Hat band buckles / hardware

[CKC]

While I have a few higher quality hats, the majority of the fur felt hats I buy tend to be in the $200 - $400 range. Within that range I am regularly disappointed by the buckles and or hardware used on the hat bands, I don't expect them to be jewelry or anything, but sometimes they're just so cheap they look like bad plastic toys.

Here's one example of the sort of thing I find disappointing...paper thin stamped metal pieces sloppily glued into place (this was on a $300 hat)

I understand the cost realities hat companies face and I'm not complaining that I think they should give me more for what I pay. I mean... come to think of it, maybe they should, but that's not what I'm here to say right now.

I just don't like cheap looking and/or fake buckles and I have been thinking of making my own for a while now. This past week I decided to get started making my first miniature buckle. No engraving, or inlay, or anything fancy this time. I just wanted to make a buckle and see how it goes before I dive in too deep. This first one is for my Akubra Angler, since it's the hat I wear the most.

I used 6AL-4V Titanium for the buckle parts.

I turned a brass pin down to size and used it to hold the tip on the belt/band.

Once I had the parts shaped, I polished them and tried a few anodizing options.

I eventually settled on a subtle gold/bronze anodizing with a touch of blue on the band tip because I wanted it to blend in with the antiqued brass eyelets. Since this is a casual hat I kept the band simple and did not include any stitching or tooling. I used a very fine grained cowhide and dyed it with a mixture of medium brown/red-brown/black.

If any of you have hat buckles, pins or other hardware that you think look nice, I'd love to see 'em.

 

[ILB Frank]

You do have some skills. Nice work.
I'm a big fan of Titanium. I even have some 6-4

I haven't kept a single hatband that came with a hat. The stock band just never seems to be what I want. Even if I want a dead-simple band. I am also a fan of hat pins. Since I have zero craft skills, I have to search the internet and craft stores for the specific look I'm going for.
Here's the limit of my hand-crafted skills

I keep it simple on the straw hats with a simple leather string and a pinch/clasp

Even more simple with paracord

On my first custom hat I only had them put a 2-ply band on because I wanted a horsehair band and a better-looking pin. This pin is actually a tie-tack that I modified to attach to the band.

The one exception was my most recent custom. I knew what hatband I wanted (vintage 6-ply) and was able to find it and get it to the hat maker so he could attach it to the hat properly. Then I had to find the pin I wanted. In this case it was actually a charm for a necklace or bracelet. I cut-off the "loop" and modified it to attach to the band.

It would be nice if the stock hatbands on off-the-shelf westerns were a little better but, as long as they are somewhat easy to remove, you can then add something that makes the hat more specifically yours.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

While I have a few higher quality hats, the majority of the fur felt hats I buy tend to be in the $200 - $400 range. Within that range I am regularly disappointed by the buckles and or hardware used on the hat bands, I don't expect them to be jewelry or anything, but sometimes they're just so cheap they look like bad plastic toys.

Here's one example of the sort of thing I find disappointing...paper thin stamped metal pieces sloppily glued into place (this was on a $300 hat)

I understand the cost realities hat companies face and I'm not complaining that I think they should give me more for what I pay. I mean... come to think of it, maybe they should, but that's not what I'm here to say right now.

I just don't like cheap looking and/or fake buckles and I have been thinking of making my own for a while now. This past week I decided to get started making my first miniature buckle. No engraving, or inlay, or anything fancy this time. I just wanted to make a buckle and see how it goes before I dive in too deep. This first one is for my Akubra Angler, since it's the hat I wear the most.

I used 6AL-4V Titanium for the buckle parts.

I turned a brass pin down to size and used it to hold the tip on the belt/band.

Once I had the parts shaped, I polished them and tried a few anodizing options.

I eventually settled on a subtle gold/bronze anodizing with a touch of blue on the band tip because I wanted it to blend in with the antiqued brass eyelets. Since this is a casual hat I kept the band simple and did not include any stitching or tooling. I used a very fine grained cowhide and dyed it with a mixture of medium brown/red-brown/black.

If any of you have hat buckles, pins or other hardware that you think look nice, I'd love to see 'em.

