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Western, anyone?

How much will that hat set a fellow back?

I've picked up O'Farrells on the used market for as low at $5, but they typically go for around $200. Not all the vintage ones were made by Kevin (there is a thread on here explaining that).

New ones? Well -- Kevin has been dead for the better part of two decades, but his son Scott & associates can make you a great hat. Expect upwards of a $1000 to have a custom made for you.

1677709410942.png
 
Messages
11,671
Wearing my resized and refurbished Bradford Western that a generous Lounger gifted to me. It started out as a too small size 7. I reblocked it to a 7 1/4 LO. Simple Cattleman with a curled brim.


Before:
IMG-20220821-081648438.jpg


After:
Bradford-Refurb-3-A.jpg


Bradford-Refurb-4-A.jpg


On the head:
Bradford-Western-Refurb-1-A.jpg


Bradford-Western-Refurb-3-A.jpg


Excuse the poor picture and video quality:
That came out really nice Terry. Would have never known it started as a 7
 

T Jones

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,789
Location
Central Ohio
Nice looks..it's similar to the stetson range I'm considering..what are the dimensions?

Did you shape it yourself? What else did you do to refurbish it?
Thank you Brian! Open crown is 5 3/4 and is 5 inches tall as creased. I lost some brim width in the size up, from 3 1/2 inches to now, @ 3 1/4 inches. I did all the shaping by hand.
 

MisplacedHillbilly

One of the Regulars
Messages
185
Sorry about thread drift.

It's just that $230 is a lot of money for me, and I'd like to consider some other options, like the stetson range 6x.. that's why I switched to this thread. But I can't seem to find any pics of the range online other than the doctored up photos on Stetsons website.

I'm trying to see some real photos or possibly other similar designs.

Cuz if I had a dollar for every Instagram beauty queen who couldn't win first prize at the county fair in real life.....lol
Another option if you like the open road style is a Justin (made by Milano) "statesman" its a nice soft 6x. In my opinion it is a very nice hat. My only real complaint would be the fabric hat band,while it feels ok it's not as secure as a leather one.
20220120_124101.jpg
20220217_133100.jpg

I reshaped mine from the cattleman crease to something more fedora like. It shaped up nice without steam.
 
Messages
19,001
Location
Central California
Why was it shaped like that originally? Did someone do it on purpose or did it get mushed with time? Where did you find this hat? How much would it be new?


Most hats change shape over the years. The change could be small or large depending on many factors. The before photos of the hat show a distorted brim and a tapered crown with a different crease. It’s was just the style the hat was made in and how a previous owner wanted it.

Terry completely stripped the hat down to just the felt. He has hat blocks and flanges to give hats a new shape. He then sews in a new leather sweatband followed by the crown ribbon. Such a transformation/rebuild is beyond most of us.

This hat has been discontinued for many years. It was a used hat that was resized and reshaped and given a new lease on life. Spend some hours on eBay and you’ll find similar hats, but finding one in your size and in the style you want may take some time. If you want to go this route you have to put in the hours looking…sometimes for weeks or months.
 

T Jones

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,789
Location
Central Ohio
Most hats change shape over the years. The change could be small or large depending on many factors. The before photos of the hat show a distorted brim and a tapered crown with a different crease. It’s was just the style the hat was made in and how a previous owner wanted it.

Terry completely stripped the hat down to just the felt. He has hat blocks and flanges to give hats a new shape. He then sews in a new leather sweatband followed by the crown ribbon. Such a transformation/rebuild is beyond most of us.

This hat has been discontinued for many years. It was a used hat that was resized and reshaped and given a new lease on life. Spend some hours on eBay and you’ll find similar hats, but finding one in your size and in the style you want may take some time. If you want to go this route you have to put in the hours looking…sometimes for weeks or months.
Couldn't have said it better myself!
 

T Jones

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,789
Location
Central Ohio
Why was it shaped like that originally? Did someone do it on purpose or did it get mushed with time? Where did you find this hat? How much would it be new?
That was the original crown crease, pretty tapered up and probably a style for the era. The brim was probably misshapened from the box it was shipped in, or by some other means. See also Brent's post. Here's a picture of the hat right off the block with the brim ironed flat, and waiting to be reshaped. The sweat hasn't yet been sewn in.
 

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MikeinRome

One Too Many
Messages
1,010
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.
 

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Last edited:

T Jones

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,789
Location
Central Ohio
Okay cool. What era was it?

Maybe I'll try something like that. Getting a cowboy hat, but ironing the flange down to suit my taste. Is it hard to do without ruining the felt?
Just a guess, but maybe mid to late '70s, and into early 80s? Other loungers may have a better idea on the actual era but that would just be my guess. It's not hard ironing the brim, just make sure you put a cloth between the iron and the brim.
 
Okay cool. What era was it?

Maybe I'll try something like that. Getting a cowboy hat, but ironing the flange down to suit my taste. Is it hard to do without ruining the felt?

Like Terry said ... use a cloth and keep moving.

I flattened this mid-1980s Kevin O'Farrell, but lost any flanging when doing it. I'm OK with it.

o_farrell_grey_02-png.127441


960c4681de8fda0a17059e8a0b56ecf9.jpg
 

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