Size 7 1/4 1950s Vintage Resistol Beaver 100 SilverBelly Cowboy Hat Fedora, NICE

  
1950s Vintage Resistol Beaver 100 SilverBelly Cowboy Hat Fedora, Size 7 1/4. Estimated Era of Manufacture: 1950s (Based on the sweatband type, the print and the onion skin liner). Size: 7 1/4 (58 cm).

Pinch front fedora style c. Rown Height: 5 1/2" as creased, 6" open. Silverbelly The first two pics are more representative of the color.

The other pics were taken at night iin my shop with bad lighting and look more yellow than it really is. Minimal thickness with finely chopped fur, very densely felted and a soft hand. Only a pure beaver belly fur hat can be felted this well.

O moth holes or other defects, or blemishes at all beyond a little barely detectable unevenness in the coloration, but that's just patina to give it some. Hat Band: 1 1/2 silverish grey cotton and rayon grosgrain ribbon with a classic bow and feather accent.

The ribbon is sewn in a loop, not to the hat so it slides off and on. I can switch the color if you like or for just a few dollars more I can include an extra ribbon or two of a different colors so you can change up your look, or match your wife's outfit. The rifle bullet thing is just for fun and it's really a handy laser pointer, flashlight, pen combo in disguise.

I put it there just to grab attention and so you can make a certain statement. It's just tucked in behind the ribbon in case you need to remove it in certain situations. I got the idea from that Nick Fouquet fella who likes to stick a match right there.

I might even change my name to Hick Fouckit and follow his lead with creative the hats, see if I too can sell my hats for ten times what they're worth. The sweatband is showing its age. It was a bit crispy on the edge and required some baking strip reinforcements and some leather fill in a couple spots. There are no broken stitches or other defects now that it's been restored. Liner: This has the highly prized onion skin liner and the liner itself is in great condition.

Please see my other listings for more hats and various hat accessories. I'm very proud of. I'm a retired gentleman with a lifelong love of fine quality hats. I've collected many over the years and developed a network for acquiring more all the time. I've learned a number of restoration techniques from professional hatters and developed my own process that I'm constantly refining.

I do it out of love and appreciation for the superior quality that went into making these old hats, at a time when pride in workmanship and creating a product of enduring value really meant something. One of my favorite qualities of a nice felt hat is its durability and the dramatic metamorphosis that takes place when I take an old, neglected hat and transform it into something beautiful, ready to bring a lifetime of enjoyment to its proud new owner. I try to add new listings each week so if I don't have what you want in my current listings, just save me as a. Depending on the condition of the hat when it comes into my possession, some or all of the following may apply.

My multi step deep cleaning process removes any unsightly stains or odors. Then each hat is reblocked tight to return it to its original open crowned and flat brimmed form. After reblocking the condition of the sweatband is inspected. If the leather is found to be brittle, cracked or damaged, I make the appropriate repairs which may include restitching loose areas, filling any cracks or gaps with a professional grade leather repair agent, and the application of a pliable backing strip for added structural integrity. By repairing rather than replacing the original sweatband all the important brand, quality and dating information is retained.

If it came with one, the cleaned liner is reinstalled and a hat band is applied. Each hat is steamed shaped by hand and stiffened with a professional grade shellac solution.

X value depends on age If you're shopping for a new hat the "X" system is useful for comparing hats of the same brand, but with vintage hats more consideration should be placed on when the hat was made. Generally speaking, the older the hat the more beaver fur was incorporated into the felt, which with western style hats translates to a thinner, stiffer felt and a lighter weight, higher quality hat. Hats beyond a certain age didn't use "Xs" and relied on the price to communicate quality. Back around the 1910s or 20s when Stetson first started giving their hats an "X" designation the 7X was their top end hat, but most of their hats didn't get any Xs at all. A fellow eBayer recently sent me a 1922 Stetson price list and from most to least expensive it went 7X, 5X, 4X, 3X, Real Nutria, Nutria, No. 1 Quality, Extra Quality, Excellent Quality, and Select Quality, so the original Stetson 3X cost more and was higher quality than the No. That's why whenever I see a 1920s or 30s Stetson 3X priced low I snap it up quick. There's simply no comparison between an early Stetson 3X and the current Stetson 3X which is made of 100% wool. The problem Stetson ran into with their new X system is there's no "FDA" of hats, so there was nothing to prevent company XYZ from marking their inferior hats with 10, 100 or even 1000 Xs. So the X race was on, and over the decades there's been substantial Xflation. X value depends on maker. As much as I love those early Stetson 3X hats, I'm pretty sure the earliest 3X Resistol hats are even higher quality.

But when other hat makers started putting more Xs on their hats the whole industry followed suit. This is how Xflation got extreme, but also uneven. For example, if Stetson's thousand dollar hat is a 100X, and that same year Larry Mahan's thousand dollar hat was marked 500X, is the Larry Mahan a better hat? Well, maybe or maybe not.

Is it 5 times better quality than the Stetson, and therefore some kind of amazing deal? The simple answer is no, but the truest answer is probably which hat do you prefer? Depending on the blend fur felt can have a wide range of properties, from thinner to thicker, softer to stiffer to color, texture, and sheen, your own subjective preferences have a role to play.

The one that feels right on your head and makes you feel good when you wear it is the best quality hat for you.