Open Crown Hats..What’s The Deal?..(A.K.A. “Is That A Derby?”) 

Awfully nice of u to say, thank you VERY much for that. Thanks for the support, Kev

Kevin is the "best".

Thanks 👍

20thCenturyBoy my pleasure, thank you!!, really nice of u to say, thx for watching..kev

Wow!! Awesome, glad u liked it 😎 it is popular now, they've been around a while but they're better quality now! we have a dozen or so Rollable straws and at least 2-3 dozen styles in felt!

Sounds great! I love hearing that! Keep it up!!!!

Good idea, thx!

The brim is "rolled" on a Derby, homburg,top hat.. these open crown fedoras have snap brims with a "flange", a pivot point that allows it to snap up and down. Also,a Derby crown is much lower, since it isn't meant to be creased, it's also stiffer in the crown.. different shaped crown, subtle differences..😁

Karolinska nice!! I love hearing that, nice 👍 going!!!!!

Cool One same rules apply, brovah ...snap the brim up, store it upside down, or hung up, or in a hat box, (where it sits upside down anyway) but yeah, nothing changes, the rule is, keep the brim snapped up,and off the surface of the table, no weight on it. That leaves, 1. Hung up. 2. Upside down, or 3. In the box ,applied to all hats, brims that are totally flat,like a bolero or boater, those are good flat on the brim ,

Thank you very much 😎

The hat was discontinued, the expedition is is the wider brim version,they're super light but not a very snappy, straight brim,they're very soft..super thin.

@@quadrogong1111 do you have a video of the expedition with the front snapped down. That would be interesting. I could go the one size up route for the explorer.

Thank you!

Nathaniel Long that’s one of their post-bankruptcy hats. We are not carrying Borsalino now, there is no USA distribution, the entity called Borsalino USA used to have their showroom in the same building as us,and we worked very closely together for decades, since the bankruptcy, I believe they started bringing in some of their new hats to their own shop in Brooklyn,NY. I’ve seen one or two of the newer hats,and the ones I saw were definitely not the same felt as what I’ve been wearing for the last twenty years.. I believe that when the time is right,and they get back in the game, we will carry them again, but as for now, I’m not sure they have the same revenue to buy the same felt as before..maybe things are getting better, I’m not sure. But.. If a customer invests $400 in a soft, dress hat like that, there’s no way we will sell them unless we are sure of the quality. high end hats like this need to perform perfectly,or else they get sent back after the first rain storm. I wear 99% Borsalino myself, but nothing purchased within the last 4 years.. Dress hat companies grow stronger, weaker every few years certain companies dominate because they can get the product onto our shelves when we order them. other brands take custom orders,and don’t deliver when the season rolls around. If we take a chance on a brand that doesn’t come through, we lose for the entire year,and can enter financially dangerous waters.. If that happens 2-3 years in a row, we are history.. I’ve seen brands like Biltmore, Selentino,Borsalino and Stetson dominate 85% of our inventory,depending on what era.. it’s the nature of the business, Borsalino opened in 1857, some guy embezzles and then they close shop for 3 years, it just goes to show you how this business is..You see one brand is on top, or on bottom this year, but it’ll be totally different in 2-3 years.. I’d stay away right now, I feel like it’s not a “high point” for the company.. We sold Borsalino’s “The Beaver” model for $550 four years ago, and a viewer told me he paid $1k for it now?.. that’s insane,if it’s true. I’d stay away..for now, if u ask me, it’s a drag..but I still have my old ones,I guess.

@@quadrogong1111 Thanks Kev, yeah, I have a pre-bankruptcy hat called the COMO and it's great, the felt almost acts like a vintage hat would! But thanks for the info, bro! You're like the eyes and ears of the industry!

Maybe you're just good at it, some folks are really good at it,and nail it imediately, others struggle with it and can't really get it..

I'm considering an Akubra Adventurer and I'm worried that the crown might be too tall even after lowering it with shaping.

dave, are you buying it from David Morgan? If so they will crease it for you. For a price, anyway. Good luck!

@@guylewis7418 no, I'm considering one available at a local store. If I can't get it right myself, I'll taking it to Kevin at JJ Hats. 😃

dave, if you can take it to Kevin, that would be perfect! Wish he was closer!

Might be one of the lightest weight hats ever produced, you can stack two of those atop one another and still think it weighs next to nothing..nice😺

@@quadrogong1111 thanks, I've been looking for a light weight fur felt everyday hat with a snap brim. The fact that it's packable is a major plus. 👍

I had Benji do a center crease with a pinch. Within 24 hours, it's migrated to a tear drop shape. 😄. It's going to be a good casual hat. When I stop by the store in a few weeks, I may have you steam it into a more permanent tear drop shape. 👍

"The Explorer" it's on the site. jjhatcenter.com it is usually around $250 but I believe it's half price now, on sale,it rolls up, fur felt,from Spain.. also comes in wider brim version called "the Expedition"

Timothy Wickberg thanx,Tim, yeah, I’m about the definition of the 90 lb weakling!.. the one getting sand kicked in his face by the muscleman on the beach?..remember that ad in the back of the comic books? Then he kicks the bully’s ass at the end as his girl looks on,impressed..I loved that one, I always wanted to order those x ray vision glasses,

I guess..not a conmon request, but it could be done

Yeahhhh baby! The higher the better for me too, I love it

KEVIN from JJ HAT CENTER 🎸HATS & GUITARS ! Smart man.

