BUCKAROO BONANZA! - The Hats that Major Mike Moore Makes

[majormoore]

We were very glad you came up here today and Rusty and John Barrow were here also, I want to thank you for working with us on the custom hats you have decided to have made.

Please come any time your in town, the two super nice straw hats are boxed anmd ready to leave Monday morning to you.

I hope the shop was all you had thought it would be,

Major Moore

Hi,

This is my first post to the forum although I have been lurking for a couple of months. My wife convinced me to buy my first hat 2 months ago, a dark Guerra. Since hats are like potato chips I quickly bought a grey Bailey, a Stetson Breakers and a black knock about NY Hat Company stingy. I started reading the forum to get info on caring for them. I'm from Minnesota.

My wife was in Memphis the last week for work so I dropped in for the weekend. I went to Mister Hats first but they didn't have what I wanted in my size. I was looking around in the forum this morning and saw info on Buckaroo Hatters and decided to visit. My wife and I drove up there and I have to say the experience was great. Mike was terrific and I also met RBH and another forum member ( who's name unfortunately escapes me right now, but he was good to talk to as well). To make a long story short I bought 2 custom hats as well as a really nice straw that was made from blanks that were found in the back of a factory storeroom dating from 40-50 years ago. My wife ended up buying a straw too. So 4 hats later here we are. The quality of the hats Mike had on display were first rate and the service was great. I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished customs. I'll post some pictures of the straws in a week or so and the customs when they come in. Overall it was a lot of fun talking to everyone and learning a lot about hats and custom fitting. Turns out I have an odd shaped head ( my wife has been having some fun with that since we left the shop... ) technically a 7 1/4 but elongated and narrow on the front sides so a 7 3/8 works better ( or as my wife says, "slightly pin headed"). Anyway, now that I've broken the ice I'll probablly start posting more often. I'd like to thank Mike, RBH and the other member ( please fill in the blank, he's a CPA with a really nice grey hat) for a fine time.

 

[RBH]

Hi,

This is my first post to the forum although I have been lurking for a couple of months. My wife convinced me to buy my first hat 2 months ago, a dark Guerra. Since hats are like potato chips I quickly bought a grey Bailey, a Stetson Breakers and a black knock about NY Hat Company stingy. I started reading the forum to get info on caring for them. I'm from Minnesota.

My wife was in Memphis the last week for work so I dropped in for the weekend. I went to Mister Hats first but they didn't have what I wanted in my size. I was looking around in the forum this morning and saw info on Buckaroo Hatters and decided to visit. My wife and I drove up there and I have to say the experience was great. Mike was terrific and I also met RBH and another forum member ( who's name unfortunately escapes me right now, but he was good to talk to as well). To make a long story short I bought 2 custom hats as well as a really nice straw that was made from blanks that were found in the back of a factory storeroom dating from 40-50 years ago. My wife ended up buying a straw too. So 4 hats later here we are. The quality of the hats Mike had on display were first rate and the service was great. I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished customs. I'll post some pictures of the straws in a week or so and the customs when they come in. Overall it was a lot of fun talking to everyone and learning a lot about hats and custom fitting. Turns out I have an odd shaped head ( my wife has been having some fun with that since we left the shop... ) technically a 7 1/4 but elongated and narrow on the front sides so a 7 3/8 works better ( or as my wife says, "slightly pin headed"). Anyway, now that I've broken the ice I'll probablly start posting more often. I'd like to thank Mike, RBH and the other member ( please fill in the blank, he's a CPA with a really nice grey hat) for a fine time.

It was great meeting you Jim and you wonderful wife! Hope to see you back in Covington again!

Welcome Omne. My first custom fedora was a Buckaroo Hatters by the Major also. Nice way to jump in head first so to speak.
As far as meeting Rusty right off, well....I'm just glad he was behaving himself for once....

Pay no attention to my cuzin Tom.... he is from Georgia.
He never behaves.

 

[delectans]

Welcome to the Lounge, Omne, from a fellow Minnesotan. Look forward to your posts to the forum and pictures of your new hats!

 

[barrowjh]

Jim, great to meet you (even greater to meet your wife!) and I enjoyed talking hats with you. After many years of promising I finally made the cross-state drive to Covington, and now I cannot wait to return. Over 150 nice fur felts on display along with ample stocks of hatbands and other hat paraphanalia. A customer can stand and watch their hat made (or alterations being made) - and - can sometimes get real hands-on experience in doing some of the work themselves (sanding or shaping). I brought some hats that desperately needed alteration, and I really wore out Mike's helper (Fallon ?) yesterday. Here are a couple of before & after photos:

This 7 5/8 rust colored Churchill purchased to gift a nephew has a 'billy jack' problem that dates it somewhat:

Same hat with a braided horsehair band:

This Resistol Roundup has a shag carpet problem that really detracts from the hat:

Same Roundup with a leather hat band robbed from my Resistol Stagecoach:

Here is the Resistol Stagecoach which had a nice hatband, but it provides no contrast, so the hatband was transferred to the Roundup:

Here is the Stagecoach with a braided horsehair 'replacement' hatband. Not sure this picture captures it well, but the new hatband greatly improved the hat:

Here are three pics of a Stetson 3X w/Mode edge with a prior ribbon treatment and then two pics with a new ribbon treatment:

The real purpose of my trip was to commission a new hat, but I will get to that in a follow-up post, as it is a momentous announcement (well, I think so, anyway).

