Western, anyone?

[Dinerman]

Here are some original Stetson Bosses of the Plains. Similar to the Akubra in name only.

 

[Neophyte]

Here are some original Stetson Bosses of the Plains. Similar to the Akubra in name only.

Thank you so much, Dinerman! I have been searching for quality pics of traditional BotP hats for the last month or so. The closest I ever came were those "49er" pics. The pics you posted will be an excellent reference for me .

 

[DRB]

I also enjoyed viewing them. A piece of our past. Nice.

 

[Neophyte]

Well, thanks to my earlier experiment and a fellow Lounger's suggestion to check out the Knudsen Hats catalogue (which, despite the prevalence of wool hats, offers some unique shapes), I have finally narrowed it down to two hats. They are very similar except for the crown; one is a rather safe choice, and the other is both unique and intoxicatingly risky. Both hats are able to meet all the parameters I have outlined, and both are attractive and unique (at least to my ignorant eyes).

The first option is a custom hat similar in design to Knudsen's "Cattle Baron":

The second is rather interesting. It is called the "Jim Bowie", and Knudsen claims that they obtained several drawings of Bowie (because cameras didn't exist back then), and did their best to nail down the shape of the hat. It looks kind of like Preacher's hat in Pale Rider. If I were to ask Major Moore to make such a hat, it would probably have a different hatband, however:

As I gather the funds for the custom, it will be difficult to decide lol. These posts are mostly for personal reference for a later time. I apologize to my fellow Loungers, especially if my constant posts regarding my thought processes have become an annoyance.

 

[indycop]

Major Moore has a great selection of western hatbands!
You really need to visit him and use the conformer, then he will make you a hat with a fit you have never experienced!

 

[Neophyte]

Major Moore has a great selection of western hatbands!
You really need to visit him and use the conformer, then he will make you a hat with a fit you have never experienced!

You're absolutely right. If I had a job right now to pay for the gas money, I'd go. My parents, however, don't approve of the prospect [read: price] of a 4.5-hour (at the least) trip to and from the other side of the state on their money. Perhaps I can make it worth their while...lol

 

[monbla256]

My vote would go for the "Cattle Baron" with a nice tooled leather hatband for sure. In the color you have shown as your re-worked Squatter in the Fawn color looks good on you and the Knudsen "cattle Baron" looks to be a similar shade and work as well. Go for it guy

 

[Neophyte]

My vote would go for the "Cattle Baron" with a nice tooled leather hatband for sure. In the color you have shown as your re-worked Squatter in the Fawn color looks good on you and the Knudsen "cattle Baron" looks to be a similar shade and work as well. Go for it guy

...I was confused there for a second, as the only Squatter I have is green lol. I'd really like a Western in a natural color, to be honest. The "natural" color seems like a taupe to me, shifting from grey-scale to earth-tone and back again depending on the light and surrounding color.

 

[monbla256]

I realized that it was your CD that was in the Fawn color. ( The Akubra color names seem to change with the retailer that's selling them so I may have yours wrong ).

 

[Chinaski]

And different crown blocking, brim flanging, ribbonwork, brim edge finish

For my money, this hat just oozes elegance and says city/country very well. However, based on what you've been talking about, Neo, it might be a little too plain for you. Keep searching!

 

[Neophyte]

I realized that it was your CD that was in the Fawn color. ( The Akubra color names seem to change with the retailer that's selling them so I may have yours wrong ).

Nope, you got it right. The color is fawn (they call it tawny fawn to differentiate from the other shades of "fawn", but it is essentially fawn).

For my money, this hat just oozes elegance and says city/country very well. However, based on what you've been talking about, Neo, it might be a little too plain for you. Keep searching!

If I recall, this is the Akubra Boss of the Plains. I heavily considered it not too long ago, but a little searching brought me to a discouraging revelation: this hat is not available ANYWHERE unless you'd like to endure the 3-month wait.

 

[monbla256]

BTW, Neo I went in to Ft. Worth today to Peters Bros. and picked up the reworked Stetson western of my fathers as it was ready. Sorry i don't have pics yet of it but it is BEAUTIFUL ! Here's the before pics I have of it and will get some more when I get access to a digital camera next week or so. It is nice and clean. and has been re-blocked as it was just now it fits me

 

[Neophyte]

BTW, Neo I went in to Ft. Worth today to Peters Bros. and picked up the reworked Stetson western of my fathers as it was ready. Sorry i don't have pics yet of it but it is BEAUTIFUL ! Here's the before pics I have of it and will get some more when I get access to a digital camera next week or so. It is nice and clean. and has been re-blocked as it was just now it fits me

Can't wait to see the post-TLC pics, Monbla .

 

[DanielJones]

Wow! Yeah, can't wait to see the after pics Monbla.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[msm007]

My vote would go for the "Cattle Baron" with a nice tooled leather hatband for sure. In the color you have shown as your re-worked Squatter in the Fawn color looks good on you and the Knudsen "cattle Baron" looks to be a similar shade and work as well. Go for it guy

Knudsen makes nice looking though heavy and stiff hats, but the customer service can be a bear if things don't go as planned.

 

[msm007]

Can't wait to see the post-TLC pics, Monbla .

Ditto!!!!

 

[RobFedoraField]

Haven't seen too many westernized campdrafts. looks good, it's a nice change I like the "v" wedge on the front brim. I'll have to try that on mine. I saw someplace where someone put a cattleman's in a campdraft, that looked pretty good too.

 

[Neophyte]

Knudsen makes nice looking though heavy and stiff hats, but the customer service can be a bear if things don't go as planned.

Thank you for this information. It will be valuable to me in the future.

Thing is, the Buckaroo Hatters website doesn't really show much information regarding the available hat styles and accessories. In fact, AFAICT it doesn't even give the address of the business and days/hours of operation. The solution to this is for me to send Mike pictures of hats from other websites and ask him if he is able to recreate them.

I suppose if I was more knowledgeable about the West and western hats, this entire process wouldn't be necessary. Alas, true to my profile name, there is always something I do not know, and even more I don't know I don't know lol.

Haven't seen too many westernized campdrafts. looks good, it's a nice change I like the "v" wedge on the front brim. I'll have to try that on mine. I saw someplace where someone put a cattleman's in a campdraft, that looked pretty good too.

I think the "V" wedge you described is what I like most about the new shape . I may try to rework the crown into a Cattleman's to complement the brim, although I must confess that my abilities regarding the altering of the crown of a hat are "less than stellar."

 

[gtdean48]

At the price, this is not a bad option for Boss of the Plains model = http://www.riverjunction.com/Boss-of-the-Plains--10X-Fur-Felt-_p_137.html
If you want a wider brim to possibly curl, the Scout looks good for that = http://www.riverjunction.com/Scout-Hat-_p_112.html

 

[msm007]

Thank you for this information. It will be valuable to me in the future.

Thing is, the Buckaroo Hatters website doesn't really show much information regarding the available hat styles and accessories. In fact, AFAICT it doesn't even give the address of the business and days/hours of operation. The solution to this is for me to send Mike pictures of hats from other websites and ask him if he is able to recreate them.

I suppose if I was more knowledgeable about the West and western hats, this entire process wouldn't be necessary. Alas, true to my profile name, there is always something I do not know, and even more I don't know I don't know lol.



I think the "V" wedge you described is what I like most about the new shape . I may try to rework the crown into a Cattleman's to complement the brim, although I must confess that my abilities regarding the altering of the crown of a hat are "less than stellar."

I hear you there. I have only heard good things about Buckaroo Hatters. Good idea to borrow pics from Knudsen!