Timothy Wickberg no, like a shoe tree kinda? No, it won’t help. As soon as u remove the stretcher, it’ll shrink back. Without cranking the hell out of it, and with steam, it won’t do anything, not a single thing. , If anything, the heavy weight if the wooden stretcher will probably distort the brim on softer hats. I hear this all the time, don’t bother..just a waste of time.. If you have a tight hat, there are way more effective things to do.. Remove the reed,the little wire from the tip of the leather sweatband, that will allow the hat to stretch while u wear it. that wire is what makes the hat tight,uncomfortable and gives u a Lot of the pressure.. try pulling it over your knee, stretch it,a or ...use the stretcher as directed... steam hat w the stretcher inside,then crank it open a lot, allowing it to dry w the stretcher inside... but the shoe tree method is not going to do much at all. Thx, 😉

Fabricio

Lot of open crown stuff but now felt season is pretty much over, not much in grey. all straws coming in now. The STETSON PREMIER STRATOLINER is the only thing open crown,grey with a large brim That's in stock NOW. . Most felts arrive September thru January and by mid June stock on specific specialty items like open crowns. They're like maybe 10-15% of our felt stock, by June... pickings get slimmer. We have things open crown w that brim, but not much Grey this summer, shipments have been very slow this year too..and we have 25-25% off the entire shop,so felts are moving out quickly.. The Biltmore Fulton comes in brown or black. There's many other choices in center crease without open crowns, like the Stetson Temple, & other open crowns that aren't grey.

That costs extra

Callum Prinster sure, but they look proper with a higher open Crown,like the premier Stratoliner is the LBJ hat, it has a high crown and looks exactly like an I shaped open road, the high ones like Stetsonian will take a goos cattleman crease too because it’s high,as a matter of fact, the open road is available open Crown, we just don’t order it.The premier stratoliner is basically the same thing with softer dress felt, slightly higher crown, slightly shorter brim.. the thing is, if u pick a lower Crowned hat to start with, the little creases will be too low,and bump into the top of your head. It won’t be deep enough. But the short answer is yes.

@@quadrogong1111 Thank you so much for the quick and insightful reply! Very helpful!

Those are hats we sell, but Stetson never shipped any straws this summer, we only have a size small leftover. Next will be felt season,felt open roads will arrive, the straws won’t be available until April or may of next year

Okay thank you so much. Looking forward to the straw. I have three delta now.

Any decent hat shop has linings, we sell them for like $10 or something..u just need the size of the hat.. we can’t get u a Stetson lining though, those are never for sale because the manufacturer is afraid of folks selling other hats as Stetsons..like bootleg stuff..we have JJ linings though, u can place it in easily.

Thank you. In fact Benji contacted me today. Y’all are great.

if u have a Center crease pinch front, u can then turn that into anything, teardrop or Porkpie etc.. that’s a low crown, not a very high,baggy crown, so u can shape it, but I have a feeling it’ll look best Center crease,pinch front... amazing quality those Signes hats, real silk lining, amazing felt, leather,.finish, styling..

@@quadrogong1111 so when I order on line do I then order the open crown or center crown?

You cannot, it’s discontinued long ago

@@quadrogong1111 thanks

Wait.u meant the hat at the end of this video. U are right. Fabrizio. I thought u were referring to the royal blue open crown I wore in recent videos..yes. u are right.

Yes, but not until i return from my leave of absence, I'll return this winter, but right now I am home for a while, I'll be back to work by Jan or Feb

Once shaped (correctly) it can be made as low as u want..it's limitless.. that's kind of the idea if open crown..u can set the height wherever u want..just ask," I want a super low center crease" or "super low teardrop" or ask me to shape it up for u. The issue is not if it'll be low enough shaped, but usually the issue is the crown looks too high when worn open-crown style, my any folks wanna try the round top,and find it's too high for them. ..but shaped? I can make it as low as u want.

@@quadrogong1111 Hi, thanks, I guess my concern is that the hats starts at 5 1/4 open crown height. If I bring it down to a tear drop height at the front of 4 1/2"; will there be a ton of excess material in the folds?

@@quadrogong1111 after watching this video several times, I'm interested in that explorer!! Do they run true to size? I'm in between a 58 & 59 size. Is it a snap brim??

Just very high quality, soft felt. In order for felt to be that soft,and still keep its shape, it needs to be super quality. The vintage hats were like that, and the better grade Borsalino felts are known for that, if u watch ,y latest video u can see me shape it into various shapes and even roll it up. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mXsqFzimxv4.html

@@quadrogong1111 Thanks bro

I’m sure it’s great, that’s a classic American brand,a lot of celebrities endorsed them, bing crosby, guys like that.. anything vintage is usually great, I’m sure it’s killer, enjoy !

@@quadrogong1111 Hey thanks for the reply. I like the way you rock those big brim hats! Style without trying like a lot of people

Kevin Todd gerber

Hey, what’s up,Kev?🤠