My latest SHIKARI find!

[Codger_64]

For years, collectors here wondered at the appearance of a SFO Schrade Walden 165OT shielded "SHIKARI" and accompanied by a pig-skin grained sheath with luggage-type fastener on the stone pocket. Member Joel found some old magazine ads which showed the knives to have been marketed circa 1966-67 by Norm Thompson, an outfitter of days gone by. This was the first two years of the standard 165OT production. The story is here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/539168-165OT-Shikari-Research?highlight=Shikari

Recently, still hunting for an original box and papers, I ran across another SHIKARI. Not a knife this time, but it will display with my Shikari knives nicely, and make a decent addition to my wardrobe when I play "Great White Hunter", or go canoing.



Yep, a Norm Thompson SHIKARI hat by Resistol! How many of you 165OT collectors have one? Aussie Larry?

 

[thawk]

Dashing. Is it a wool felt? What do you figure the manufacture date? Very nice hat!

 

[tongueriver]

Nice lid, Michael! How about a shot of the mystery man wearing it?

 

[Codger_64]

Wool felt is my guess. It is still in shipping. My guess is that it is pre-mid-1970's when, under the original ownwership, Norm Thompson still dealt in outdoor oriented goods (before being sold to Parker Pens). SOmewhere in the change of ownership, the business strategy changed from outfitting outdoorsmen to selling yuppie clothing. It could well be of the same vintage as our SHIKARI Schrades. After all, Resistol has been to the hat world, quality wise, what Schrade was to knives.

Note the pigskin textured leather hatband.

 

[Dave Thinkstoomuch]

Stylin' Shikari Michael! That really is a nice hat. Maybe there's a jacket etc out there somewhere. It's cool when you come across these surprise things when you are looking for something else.:thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Codger_64]

Stylin' Shikari Michael! That really is a nice hat. Maybe there's a jacket etc out there somewhere. It's cool when you come across these surprise things when you are looking for something else.:thumbup::thumbup:

Hard to think about jackets when it is as hot as it has been here lately. But I have gone canoing the past two weekends. Jake, my partner in crime, and I have taken my 20 year old daughter and Aubree, my two year old granddaughter both weekends for eight-milers on Tennessee's Buffalo River. Jake is a proficient swimmer and Aubree is learning.

 

[howieareyu]

Michael -
Thanks for the Shakari chuckle!!
Handsome Norm Thompson hat

Jake looks to be a capable companion indeed.

I enjoy river canoeing also. Have a 17'2" Old Town Tripper - almost 30 years old and rides like a dream.
Problem around here is, none of the rivers have any current left to them by mid-June.
It's a cold water proposition for sure.

-- Howie

 

[Codger_64]

My canoe is an Old Town Guide (red, of course), just a few years old and bought to replace my last canoe which was stolen. Yes, we are lucky to have a year-round floatable stream so close. And Jake has really surprised me with his love for swimming, being a breed developed for upland bird hunting, not waterfowl. The Shikari hat usage will have to wait for fall floats though. It is just too hot to wear a non-vented wool hat.

ETA: A picture of Jake with his lifevest. And yes, I am wearing a genuine USA Schrade tee shirt.

 

[Ballenxj]

Nice hat Micheal!
-Bruce

 

[ea42]

Michael,

Excellent thread, I nearly missed it! That's quite a find, probably fewer of those around than knives at this point :thumbup:

Now all you need is to find a matching safari jacket!

Howie, I've got the same canoe, even around the same vintage. I've worn through two sets of cane seats at this point, one right in the middle of a trip down the Saco River in Maine last year

It's a great boat except for when you're out in the middle of a wind swept lake, solo. Keeping it in a straight line then becomes an exercise in futility (and an exhausting upper body workout!).

Eric

 

[howieareyu]

Eric --

AMEN to the workout on a windy lake!! Yeah, the straight line approach ain't happenning.
Just might be more manuverable (sp?) with one of those Norm Thompson hats like Michael's though.
Make ya feel like the Great Bawana explorer and all. And if it blows off your head, you just stow the paddle and you'll snap about immediately and be heading right back to where the hat landed!!

I have the thick white ABS flotation seats - whole thing is basically indestructible - will probably outlive me.
Have had to twice replace the 2 cross thwarts from storing it outside over 25 years - It's stored inside now.
Latest are made from red oak flooring. If I have to replace them again, I'm gonna try that composite decking material.

Saco is a lot of fun - If you do it again and want another boat to tie to the flotilla, please let me know.
I like the White River in Vermont - 4-5 mph current, lots of easy ledges, 4 nice, messy drops. 20 miles a day is do-able.

-- Howie

Hope no one takes the Great Bawana line as a slur. I'm old and have a hard time telling what's still acceptable in polite company.

 

[Codger_64]

....Hope no one takes the Great Bawana line as a slur. I'm old and have a hard time telling what's still acceptable in polite company.

Actually, Shikari is Hindi for just that!

someone who is experienced in hunting animals, especially someone who works as a guide

I took Jake out for another eight-mile run on the river today, our first as a team with no chaperones. He does better each trip. He has gotten his sea legs and, while it makes me nervous, balances on the gunnels! He does well with "in" and "out" now. And yes it was breezy today so I battled the wind somewhat. The trees, bluffs and valleys act like funnels and there were a few times before we worked out the trim that we went skittering like a leaf in the wind. I was tempted at one point to take on a load of rock as ballast. It helped when I moved my cooler and dry box in front of the center thwart and convinced 40# Jake that he was now the bowman. I still need to replace those newfangled molded seats with cane and ash, then I can turn the boat around and paddle closer to the center of the canoe.