 

[Neophyte]

Great hats, Barrow!

 

[barrowjh]

Inception of the Legend of the BH Cutter

This began with a visit to Winchester in late 2007 and a factory tour by Jeff Teters and Greg Fiske. At the end of the tour Greg gave me a full-weight 7.5 oz cowboy scrap hat body to try my hand at sanding on, or even to take it to Mike Moore (whom I had recently met in October 2007 at the get-together in Memphis) to have a hat made. It had been scrapped because of a weak spot in the felt about 4 1/4 inches out from the crown (spec is 5 full inches). I never got around to playing with that hat body until recently, and then I began sanding on it. I had such a great time, punched the crown out to the other side (and back again) to sand both sides.

Separate from that I won a Resistol 'Cutter Bill' Beaver 50 on ebay a few months ago and fell in love with the 3 in brim cowboy hat:

I wanted to copy that hat, in pure beaver, in a light sage color. So I embarked to Covington for this weekend to commission a new 100X hat from Buckaroo Hatters afforded with a small bonus recently earned from my day job. I took along the hat body (sand color) that Greg Fiske had given me, sanded down pretty well, I thought.

Mike Moore explained that without a plate machine to really flatten the brim it was just about impossible to get a consistent sanded finish, so he plated it, re-blocked it, and we set about re-sanding to get a consistent finish. I thought the hat body was simply stock rabbit fur, but Mike assured me after sanding the crown that the hat body was Winchesters 50% beaver blend, it simply sanded too nice to be rabbit. Mike asked - what do you want to do with this hat? I decided to finish out the hat just like the way I wanted the new hat to be finished (the new hat I was there to commission).

Mike showed me how to use the brim cutter and I cut the brim down, which cut away the weak spot; A 3 1/8 brim to be consistent with the 'Cutter' style and look that I wanted. Mike sewed in the sweatband; Fallon, Rusty, and I picked out a ribbon and she sewed it on and put a liner in it. I shaped the crown and the brim myself.

So, here is the prototype BH Cutter, in Sand color!

One VERY happy customer!

I commissioned a new 100X BH Cutter in the 6 oz body in willow (light sage) color, and it should look just like the prototype except for the color. It will also be a lighter weight (starting out as a 6 oz body) and the felt should have that pure beaver feel. We must wait now until Winchester does another run in Willow, which only happens once or twice a year. So, pictures of the new legendary BH Cutter will have to wait a few months, but you can see from the prototype it should be well worth waiting for!

I really had a great day in Covington at Buckaroo Hatters - what a nice shop!

 

[RBH]

Great photos John. It was good to see you again!

 

[barrowjh]

Yes, great fun to meet up with you and Mike again, and get your input in choosing ribbon treatments and other hat details. Please post up some of the pictures that you took, when you get a round tuit!

 

[RBH]

Yes, great fun to meet up with you and Mike again, and get your input in choosing ribbon treatments and other hat details. Please post up some of the pictures that you took, when you get a round tuit!

I did John, starting with this post.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...-amp-Country&p=1233979&viewfull=1#post1233979

 

[barrowjh]

Cool! I was working on the prototype BH Cutter in those photos; sanding to round/bevel the brim edge, then hand-creasing the crown before the ribbon went on. I start with trying to get a simple center crease straight and balanced, and then convert it to a C-crown.

 

[Neophyte]

I was browsing the internet today, and decided to look @ the Buckaroo Hatters website. I was shocked and pleased to discover the web page upgrade. It's really awesome!
Has anyone else noticed the revamp?

 

[DJH]

I saw that too, Neo.

Much nicer site and easier to get information. Also shows that Buckeroo makes more than westerns. Good upgrade!

 

[gtdean48]

I was browsing the internet today, and decided to look @ the Buckaroo Hatters website. I was shocked and pleased to discover the web page upgrade. It's really awesome!
Has anyone else noticed the revamp?

Mike posted recently about the new updates...

 

[Neophyte]

Somehow I missed that. Oh well [huh].

I'll probably visit the shop sometime later this summer...I can't wait lol.

 

[RBH]

I was browsing the internet today, and decided to look @ the Buckaroo Hatters website. I was shocked and pleased to discover the web page upgrade. It's really awesome!
Has anyone else noticed the revamp?

I talked to Mike this afternoon and he told me he was hoping to get his fedora page ready soon.
I am hoping he will also have to add a page for the new Stetson hat!!!!

 

[RBH]

Somehow I missed that. Oh well [huh].

I'll probably visit the shop sometime later this summer...I can't wait lol.

You better holler at me... we can go to the cafe and get another country fried steak!!!!!!

 

[hatophile]

You better holler at me... we can go to the cafe and get another country fried steak!!!!!!

Country fried steak, and hat shopping? Heaven!

 

[BobC]

Kim and I are hoping to be able to get to Covington sometime this summer, and I heard from some bird that Indycop and Dee are looking at a TN trip. Maybe we could work something out?

 

[RBH]

Country fried steak, and hat shopping? Heaven!

You holler too!!! Be my treat!

 

[RBH]

Kim and I are hoping to be able to get to Covington sometime this summer, and I heard from some bird that Indycop and Dee are looking at a TN trip this summer. Maybe we could work something out?

COOL!!!
Maybe not country fried steak.... but maybe mexican???
Reckon we can get that melon head to buy a round?