Western, anyone?

[bowlerman]

Thanks, Frank. I might look into that brim cutter. The "brim cutter" I have used is really a leatherworking tool, and the length you set it at has to be cut freehand, which made for a little damage control with sandpaper...

I actually tried a bit of "Gus" as well as mule kicks, and though it did lower the crown a bit, I found that I like the balance of the hat in the abstract much more with the mesa pinch. I'm not too tall (understatement-- about 5'5") and so I just get nervous when hats dwarf me.

In what part of the CA desert do you live, if you don't mind me asking?

Neo-- maybe my soft spot for TN accounts for our similar taste in hats

 

[jlee562]

Alright, I have messed around a lot with my grey hat from ebay guy, and I have to say it is one of the most easily manipulatable hats I've ever seen, which as far as I understand, would indicate more beaver content, right?

Not necessarily. Could also be due to the relative amount of stiffener.

 

[Neophyte]

Neo-- maybe my soft spot for TN accounts for our similar taste in hats

Could be...although I'm not sure that western hats were common in Tennessee....neither were fedoras, come to think of it. [huh]

 

[frussell]

bowlerman - the part near Palm Springs. Once you get past the golf courses, it's all desert around here, and temperatures can be similar to Death Valley. Frank

 

[bowlerman]

Project du jour: Stetson 3X eddie bauer western, long ovalified, dented, and replaced the band. I couldn't deal with the tacky 70s band it came with.
Before:

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After:

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First time ever messing with a ribbon, and it's VERY amateur, but I'm already wearing it a lot!

 

[randooch]

Bowlerman, that's a vast improvement! Nice work; I don't even espy any ribbon puckers. Interesting curled brim, too, sort of homburgesque.

 

[frussell]

Great job. I thought about buying one of those a few weeks ago, they pop up from time to time. The hat band was the one thing that stopped me. That's a hat I would wear now. Frank

 

[fmw]

A pencil curled Western. Tthat's very cool. Not only would I wear it but I would treasure it. Great hat.

 

[Neophyte]

You've made that hat much more wearable and nice looking. Great job!

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Its interesting how changing the ribbon makes the hat standout better. A ribbon is a very important detail in a hat.

 

[barrowjh]

Bowlerman - great idea and a nice job executing it - I have a couple of '70s - early '80s hats that need a ribbon replacement also. Felts were often still made well, but some of the ribbon treatments - I have one that looks like a strip of shag carpet! good grief. I'm hoping to be able to change out the ribbon in a visit to Buckaroo Hatters in Covington someday. I think the brim curl is more of a 'full kettle curl' rather than a pencil curl, and it was a popular style. Maybe someone will help us pinpoint its popularity; my guess is late 19th century - early 20th century (for full kettle curl western hats). Yours is a full kettle curl with a bound edge, and I presume it would still be called a full kettle curl. The pencil-curl brims on bowlers and homburgs were tighter curls.

Here's my full kettle curl similar to yours (with the shag carpet) - I put a flare crown into it, amateurish, but its not as ugly as the shag carpet!

 

[bowlerman]

bowlerman - the part near Palm Springs. Once you get past the golf courses, it's all desert around here, and temperatures can be similar to Death Valley. Frank

I lived in Thousand Oaks (about 40 mi north of LA on the 101) from the time I was 8 until I was 25, with the exception of going to school. Spent a lot of time on the 15, 5, etc., but never actually stopped in Palm Springs. I really love the desert.

 

[bowlerman]

fmw, Neo, randooch, Frank, Josh: Thanks! I only put a few holes in my thumb trying to throw a stitch through the felt... but ended up putting a spot of glue anyway.
It is kind of a treasure now. It definitely has elements of a few different hat types-- a little Homburg, a little cowboy, a little 3:10 to Yuma, I don't know what.
Wiser Hatter-- yes, the ribbon appears to have made ALL the difference in this one.
Josh-- That's a great flared flat top! That looks like it would be far beyond my skill level!

 

[1961MJS]

Project du jour: Stetson 3X eddie bauer western, long ovalified, dented, and replaced the band. I couldn't deal with the tacky 70s band it came with.

After:

[/IMG]

First time ever messing with a ribbon, and it's VERY amateur, but I'm already wearing it a lot!

Hi Bowlerman

I'm VERY impressed, first of all by your skill, and secondly in the hat itself. That's not a look that I would have thought went with a t-shirt, but it's a casual homburg ,which is sort of like saying beautifully ugly or formally informal. Some form of copy is now on my list of things to do, after I get a new Sahara colored Safari hat (my wool one shrunk in the rain). I'm kind of thinking Pecan with a Copper band and copper brim.

Oh, speaking of Thousand Oaks, I used to go there on business back in the late 1980's with Northrup. Nice place, we used to stay at the Casa Sierna Resort Hotel. I read online that it's VERY rundown now. That's where I learned to eat my eggs with Pic-ante sauce.

Good job on the hat

 

[Joao Encarnado]

I think the brim curl is more of a 'full kettle curl' rather than a pencil curl, and it was a popular style. Maybe someone will help us pinpoint its popularity; my guess is late 19th century - early 20th century (for full kettle curl western hats).

Maybe Victorian top hats started the brim curl?

 

[vintage68]

Interesting topic. My next western hat features a brim curl, which I've never worn before so I'm hoping I'll look okay, or at least not a total tool.

 

[barrowjh]

Joao Encarnado - Yes, there was a particular hat style that was very prominent from 1830s - 1880s, think of the hat worn by Depp's character in Dead Man - a flare crown, short relative to the typical top hat, with the usual pencil-curl brim. It seems logical that in practice, in sunny climes, the brim would get wider and the curl more relaxed. However, that is simply a best guess; someone with more specific knowledge might be able to help us out.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

However, that is simply a best guess; someone with more specific knowledge might be able to help us out.

True but some facts can be collected on the wikipedia:
-Original top hats (1790-1840) might had wider brim than today
-Narrow brim top hats were popular in 1840-1860
-J.B. Stetson started making the BOP in 1865 and until then there was no "cowboy hat"
-Before 1865 the popular hat in American West was the bowler hat
-Bowler hat was designed in 1849
-Bowler hats usually have curled brims (at least by the pictures I have seen)

 

[bowlerman]

True but some facts can be collected on the wikipedia:
-Original top hats (1790-1840) might had wider brim than today
-Narrow brim top hats were popular in 1840-1860
-J.B. Stetson started making the BOP in 1865 and until then there was no "cowboy hat"
-Before 1865 the popular hat in American West was the bowler hat
-Bowler hat was designed in 1849
-Bowler hats usually have curled brims (at least by the pictures I have seen)

...and I believe Johnny Depp's character (William Blake) in "Dead Man" said he got his hat "in Cleveland."

 

[frussell]

My new to me gigantic size 8 Resistol Diamond Horseshoe from Casechopper. After a good cleanup and wet-down with clean water from a spray bottle. Really keeps the sun out of my eyes as-is. Re-shaping, shrinking and tweaking to come. If not successful, I believe my wife and I will use it as a gazebo in the summer weather. Will post pictures after treatment. Frank
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