Do you own a Cowboy Hat?

I own probably 20, most of them hang on a wall in the back porch of the ranch house, one was donated to a museum and hangs there, they are too worn to wear.

You can tell when it is time for a new hat when it will no longer stay on your head in the wind. A hole here and there, a lot of sweat stains and grit does not mean an end to your relationship, but when they won't stick with you when times are a little tough it is time to move on.

All my hars have what I call the Montana crease. I learned it when an old friend explained his hat to me. They are creased in such manner that rain and melted snow runs off and outside your coat collar instead of pooling on top or running down your back.

The labels and lining are long gone from most of them, the last five I purchased were at a cowboy poetry deal at the college. There were a number of outfits selling their wares and one had some real quality in a closeout sale. They only cost about $100 each.

A good hat will last about 5 years of daily use. First the shine is gone when you look in a mirror, then the sharp creases, then the grime builds and the hat actually gains weight and is more water proof. The stitching for the lining lets go and one day you just toss it rather than try again to stick it back where it belongs.

Sometimes the leather liner gets loose and you stitch it back best as you can, trouble is the threads cut wear marks on your skin. Finally you put on a hat band and stitch it tight where it will substitute for the liner keeping it on your head. Then one day it just doesn't work anymore and you have to say goodby. You always remember a lot of times when you look at your old hats on the wall.

Somewhere I have a story I wrote about my old hat, I will try to find it and
include it here.

I never thought I would be writing about hats on blade forms, good thread Phill.
 
Ed Fowler said:
Somewhere I have a story I wrote about my old hat, I will try to find it and
include it here.

I never thought I would be writing about hats on blade forms, good thread Phill.
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Ed, you just made this thread even better just by showing up. :thumbup:

I found the story, it's in your book Knife Talk I, page 84.

I'm going to gues that most if not all of your hats are Stetson's, true or false?
 
Emanuel said:
Hhmm...Phil that link should work for you mate as it worked for Mongo.

But here it is on imageshack.

Just a simple straw rodeo style cowboy hat, nothing out of the ordinary, but it's my favourite style by far.



Anyone happen to know how well straw hats resist the weather elements?

Our winters are pretty mild so I could get away with just one hat even in winter, even a straw perhaps. But it does tend to rain a bit here.
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I wear a straw hat only, as it is too hot here for anything else. They will deforma a little if you're constantly in the rain, but straw hats just do not have the long life that felt can. they will just get worse and worse until you give up on them. that could be many years down the road, though.
 
I really don't know the brand, I just look them over and if it feels like someting I want to share life with we become partners. I imagine some of them are stetsons or made by stetson for some other brand name.
One was from the start custom made, he could not sell it because it looked a little rough, but became mine on a trade for a knife.
 
Most of our impressions of a “Bowie” knife comes from the prop department of some movie company and are not historically correct. It’s the same thing with our vision of “Cowboy” hats. I think the most accurate reproductions of classic cowboy (and other Periods ) hats can be found at Clearwater Hats. Interesting web site.

http://www.clearwaterhats.com/contents.htm

If I were to really get involved with SASS, (Cowboy Action Shooting) and wanted to dress period correct, this is where I would look.

Of course my vision of the Old West is formed from film. The company most responsible for the hats in recent westerns seem to come from Smithbilt and the web site that best seems to represent them would be.

http://www.thelastbestwest.com/old_west_hats.htm

They also have a lot of interesting background info, such as...

The Cowboy Hat defines the wearer.

A traditional cowboy prized his hat above all things - with good reason. It was often worth a month or two's wages - and that made it very expensive. The cowboy likely spent hours personalizing the hat with creases to the crown and molding the brim - that made it his. An old west cowboy would go to hell and back to retrieve a misplaced cowboy hat and it was seldom further than an arm's length away.

A cowboy hat is not a fashion accessory to working cowboys, today or at any time in the previous 150 years. It's not a piece of clothing that's worn occasionally or when your rancher cousin from Medicine Hat visits. To a cowboy it is a necessary piece of equipment, just like his rope, horse, or boots. He can use it to feed grain to his horse, control it, or haul water. It protects his head from the elements, shields his eyes from the sun, and prevents sun stroke. Even with little or no care a fine fur-felt western hat will often outlast the owner - and in the old west of the 1870s to the early 1900s, it often did.

Like all clothing the type, shape, and color of your western hat defines your personality. It's highly unlikely that any other single piece of clothing carries the mystic that a quality, distinctively shaped cowboy hat does. Few items are as individual as a cowboy hat and the big hat was adjusted by working cowboys to reflect the weather conditions and the terrain they faced.

