Cheap Cowboy Hat

[kflach]

Pancho, you've nailed it! I've found that site to be quite interesting.

[DarbyFett]

Darby,

Wool hats are more economic, but no great long term investements.  They will soften and shrink if worn in the rain.  Also, in my experience they tend to shrink slightly over time.

Beaver felt is much more durable and handles moisture much better.

If you buy the wool hat and you plan to stay in cowboy action shooting for some time, very likely you will be headed back to the store at some point to replace the wool with a felt hat.

Pancho

Thank you! I have also been invited to participate in a group south of Dallas called "Marrow Bone Springs", that in conjunction with my desire to camp in the old style on my families property makes me think I should spend the extra money and go with something long term.

[Shotgun Steve]

Looks like quite a few anglos wore sombreros..at least in that Ranger Company.
Neat photos for sure. Thanks for posting it Pancho.

 Shotgun Steve

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[Delmonico]

Looks like quite a few anglos wore sombreros..at least in that Ranger Company.
Neat photos for sure. Thanks for posting it Pancho.

 Shotgun Steve

Yeah, thanks, I'd never seen most of them, perhaps they were more common on Anglos( or what ever the heck we want to be called today) than what I'd thought.

[Pancho Peacemaker]

Looks like quite a few anglos wore sombreros..at least in that Ranger Company.
Neat photos for sure. Thanks for posting it Pancho.

 Shotgun Steve

If you spend enough time out in the Texas summer sun, those dang sombreros start to make lots of sense.  We have more than a few guys in our club that adopt a traditional looking straw or palm sombrero for the summer shooting season.  They don't dress vaquero or charro, just normal period cowboy clothes and a sombrero.   I use a Sunbody Charro hat myself.  It's the coolest summer hat I own and not very expensive either.

Pancho

[Texas Lawdog]

You guys with plenty of hair don't need to worry about your head getting blistered. Them Straw hats keep my bald head cool and shaded to keep from getting blistered.

[Major 2]

I'd like to chime in with a few Photos ...These fellows arn't CowBOYS
We call them Cow Hunters or Crackers....

First up is the Fredrick Remington painting of "Bone" Mizell circa 1883 or abouts.

second are a grouping of 4 Cow hunters...note # 3 ( the so called Gus crease ) # 1 appears to wear straw and  sombrero-ish. You will notice the bull whips in the hands of two of the Crackers, used in the scrub where a rope lasso was less than effective.
 You will also notice 3 of the horses are the smaller Cracker breed.  In the right background, if you look closely you'll see the log brasures and palmetto thatched hut of a typical cow camp. Circa 1887

lastly A Lumber Crew ..showing other popular head coverings ( note the Immigrent caps or Newsboy's or 8 piece caps there are about 2 Doz names for this style of cap ....This photo dates to 1880's as well , taken in Clare County ,Michigan

[Delmonico]

Thanks Major, a part of history few remember.

[kflach]

I found a hat I could afford and liked. I had them steam out the factory crease on the top and make it like an open crown. That actually made it look kind of used, which I think adds to it.

Delmonico has posted pictures of two Palm hats in a couple of places in this thread. The top one is a plantation hat (I think it's officially a Sunbody "Sam Houston"model). It has kind of a round rim on the top and the overall profile is flat on top. I like that look. Is there an easy way to make my open crown look like that without special equipment?

I like my hat "as is" but it's occurred to me that if it was easy, I'd seriously consider doing that to it.

I realize the odds are that it isn't easy...

[Delmonico]

Steam it, push the crown down and then push it up in the middle and form it with steam to clean it up.  You won't be able to get that tight of one with out a block though.  Still it will match many from the period.  measure from the top of your ears to the top of your head to see how far you can go with out the crown hitting the top of your head. 

[kflach]

It's wool. Will it hold up to repeated steaming (in other words if I try it and don't like the results am I going to totally mess it up and not be able to get it back where it is)?

[GunClick Rick]

What size ya wear pard?I have a 7 1/2 i could fix up fer ya.Here are a few ive' done.Gun"Click" Rick originals Shaped by me












Stole this one from the Duke

[Delmonico]

It will hold up fine, although wool hats need more stiffener and needs stiffened more often.  Can be bought in an aresol can at a good western store, but can be mad much cheaper than that by using pure white natural shellac and denatured alcohol, about a 50-50 mix so it will spray in a spray bottle.  never use hair spray or anything else despite what some folks will say.  That suff leaves a sticky mess on top, the other goes into all the hat fibers.

[kflach]

GunClick Rick,
The crown on that darker brown hat on the right is exactly what I'm talking about. I wear a 7 3/8  or 7 5/8 hat, so although I appreciate your offer I'll have to pass until I get a little less big-headed. To be honest, that may be a while; have you ever heard of a modest Texan? <grin>

Your hats look great! Do you do that by hand? My wife has a professional steamer so I might actually might be able to pull it off.

Delmonico,
Thanks for that info. You are an incredible source of information and I've appreciated your sharing it with me. I'm new to this stuff so I don't know much. However, if you ever need to know anything about Mac computers, how to record, edit, process music in a recording studio, how to create videos and animations, how people process and communicate information, or anything else that I know a bit about, don't hesitate to PM me and I'm more than willing to share!

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Rick,

I really like the grey 'Duke' hat ... and I wear a 7 1/2 ... so I will take a donation anytime ... *S*

I might be tempted to put a yellow calvary cord where the hat band is though....

I know it is hollywood, but I always wanted a grey cowboy hat with a yellow calvary cord .... LOL

[Ottawa Creek Bill]

Kflach.....You need to be real careful about the hat you buy for NCOWS use, if that is the direction you are going. Several of the hats shown would be frowned upon at an NCOWS match. Do your research for a period correct hat...before you buy.

Hey......do you know why the cowboys curl their hats upon the sides? so then can get four in the front seat of a pick up truck

Bill

[J.D. Yellowhammer]

Something I've always wondered about, and maybe one'a ya'll can comment:  It's hard to tell in contemporary photos, since people shoved their hats back on their heads in order to show their faces prevent shadows, but it looks to me like an awful lot of hats had pencil rolls on the brims. Anyone know for sure?

PS: Rick, what color/style is the 7 1/2?  That's my size. 

[kflach]

OCB, my hat is NCOWS compliant as it currently is. My understanding is that a crown similar to a Plantation hat is PC as well. That's the only change I'm considering.

[Terry Lane]

Mr. Yellowhammer, among other methods, a pencil roll or kettle curl was used (and is used today) to retain brim shape (flat) on unstiffened hats or for that matter, cheap felt hats. Thus many in the photographs you refer to had a brim curl of some type.

[Delmonico]

Also the ribbion bound edge also helps stiffen the brim.