Holy moly @CKC!!
That’s taking those bits and pieces leftover from knife making to a whole new level.
Pretty amazing work!!
Labor intensive…love inspired.
B

 

[belfastboy]

You do have some skills. Nice work.
I'm a big fan of Titanium. I even have some 6-4
View attachment 522741

I haven't kept a single hatband that came with a hat. The stock band just never seems to be what I want. Even if I want a dead-simple band. I am also a fan of hat pins. Since I have zero craft skills, I have to search the internet and craft stores for the specific look I'm going for.
Here's the limit of my hand-crafted skills
View attachment 522750

I keep it simple on the straw hats with a simple leather string and a pinch/clasp
View attachment 522751

Even more simple with paracord
View attachment 522752

On my first custom hat I only had them put a 2-ply band on because I wanted a horsehair band and a better-looking pin. This pin is actually a tie-tack that I modified to attach to the band.
View attachment 522753

The one exception was my most recent custom. I knew what hatband I wanted (vintage 6-ply) and was able to find it and get it to the hat maker so he could attach it to the hat properly. Then I had to find the pin I wanted. In this case it was actually a charm for a necklace or bracelet. I cut-off the "loop" and modified it to attach to the band.
View attachment 522755

It would be nice if the stock hatbands on off-the-shelf westerns were a little better but, as long as they are somewhat easy to remove, you can then add something that makes the hat more specifically yours.

Off the topic...sort of.....My baby is a Seven Cycles Ti 1997 S-8 mountain bike.

 

[belfastboy]

You do have some skills. Nice work.
I'm a big fan of Titanium. I even have some 6-4
View attachment 522741

I haven't kept a single hatband that came with a hat. The stock band just never seems to be what I want. Even if I want a dead-simple band. I am also a fan of hat pins. Since I have zero craft skills, I have to search the internet and craft stores for the specific look I'm going for.
Here's the limit of my hand-crafted skills
View attachment 522750

I keep it simple on the straw hats with a simple leather string and a pinch/clasp
View attachment 522751

Even more simple with paracord
View attachment 522752

On my first custom hat I only had them put a 2-ply band on because I wanted a horsehair band and a better-looking pin. This pin is actually a tie-tack that I modified to attach to the band.
View attachment 522753

The one exception was my most recent custom. I knew what hatband I wanted (vintage 6-ply) and was able to find it and get it to the hat maker so he could attach it to the hat properly. Then I had to find the pin I wanted. In this case it was actually a charm for a necklace or bracelet. I cut-off the "loop" and modified it to attach to the band.
View attachment 522755

It would be nice if the stock hatbands on off-the-shelf westerns were a little better but, as long as they are somewhat easy to remove, you can then add something that makes the hat more specifically yours.

It is not just on western hats. My pet peeve is the cheap poly ribbon that Stetson puts on, even their high end hats. I have a Stetson LE from 2015 in pure beaver. It is a wonderful felt.....but the sweat was cheap and the ribbon a most horrid cheap poly on both the brim and the crown. First thing to go was that horrid ribbon. Same goes for my 2 150th Anniversary Stetsonians. Nice hat, great felt with cheap, stock black ribbon on both....Cariboo and Mink.

 

[chivaceae]

While I have a few higher quality hats, the majority of the fur felt hats I buy tend to be in the $200 - $400 range. Within that range I am regularly disappointed by the buckles and or hardware used on the hat bands, I don't expect them to be jewelry or anything, but sometimes they're just so cheap they look like bad plastic toys.

Here's one example of the sort of thing I find disappointing...paper thin stamped metal pieces sloppily glued into place (this was on a $300 hat)


I understand the cost realities hat companies face and I'm not complaining that I think they should give me more for what I pay. I mean... come to think of it, maybe they should, but that's not what I'm here to say right now.

I just don't like cheap looking and/or fake buckles and I have been thinking of making my own for a while now. This past week I decided to get started making my first miniature buckle. No engraving, or inlay, or anything fancy this time. I just wanted to make a buckle and see how it goes before I dive in too deep. This first one is for my Akubra Angler, since it's the hat I wear the most.

I used 6AL-4V Titanium for the buckle parts.
......

