The open crown Western hat?

[Bamaboots]

Some times it just takes a while to find a style that fits your personality.
There aint no rules as to how long that may take
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I like an open crown simply because they fit my odd shaped noggin better than most creases. But nothing wrong with adding a little modern style to them All business up front, and a party on the side. Small party may be...but a party none the less

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The OC does look good on you and those small dents add a little character. I’m a fan. Ryan Bingham is as well though his brim has a little too much shovel in it for my taste but it suits him well.

 

[Yahoody]

Yes Sir! Good catch. It was Bingham's hat that first caught my eye. So I bought a new open crown silver belly to try a similar shape . Bingham has the best hat on Yellowstone IMO. Taylor Sheridan just bought the Texas 6666 ranch and written/produced some great movies. Which I think is truly awesome! But his personal choice in hats is all Texas (a "Texas Slider" style) as are most of the Yellowstone hats (or just plain store bought "cattelemen" blase') and much to be desired if you have spent any time in Montana. Kyycee aka Luke Grimes is the exception with what looks to be a well worn Amish. Way more likely to see one of them on a Montana Cowboy or on the reservation. Really tough hats. Hat choices are a trivial complaint because I like the show a lot. Reining cow horses are every where these days. But it aint the Jaquima to Freno traditions. Too bad Sheridan isn't focusing on that when it comes to horses.

Truth be told though there has always been a Texas/Montana connection going back to the 1880s when the Texas XIT moved cattle north to Montana and set up a summer grazing operation there. At one time the XIT had more grazing land in Montana than Texas. Always been a mix of Californio traditions, grazer bits, spade bits and a rush to get it done because it is either too hot or too cold, to allow one to "take the time".


By the look of it I'd guess a 100% beaver there.

'Yellowstone' Creator Taylor Sheridan Just Bought 1 of the Largest Ranches in the World -- Inside His Plans for the Four Sixes Ranch (cheatsheet.us.com)


My newest "Bingham" hat.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

^^^Thanks for the link, Yahoody. I enjoyed the part on the history of the ranch.

 

[Yahoody]

Nothing to do with open crown hats but a nice looking, American Hat Co, big brim (5") Texas slider Worn proper, down around your ears Either he don't get out much, or the wind must not blow in that part of Texas where Taylor Sheridan is from

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Worn proper, down around our ears

Yep.

 

[Yahoody]

Hurricane Jack, "Yep"

 

[Bamaboots]

^^^Thanks for the link, Yahoody. I enjoyed the part on the history of the ranch.

Ditto.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Bumping thread with my Resistol Ft. Worth 3X.
From this:

To this:

 

[gam]

This was my first attempt at, well, everything - from making a hat block, a brim block, a couple of stands for them, a hat jack, blocking a hat, sewing a sweatband on, and making up a ribbon and bow.

I'd come across this picture on the net of a Stetson open crown circa 1900.

Using this Biltmore 1 picked up some weeks back.

Turned it into this (not without some issues along the way):

Not really happy with the bow, but the ribbon isn't attached to the hat so I'll try again. There's still some dips and bumps on the crown and brim that need some work, but all-in-all, "not as bad as I'd feared, not as good as I'd hoped" pretty much sums it up.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

This was my first attempt at, well, everything - from making a hat block, a brim block, a couple of stands for them, a hat jack, blocking a hat, sewing a sweatband on, and making up a ribbon and bow.

I'd come across this picture on the net of a Stetson open crown circa 1900. View attachment 432042

Using this Biltmore 1 picked up some weeks back.
View attachment 432043

Turned it into this (not without some issues along the way):
View attachment 432044
View attachment 432045

Not really happy with the bow, but the ribbon isn't attached to the hat so I'll try again. There's still some dips and bumps on the crown and brim that need some work, but all-in-all, "not as bad as I'd feared, not as good as I'd hoped" pretty much sums it up.

The thing that's hard in trying to clone a BOP without the proper block is getting the upper crown shoulder just right. You just can't do it on a clone without one.

 

[M Hatman]

Here are a few......

And people forget the hands down best selling open crown "western" hat to everyone from the bankers, and railroad men and black smiths, to the likes of Butch Cassidy and Bat Masterson.....the lowly Derby. For when you had to live in or went to town.........you wore a Derby.

I will say, for some reason a nice open crown hat, just says "America" and "Western" to me........

 

[gam]

The thing that's hard in trying to clone a BOP without the proper block is getting the upper crown shoulder just right. You just can't do it on a clone without one.

One of my 'issues' was that my block was 5 1/4" and the crown of the hat was 6". I was hoping to use the extra to stretch out the brim somewhat, but it resisted my efforts so much that I feared tearing or breaking it. So I left it with the bottom of the block at the original brim break.

That meant I had to hand form the top of the crown, which is why it's much more rounded.

There seemed to be an awful lot of stiffener from the brim break up about 1 1/4". For instance I could fairly easily dimple the top of the crown with my finger, a little more pressure was needed for the sides, but that 1 1/4' strip around the hat was like trying to dimple the block with my finger - no give at all.

The block profile.

The hat as it came off the block. Top is still depressed.

The inside. I'm guessing the discoloured strip is the extra stiffening. Is this normal in Westerns?

 

[Hurricane Jack]

There seemed to be an awful lot of stiffener from the brim break up about 1 1/4".

The inside. I'm guessing the discoloured strip is the extra stiffening. Is this normal in Westerns?

I've not encountered that but it could be something Biltmore did to firm up the brim break. I've never owned a Biltmore.

 

[M Hatman]

One of my 'issues' was that my block was 5 1/4" and the crown of the hat was 6". I was hoping to use the extra to stretch out the brim somewhat, but it resisted my efforts so much that I feared tearing or breaking it. So I left it with the bottom of the block at the original brim break.

That meant I had to hand form the top of the crown, which is why it's much more rounded.

There seemed to be an awful lot of stiffener from the brim break up about 1 1/4". For instance I could fairly easily dimple the top of the crown with my finger, a little more pressure was needed for the sides, but that 1 1/4' strip around the hat was like trying to dimple the block with my finger - no give at all.

The block profile.

View attachment 432202

The hat as it came off the block. Top is still depressed.
View attachment 432204

The inside. I'm guessing the discoloured strip is the extra stiffening. Is this normal in Westerns?
View attachment 432205

Discolored strip is a reaction of the dye to the sweat band leather (tannic acids from the leather processing). Same thing happens when you stack your hats without something between them to prevent the sweat from the hat on top coming against the hat underneath.

Occasionally the ribbon will effect the dye in a similar fashion (and also can in an opposite way, where the ribbon protects the felt from oxidation and light exposure, thus leaving a darker band, the original color of the felt) due to chemical residue in both the hatband and the felt.

And of course Leather hats bands are often a problem all their own......

 

[gam]

Thanks, fellas. Every piece of information helps.