for this quality level, although it appears to be a later development for Knox.

 

Really? Fraction jokes? Here?

 

AND THEN......I find THIS!!!!!!!!
A mid-50's Knox Premier "WESTLITE"!!!!!!!!(OR Clone)
As per mid-50's a little shorter crown at 5 1/4 inches BUT has a 2 7/8 brim!!! And sweet, sweet, sweet, dense, finely pounced thin creamy felt!!!!!! YUP, rivals my 7XCBOR of the same vintage......
SOFTER crown, definitely softer brim.......I simply cannot stop petting it!!!!!!!!!
WOW......I want one!!!!!! YOU want one......WE ALL should have one..........
So, what the heck am I talking about?!?!?!?!?! "He wants one?!?!??!?!!?" YEP....I want one!!!!! THIS ONE does not fit......
Here it is!


THIS IS ONE WONDERFUL HAT!!!!! BUT it will be moving on........it will be quite the surprise for a very good friend!!!!

 

Beautiful find Mark.

 

Yep......just wish it fit me.........

 

I have a Knox Twenty Custom Edge, Curious to find out the production year and model of the fedora. I think is a "Twenty" but not sure. These are the codes inside the hat: Oval: LO, To Duplicate: H 23749, Block 006, 5 1/2 Size: 7 1/4. (I believe the 5 1/4 is the crown size because that is what is measured at. Below are a couple of pictures. JESNYY@aol.com Thank you Happy Thanksgiving 2020, Stay safe.

 

Same answer as in the other thread.

This site is rife with information, and what you need to know is likely located within this thread. Happy hunting.

 

Posting in a single thread is usually sufficient. Same folks reading them and same answers given.

Great hat. Hope you enjoy it.