Chad,

Even the sterling silver and gold hatband buckles on "top of the line" western hats can look "cheesy".
I am a big fan of leather hatbands and decent buckles/pins on the hatbands. Here some examples on my "re-furbished" western hats:

Sterling silver (5/8") buckleset on a Resistol 15X:

Tandy Leather buckleset on a 1950's Resistol Plains:

Sterling silver bull pin on a 1950's Resistol Plains:

Raul

 

[CKC]

You do have some skills. Nice work.
I'm a big fan of Titanium. I even have some 6-4
View attachment 522741

I haven't kept a single hatband that came with a hat. The stock band just never seems to be what I want. Even if I want a dead-simple band. I am also a fan of hat pins. Since I have zero craft skills, I have to search the internet and craft stores for the specific look I'm going for.
Here's the limit of my hand-crafted skills
View attachment 522750

I keep it simple on the straw hats with a simple leather string and a pinch/clasp
View attachment 522751

Even more simple with paracord
View attachment 522752

On my first custom hat I only had them put a 2-ply band on because I wanted a horsehair band and a better-looking pin. This pin is actually a tie-tack that I modified to attach to the band.
View attachment 522753

The one exception was my most recent custom. I knew what hatband I wanted (vintage 6-ply) and was able to find it and get it to the hat maker so he could attach it to the hat properly. Then I had to find the pin I wanted. In this case it was actually a charm for a necklace or bracelet. I cut-off the "loop" and modified it to attach to the band.
View attachment 522755

It would be nice if the stock hatbands on off-the-shelf westerns were a little better but, as long as they are somewhat easy to remove, you can then add something that makes the hat more specifically yours.

Thank you for the compliment. That sure is a nice piece of Titanium you have there! I'm a rider as well and appreciate a nice bike (road or mountain).

Personally, I think ALL of your hats look better with your personalized bands because they are uniquely yours now, and I think that's cool. I especially like the last two. The horsehair is a western classic and that tie tack makes a perfect hat pin. The ribbon with the oil rig is also really nice. The ribbon color is a great accent against the felt and the oil rig definitely looks like it should have been a hat pin on a western hat all along.

To your last point, I agree. That's a great perspective to take. I almost never like the band that comes with the hat I want, and I suppose it's good that it's relatively easy to take that opportunity to personalize the hat anyway.

Thank you for sharing your pics!!

 

[belfastboy]

This is my favourite look. A simple leather band with a concho made from stamping buffalo head nickels (bought off Etsy). Here is one on a hat not yet finished. Or I do a leather cord wrap with an antique West African trading bead as the accent piece.

 

[CKC]

Holy moly @CKC!!
That’s taking those bits and pieces leftover from knife making to a whole new level.
Pretty amazing work!!
Labor intensive…love inspired.
B

Thank you Bowen!

This is definitely one of the side benefits of knife making. I have lots of tools and materials for making things I want but often can't justify purchasing. I've seen some really amazing buckles made by silversmiths that I would love to have on every hat I own, but those beautiful works of art tend to be more expensive than my most of my hats.

Since I already do a lot of leather work for sheaths, I have a couple different whole tanned cow hides rolled up in my shop. For making handles I have a drawer of various metals to choose from. So, making a hat band was just a matter of finding the time.

Since this first one was for a 1/2" band on an Akubra, and my western Stetsons typically use a 3/8" band, I'll probably make at least one 3/8" buckle soon.

 

[CKC]

Off the topic...sort of.....My baby is a Seven Cycles Ti 1997 S-8 mountain bike.

I get the impression you and I have a lot in common. I've been a rider for a long time. In 1997 I won a downhill mountain biking series championship in So. Cal. At that time my DREAM BIKE (cross country hard-tail bike) was a Seven Cycle custom Ti. I never did come up with the cash though...they wanted a lot of very pretty pennies for those gems! Congrats to you for aquiring one! That's a keeper for life IMO.

 

[belfastboy]

I get the impression you and I have a lot in common. I've been a rider for a long time. In 1997 I won a downhill mountain biking series championship in So. Cal. At that time my DREAM BIKE (cross country hard-tail bike) was a Seven Cycle custom Ti. I never did come up with the cash though...they wanted a lot of very pretty pennies for those gems! Congrats to you for aquiring one! That's a keeper for life IMO.

I had a stupid large bike collection for a while but the one keeper will always be my Seven. It was the only year the S8 was made ..Vandermark's first Seven MB design. I bought it off a kid whos father was a Seven dealer in Canada and this was a custom frame that was never picked up. It sat in the guy's garage for about 10 years and finally the kid sold it for gas money. I got a screaming good deal and it fits me perfectly....as if I was meant to be the owner.

