7 ¼ Vintage 1950s Stetson Original 7X Clear Beaver Open Road Cowboy Hat/Fedora

Description: Stetson Original 7X 100% Pure Clear Beaver Fedora/Cowboy Hat, Size 7 1/4Brand: StetsonEstimated Era of Manufacture: 1950s Quality: 7X Beaver felt (At the time this hat was made the "7X Clear Beaver" was Stetson's top end, 100% beaver hat) Model Type/Style: I've left this hat open crown. You can buy it as is or I'm happy to steam crease it just the way you want it. Just pick your crease from the ones I've included in the last pic, or send me a picture of how you want it.Size: 7 1/4 Retailer: John Rowland & Sons, Del Rio, Uvalde, Eagle Pass TexasColor: SilverbellyBrim Width: 3"Crown Height: 5" Hat Band: 1 1/2" dark chocolate colored grosgrain ribbon with a classic bow Description of Felt: 100% pure beaver belly fur. The belly fur is the most desirable fur type for hat production, and at that time this hat was made it was the only beaver fur that could be used to make a light colored hat. Hence the term "Silverbelly" came into being to describe the color of all white to ivory colored hats. The felt is so dense and tight you can't even see an individual fiber. As thin as they get, less than 1/8" for super light weight comfort. It's soft as silk yet holds its shape exceptionally in all weather conditions. There's nothing like the feel of a pure beaver hat. What else is there to say?Sweat Band: I enlarged this hat from a 6 7/8 to a 7 1/4 because I wanted to wear it myself. So I opened the sweat at the seam by about a half inch and spanned across the gap with a backing strip. Reblocking and expanding the hat also caused some minor cracking of about 1/8" to 1/4" at multiple spots around the edge of the sweat and one split that went almost all the way through. At the larger size I reinforced it with a backing strip bonded to the back of the sweat using a professional grade, flexible adhesive made specifically for leather. I also restitched the sweatband to the felt in a couple of areas where it was loose. Now the sweatband is firmly attached and structurally sound so there should be no further cracking. The print is still nearly pristine indicating that prior to restoration this hat was rarely if ever worn.Box not included due to excessive cost of shipping such a large package. If you want a Stetson box to go with your hat you can choose the one you want from my box only listings and I'll discount half the price of the box and combine shipping so you only pay the shipping cost of the box. Please see my other listings for more hats and various hat accessories. I’m always happy to combine shipping and may even be persuaded to offer a discount for multiple item purchases.About Real Nice Hats I’m very proud of the many nice comments from my previous customers. If you’re deciding between this hat and one offered by another seller I invite you to read my feedback and let that be a factor in your final decision. I’m a retired gentleman with a lifelong love for fine quality western style hats. I’ve collected many hats in my life and developed a network for acquiring more all the time. I typically maintain an inventory of several hundred hats in various stages of restoration. Over the years I’ve learned a number of restoration techniques from professional hatters and developed my own hat restoration process that I’m constantly refining. If I add up all the hours I put into some of my hats I’m forced to concede that often times this work doesn’t really pay well, but I’m not here trying to get rich selling hats on eBay. 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 with 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 transform a dirty, old, neglected, misshapen hat into something beautiful; a hat that looks brand new, ready to bring enjoyment to its proud new owner for another lifetime. So please bear in mind, there’s a huge difference between one of my hats lovingly restored through hours of work and attention to detail and most other used hats on eBay. I list about a dozen hats each week, so if you don’t see what you’re looking for among my current listings, just save me as a seller and check back next week to see my new offerings. I’ve also recently begun offering hat bands, hat pins and brand specific hat boxes to compliment your hat purchase.My Restoration Process (not applicable to this particular hat) My 3 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 patch and reinforce it with a pliable backing strip bonded to the back. By preserving rather than replacing the original sweatband all the important brand and quality information is retained. Then each hat is steamed shaped by hand and stiffened with a professional grade shellac solution. If it came with one, the cleaned silk liner is reinstalled and a hat band is applied.General Hat InfoX 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. 1 Quality and the Nutria, both of which commonly sell for well over $200 on eBay. 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 The X rating system is not and never has been consistent maker to 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 bargain? Probably not, but the truest answer is which hat do you prefer? Quality isn’t absolute. Depending on the blend, fur felt hats can have a wide range of properties, from thinner to thicker, softer to stiffer to texture, and sheen, your own subjective preferences have a role to play. A $1000 dollar hat from any reputable company will certainly be a high quality hat that will last you a lifetime and then some, but one may be softer or firmer, lighter or heavier, thinner or thicker, ect, ect. The one that feels right on your head and makes you feel good when you wear it is the best quality hat for you.

Price: 399.99 USD

Location: South Jordan, Utah

End Time: 2024-08-13T19:00:53.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD