Mr
(2009-06-24)
The peak of the cap was mis-shapen on arrival, that is to say it was badly bent. There was no damage to the packaging so I must assume that it was bent prior to dispatch. I suggest better quality control measures.
Otherwise it is acceptable.
Otherwise it is acceptable.
Much Improved but needs more work
(2009-05-30)
The new (2008?) version of the SD cap is much better than the older version and well worth the cost. However, it could do with some minor details fixing in order to make it a museum grade reproduction:
1. The chinstrap is still completely wrong. I had to replace it with an original from my collection. Originals are made from two ten inch long pieces of half-inch wide chestnut-coloured leather which are attached together with two identical buckles similar to the larger buckle on yours. You have one of your straps doubling back on itself, whereas an original strap does not do this - instead each strap passes through the first buckle of the other and attaches at its end to the other strap. The end result is a strap that sits perfectly with no bumps at the buckles and no gap at the buckle where you can see through to the cap''s crown.
2. the leather interior of the sweatband is sewn onto the cap leaving an unhemmed edge. This is incorrect. Originals have a hemmed sweatband made from thinner material.
3. the interior of the visor seems to still be made of low quality cardboard. On the earlier version I bought this warped when it got damp, making the cap look terrible. This needs to be addressed so that the cap can be worn in wet weather
4. the stitching of the stiffener that keeps the top of the crown up at the front makes it impossible to attach a cap badge. I basically had to remove the whole stiffener and replace it just in order to attach my cap badge to the cap. There should be nothing preventing the use of a cap badge with these caps.
All-in-all it''s a really good reproduction, but I think people would be willing to pay $10-$20 more for something that didn''t need alteration after purchase.
1. The chinstrap is still completely wrong. I had to replace it with an original from my collection. Originals are made from two ten inch long pieces of half-inch wide chestnut-coloured leather which are attached together with two identical buckles similar to the larger buckle on yours. You have one of your straps doubling back on itself, whereas an original strap does not do this - instead each strap passes through the first buckle of the other and attaches at its end to the other strap. The end result is a strap that sits perfectly with no bumps at the buckles and no gap at the buckle where you can see through to the cap''s crown.
2. the leather interior of the sweatband is sewn onto the cap leaving an unhemmed edge. This is incorrect. Originals have a hemmed sweatband made from thinner material.
3. the interior of the visor seems to still be made of low quality cardboard. On the earlier version I bought this warped when it got damp, making the cap look terrible. This needs to be addressed so that the cap can be worn in wet weather
4. the stitching of the stiffener that keeps the top of the crown up at the front makes it impossible to attach a cap badge. I basically had to remove the whole stiffener and replace it just in order to attach my cap badge to the cap. There should be nothing preventing the use of a cap badge with these caps.
All-in-all it''s a really good reproduction, but I think people would be willing to pay $10-$20 more for something that didn''t need alteration after purchase.
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The chin strap is totally wrong in the way he said, but also is completely raw leather. I had to buy some brown shoe dye to get it the right colour. I also had to shorten the short bit to get it to sit correctly on the hat. It looks okay, but is still wrong in the way it has to be put on. Ian was 100% right on how it should be attached.
I also couldn't put a cap badge on because of the way the stiffener stitching has been done. I had to unstitch it and restitch it.
Heath - GB