 

[CKC]

It is not just on western hats. My pet peeve is the cheap poly ribbon that Stetson puts on, even their high end hats. I have a Stetson LE from 2015 in pure beaver. It is a wonderful felt.....but the sweat was cheap and the ribbon a most horrid cheap poly on both the brim and the crown. First thing to go was that horrid ribbon. Same goes for my 2 150th Anniversary Stetsonians. Nice hat, great felt with cheap, stock black ribbon on both....Cariboo and Mink.

Coincidentally, I know the person that sources and orders those ribbons at Stetson. She's a wonderfully sweet lady that has worked there for nearly 50 years. Of, course she doesn't choose which ribbons go onto which hats. I'd bet the biggest issue for them is cost, of course. This seems to be common with most big hat manufacturers. Most of the time the band, ribbon, buckle, and/or pin are not as nice as the hat itself.

But, I don't think there's any excuse for any manufacturer to cheap-out on the band when it's a high end hat.

 

[belfastboy]

Coincidentally, I know the person that sources and orders those ribbons at Stetson. She's a wonderfully sweet lady that has worked there for nearly 50 years. Of, course she doesn't choose which ribbons go onto which hats. I'd bet the biggest issue for them is cost, of course. This seems to be common with most big hat manufacturers. Most of the time the band, ribbon, buckle, and/or pin are not as nice as the hat itself.

But, I don't think there's any excuse for any manufacturer to cheap-out on the band when it's a high end hat.

I bought the Stetson LE used. But the retail on it in 2015 was $300.
I use vintage grosgrain on all my builds and it works out to under $10 per hat. New decent grosgrain would be $5 or less. I would pay an extra $10 -$20 for quality ribbon work on a $300 hat no second thoughts.

 

[belfastboy]

I get the impression you and I have a lot in common. I've been a rider for a long time. In 1997 I won a downhill mountain biking series championship in So. Cal. At that time my DREAM BIKE (cross country hard-tail bike) was a Seven Cycle custom Ti. I never did come up with the cash though...they wanted a lot of very pretty pennies for those gems! Congrats to you for aquiring one! That's a keeper for life IMO.

I don't have the skill set to make knives but I do collect them!!!

 

[CKC]

This is my favourite look. A simple leather band with a concho made from stamping buffalo head nickels (bought off Etsy). Here is one on a hat not yet finished. Or I do a leather cord wrap with an antique West African trading bead as the accent piece. View attachment 522822 View attachment 522822 View attachment 522821

That's a great look! Also easier to make than a 3 piece buckle. I going to have to make one of these buffalo nickel bands for myself. Thank you for the idea!

 

[CKC]

I don't have the skill set to make knives but I do collect them!!!

We might just have to work out a trade one day.

 

[belfastboy]

That's a great look! Also easier to make than a 3 piece buckle. I going to have to make one of these buffalo nickel bands for myself. Thank you for the idea!

They have a Chicago screw mount on the back. They are good quality but expensive....about $25 per piece. I also have on order a few wolf paw prints etched on mastodon tusk to mount on a leather band but they will be for myself and wife as they are damned expensive.

 

[belfastboy]

We might just have to work out a trade one day.

Yes, .......my knives are folders.....EDC. My favourites are my French Thiers knives....from Fontenille Pataud.

 

[CKC]

They have a Chicago screw mount on the back. They are good quality but expensive....about $25 per piece. I also have on order a few wolf paw prints etched on mastodon tusk to mount on a leather band but they will be for myself and wife as they are damned expensive.

You've given me some great ideas! I have Chicago screws in many different sizes and colors. I also have other silver coins and things like turquoise, abalone and fossilized mammoth molar that I could use in that same way. Hmmm... you've got me thinking.

 

[belfastboy]

You've given me some great ideas! I have Chicago screws in many different sizes and colors. I also have other silver coins and things like turquoise, abalone and fossilized mammoth molar that I could use in that same way. Hmmm... you've got me thinking.

I try to pick a concho that matches the width of the leather. Just punch a hold at the join to accommodate the Chicago screw. The maker of the wolf paw on mastadon has a channel drilled through the back so I can stitch it to the leather.