Old West Hats

A cowboy would never leave the bunkhouse without his hat - in fact for the traditional cowboy he wore his hat every waking moment - except when he was eating, or in certain company. Most people know that putting a cowboy hat on a bed is bad luck - but why do cowboys feel that way? Well first off a cowboy would never wear his hat in bed and he'd only be in bed during the day if he was sick. So by putting your hat on the bed you risk bringing sickness or other bad luck on yourself.


Cowboy Hat Trivia

Up until the turn of the 20th Century most cowboy hats were sold in Mail Order Catalogues. The Montgomery Ward Catalogue of 1872 was the first to offer a "Western Sombrero" for sale to the public. The Calgary Cowboy Hat pictured below was sold in the Sears-Roebuck, and Hudson Bay Company Catalogues, in the early decades of the 20th century. Like the Calgary - most hats were shipped with uncreased crowns, and little or no shape to the brim. The manufacturers knew the cowboys wanted to personalize the hat themselves - so they shipped unfinished. Remember Hoss from Bonanza and his big dang hat? That was the most authentic old west hat any of the Bonanza cast wore.

I understand that the three most commonly worn hats of the Old West were the Bowler, the Top Hat and some form of The Calgary.
 

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Rugger said:
Nobody looks more ridiculous in a cowboy hat than I do.
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Mike that is a bummer, but it's hard to imagine anyone looking sillier in a hat than this guy. Oh it happens to be General U.S. Grant. Geeeeeze and I thought my hat didn't fit. :eek:
 

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PhilL said:
Mike that is a bummer, but it's hard to imagine anyone looking sillier in a hat than this guy. Oh it happens to be General U.S. Grant. Geeeeeze and I thought my hat didn't fit. :eek:
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Ah but Phil- one must remember that ol' U.S. ran on pretty heavy fuel. Chances are that's not even his hat & he intended to put on his boots...
 
Rugger said:
Ah but Phil- one must remember that ol' U.S. ran on pretty heavy fuel. Chances are that's not even his hat & he intended to put on his boots...
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I seem to remember hitting a few bars with you, are you sure you it wasn't a boot you tried on your head? :D
 
The felt hats are actually cool in the summer, warm in the winter. My neighbor was a farmer and wore baseball caps only, he figured western hats were foolish, until he came down with skin cancer on both ears.

We don't take our hats off in restruants because someone might steal one off of the hook.

One morning Blue, my Black Lab, woke me to let me know town dogs were killing our sheep. I steped into my slippers, grabbed my hat and rifle and ran out to the pasture to shoot dogs. The only other clothing on was my underwear shorts. It was shift change for the folks taking care of my dad in another ranch house, I was pretty popular for a while. At least I had my hat on.

I have one of those uncreased hats, bought it from Tony Reyna (a survivor of the Batan death march) in 1956 Still have it, one of my favorites only gets worn to very special events.
 
I've got a couple straw hats with I guess an arena crease, and probably have a felt hat around somewhere. One bailey and one resistol for the straw hats. Probably bailey for the felt too.
I generally only wear them if I'm going to a horseshow or out on a trailride. I like them, especially in the summer....but they tend to get in the way when I'm working on tractors or getting in and out of trucks and stuff. Tear them up too quick, and its too hard to find one that really fits well anymore.
 
Ed, I bet you could look at the wall with all of your old hats on and have a story to tell with each one...have you ever considered writing a hat book? ;)

On page one of this thread post #10 I posted a pick of a hat I had just ordered. I really wasn't expecting delivery until next week, but low and behold it came today with some other packages via UPS. I was tempted to open it, but I didn't, I wrapped it and put it under the tree. I'll open it Christmas morning with the rest of the gifts.
 
Ed should write that book.
"The Tales Of The Hats"

PhilL I don't know how many you've seen...three?

Here's the latest...Panama by Biltmore
panamahat.jpg


There is another straw, a Stetson that I don't have a photo of...with yellow calvalry cords on it... ;)
 
I've got a black Stetson 6X with a Montana crease and a Ranch brim. I've always called this style the "Gus" crown thanks to Lonesome Dove. I've also got a few straw hats including a Bailey's that is so worn out I only do yard work in it.
 
Dijos said:
I wear a straw hat only, as it is too hot here for anything else. They will deforma a little if you're constantly in the rain, but straw hats just do not have the long life that felt can. they will just get worse and worse until you give up on them. that could be many years down the road, though.
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Thanks for the info. The more I think about it, the more I think my lifestyle and work I do on the ranch might be a little too tough for a straw hat.

I think I might go with a style more popular locally, a real rugged leather hat that I hear lasts pretty much forever and is everything proof.

Lets see if I can find it in online.

Yip found it. The Selke Oily Original in black or brown leather.

http://discountfishingsupplies.co.n....html?osCsid=84fa0a8c78f253ece52055aeae80926b

New Zealand made by Selke!
 
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