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 items purchased.
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 decision. I'm a retired gentleman with a lifelong love for fine quality hats. I've collected many hats in my life and developed a network for acquiring more all the time, with an inventory of several hundred in various stages of restoration. Over the years I've learned a number of restoration techniques from professional hatters and developed my own process that I'm constantly refining. If I add up all the hours I put into my hats I'm forced to concede this work doesn't pay well, but I'm not 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 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 again, ready to bring enjoyment to its proud new owner for a 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 hats on eBay. I try to list more hats each week so if you don't see what you're looking for among my current listings, just save me as aseller and check back next week to see my new offerings. I also offer hat bands, hat pins and brand specific hat boxes to compliment your hat purchase.
My Restoration Process
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 Info
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 didnt use "Xs" and relied on the price tocommunicate 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 deal? The simple answer is no, but the truest answer is probably which hat do you prefer? Quality isn't absolute. 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. A $1000 dollar hat from any well regarded company will certainly be a nice, 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.