The Shikari hat arrived and I believe it is blended beaver and rabbit fur felt, not wool. I intend to contact Resistol to see if I can run down it's specs and history. The Safari style is much wider of brim and a bit taller of crown than the famed "poet" pattern Harrison Ford hat. It was still too hot today to wear it on the river so I took my Outdoor Research hat. Much lighter and ventilated, still with a chin strap though. I miss my Aussie Outback hat. I don't know where I put it when I moved last. But it was one tough hat.

Jake was quite the chick magnet on the river today though. I never would have thought it. Girls (and ladies) were pulling alongside me at ever rest stop to pet him and talk about him, to the chagrin of the boyfriends and husbands accompanying some of them. I may find myself in trouble again yet.

 

[howieareyu]

Gee - A little talk of 'trouble' and it suddenly gets quiet!!

Heck, Michael, I could use a little 'trouble' myself. I know, careful what you ask for .....
Keeps a guy sharp - - - and broke and fills your closets and there's no room for knives
and "whats all these empty knife boxes?" and and ...... NAH !!!

Yup, I'll bet Ole Jake really hauls them in. Good for y'all.

Found something from Sport Illustrated about the Shikari line
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1142487/index.htm

-- Howie

 

[Codger_64]

Howie, I think they must all be older married gentlemen. I'm down two strikes myself and a bit gunshy about stepping up to the plate again. Still, it does get lonely sometimes sitting in the bleachers. Besides, I am saving myself for a rich lady who has a high tolerance for knife collectors. Currently they seem to all be married to knife collectors.

 

[Dave Thinkstoomuch]

Michael, my last dog was a Shih Tzu named "Fang" and he went in canoes many times. You have to watch for sudden movements from the dog no doubt. A couple of times Fang jumped out and looked totally surprised to find he couldn't walk on water.

I was married back when I had him and I have to agree that dog's are chick-magnets. Some kinds of trouble are worth getting into when you're single!

 

[Codger_64]

Jake is at the groomers right now getting a bath, tick drops, and toenails trimmed. The lead groomer is my daughter who is smitten with Jake. Her coworkers are also, as is everyone who comes in while he is there. At just over a year old, his feathers are nearly fully grown and showy. I missed a local dog show last week. They gave a prize for the dog with the most spots. Jake would have had more spots on one leg that the winner did total.

As for falling out of the canoe, he doesn't. He only launches on command. And he clambers back in on command (Jake's motto: "I don't do tricks - I obey commands"). He does roam from side to side, but the Captain is used to that having introduced kids and wimminks to canoing for years. So far, we've done more than 40 miles in eight mile stretches and he hasn't capsized us yet. And he knows he can't walk on water but gets miffed when his lifevest keeps him from retrieving fish and rocks in deeper water. Yes, he dives completely under while swimming and likely as not, surfaces with an interesting rock in his mouth! FYI, Llewellyn Setters are upland field dogs, not water dogs. Except Jake.

I'll be glad when it cools off enough to wear my Shikari canoing, but for now the work is steady coming in and I am working six days a week to keep up. I finished one new pool this morning and start another one Monday morning. And we just landed a contract with a major pool equipment manufacturer to be their service rep to nearly all of West Tennessee. Canoe camping is always more pleasant in cooler weather though. Fewer people and fewer bugs. And I am more likely to be able to convince some lady novice to accompany me in cool weather.

 

[tongueriver]

Michael, with a hat that nice, I might suggest you peruse the "sites" for a fancy braided horsehair "stampede string." I would hate to see your hat take off down the creek on its own! Some people seem to be able to keep their hat on no matter what, but I am not one of them.

 

[Codger_64]

Michael, with a hat that nice, I might suggest you peruse the "sites" for a fancy braided horsehair "stampede string." I would hate to see your hat take off down the creek on its own! Some people seem to be able to keep their hat on no matter what, but I am not one of them.

Good idea. The original leather thong isn't in bad shape, but a braided horsehair replacement might give it a touch of both security and class. The pigskin hat band isn't all that georgeous either, but I'll leave it for the time being.

 

[Codger_64]

Today I received a reply from Resistol about the hat.

Michael,

I am sorry we do not have any records of that hat due to the age of it. Below is a website that specializes in antiques that may be able to help you date your hat.

www.worthpoint.com

Oh well, it was worth a shot. Not every commercial manufacturer keeps records long term. How lucky are we Schrade collectors then? Maybe I'll run across a magazine ad for the hat like the ones a member here found which unlocked the mystery of the Shikari knives. Still looking for an original packaging and insert for the knives though.

 

[Codger_64]

I got just a bit more information about the hat from Resistol today.

Michael,
By the looks of the hat I would say your time frame is correct (1965-1975). The hat
should be fur felt like our 4X hats today, the hat is definitely not
wool. I think this a modified version of a basic cowboy hat that we
would have made just for that retailer. Looks to be in great condition.

Thanks,
Alex
Customer Service Mgr.

Someone have back issues of Outdoor Life?