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Western, anyone?

Messages
18,171
Needless to say, this isn't my hat, but for those who haven't seen it, this is a William F "Buffalo Bill" Cody Carlsbad hat being sold on Etsy, if you've got close to $5K to spare. I'm told the circumference is only about 22 inches, according to a reply from the seller, etc.
The Ray Bentley Collection of Cody artifacts is legit so if it has provenance to that collection then the hat is legitimate too. Here is a pic of the Stetson given to Cody by John B. now in the Cody museum.

502D22E1-E568-4D68-986F-A7A794B467D0.jpeg


Travel being what it was back then (& the demands on Cody’s time), Cody is known to have used legitimate stand-ins & impersonators. Their artifacts turn up too. This is a pic of the good doctor who was among the best impersonators, together with Cody.

F2D8D29F-9530-4514-A346-6476AFEEB6CB.jpeg


Cody had two great-grandsons killed together in a plane crash in 2013. ‘Kit Cody” was a well known collector himself.

https://www.denverpost.com/2013/02/16/buffalo-bills-great-grandsons-die-in-plane-crash/
 

Popeye Doyle

New in Town
Messages
26
So I’ve always wanted an old west style hat and finally got one. I have a lot of westerns, open roads, cattlemen, etc. But this is now my favorite it’s a Clayton by Bailey Hats. Made in the USA from their Frontier Collection.The only thing I don’t like is it’s wool felt but they treat these with some kind of stiffener/repellent because I’ve had another hat by them for years and it still looks new. It is fully lined and has a very comfortable leather sweat band. The liner is beautiful with a picture of a horse. All in all it’s an outstanding hat.

239D55C1-EB0E-45EA-8447-F6B5F5C38BE2.jpeg


427AB03C-956C-445B-BC50-949CEE7A5F55.jpeg
 
Messages
19,001
Location
Central California
So I’ve always wanted an old west style hat and finally got one. I have a lot of westerns, open roads, cattlemen, etc. But this is now my favorite it’s a Clayton by Bailey Hats. Made in the USA from their Frontier Collection.The only thing I don’t like is it’s wool felt but they treat these with some kind of stiffener/repellent because I’ve had another hat by them for years and it still looks new. It is fully lined and has a very comfortable leather sweat band. The liner is beautiful with a picture of a horse. All in all it’s an outstanding hat.

View attachment 494984

View attachment 494985


I love that style too. Looks very sharp, and that brim curl is just the ticket. Very nice. Sorry that I can’t answer your question.
 

Snowman

Practically Family
Messages
675
How hard is it to reshape a brim at home without professional tools or skills change the flange from the style show in the website to whatever this other guy did to his range 6x?

View attachment 494810 View attachment 494811
I haven’t tried to alter the brim on a stiff western, but I would think that with enough steam and patience you could get somewhat of the same effect.
 

T Jones

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,788
Location
Central Ohio
How hard is it to reshape a brim at home without professional tools or skills change the flange from the style show in the website to whatever this other guy did to his range 6x?

View attachment 494810 View attachment 494811
It's easy. Brims on the more modern vintage Westerns like Resistol Stagecoaches, i.e., are thick felted with a good deal of stiffener. In this instance get the brim good and wet, top and bottom, then shape it and set it aside to dry. I use hot water from the tap to get my brims pliable.

Here's a tall crowned 3X Resistol that I refurbished and restyled. The crown didn't have as much stiffener as the brim so I just misted it damp with water and shaped it.
 

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M Brown

A-List Customer
Messages
335
Location
N Tx
Hot water works great. The hat in my avatar was reshaped with hot water. I pulled the wet felt cone over a wooden, open crown hat block, used a flat wooden spoon to form the brim/crown edge, stringed it, pressed the brim flat with a warm iron, and let it dry to approx 90%.
Once it was almost dry, I formed the final crown and brim shaping and let it dry completely.

Here's a photo of an O'Farrell I received in crumpled, smashed, dirty condition. After blocking and some shaping, I stringed it for drying. It took a couple of days to dry completely and turned out great.
8E355057-0CCB-41FC-8829-350098C53CDB_1_201_a.jpeg
 
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Messages
19,001
Location
Central California
A gallant effort Brent. I like that Gannon a lot! (Not as much as Alan's though ... :D )

What is the source of the hat body on yours?


It’s a Winchester 100% beaver. It’s the standard western weight, but the crown was pounced thin and it has a very vintage feel to it. I have a 6oz (lightweight) beaver hat body on order from Winchester via Gannon but Winchester is running very slow with some felts.
 

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