The PILGRIM

[surely]

I usually have the mute on while watching old "hat" movies. This time I had the sound on: John Wayne & Henry Fonda in Fort Apache. There is something about the way they talk and move. My attention was focused when Fonda told Wayne to keep his men's hats shaped like a fedora. I decided right then to get a vintage hat that could be made to look like the cavalry hat Wayne had in the movie; anyway I always want to grab a hat by the brim and slap it against my leg:

...

I soon found on ebay a hat that should do the trick. The picture looked something like this:

You couldn't see the graphics on the inside because of the cattleman's bash:

The bound brim has a metal band allowing fixing in place the brims geometry. The hat band in rather nice.

 

[indycop]

I could only get the bottom pic. I have always wanted a cavalry hat in that bash. I never really cared for cattlemen crown, also couldn't decide if I wanted blue or gray .

 

[deanglen]

Pretty enough to make my cry, Surely, that's a fine stand in for an M1883 Campaign Hat! have you gandered at trhe Campaign Hat Corps thread? I'm willing to open membership to you right now. Okay. Just did. Feel free to drop it in your sig, if you want.

dean

 

[surely]

The PILGRIM Part 2

I wasn't overly impressed with the felt at first. It seemed rather stiff. However, the more I played with it, while still firm, the felt has become more pliable and softer to the touch.
The sweat is nice but starting to dry out so I got some neatsfoot oil, couldn't find lexol, flipped the band out and revealed this tag:

Now I wonder if beaver refers to the color or to the felt & if so could it possibly be pure beaver felt.

Soooo, I turned on the kettle and started to eliminate the cattleman's bash. Before I could get very far I was called away. When I got back I started to reform the crown using the old center crease which was nicely formed.

There has been so much talk of the IndyJones hats hereabouts, I was beginning to want one. a tough, durable, rain resistant, rugged outdoor hat.

The more I looked at the westerner the more I realized this was that hat, but with its own flair. I liked it just the way it was.

Well I soon was headed for the great outdoors, the BC interior, the Kootney mountains, a great opportunity to test the hat.

It passed with flying colors.

...

Until the next time this is surely saying see ya

 

[carter]

That is surely a beautiful hat! :eusa_clap

 

[deanglen]

That is surely a beautiful hat! :eusa_clap

Is there a pun in there? Hope your attempts at humor go better than mine, today.

dean

 

[Sefton]

Great looking hat based on a great movie. Good job in shaping it. :eusa_clap

I don't mean to hijack your thread,but there is another Henry Fonda movie that has a great hat;"My Darling Clementine". The hat that Fonda wears is my favorite cowboy hat. It looks a bit like a modern rangers hat,but seems to be of a softer felt that will be easy to shape.

 

[surely]

Thanks Sefton, them there's mighty nice words. That Fonda hat surely has a high crown.

"Is there a pun in there? Hope your attempts at humor go better than mine, today." Hey Dean, they're getting better all the time.

 

[RBH]

Hey surely, that is one cool hat! And a thin ribbon to boot!
I think that is what always drew me to the Indy fedoras, they had a certain western style to them [at least to me]
The wide brim and high crown of the Young Indy fedora really has a western look to me.

:eusa_clap Great hat, and it really looks great on you!:eusa_clap

 

[Mark George]

Surely,

That is one snazzy hat! Can't go wrong with a wide brim. What I'm trying to figure out is how my dog got into your picture! Must be something tasty nearby.

Mark

 

[Dinerman]

Looks good, could do with a little bit of steaming.
I can't tell if it's just the picture, but is the brim wavy in the front?

 

[jeff]

Bravo!

Now there's a hat with some character!

 

[surely]

Dinerman, the brim edge is wavy. My impression is that its the metal band. I'm going to put a wet towel on the edge and press down on a hard surface with a steam iron. Let you know how it works. Got any other ideas.

Jeff," Now there's a hat with some character!" Didn't you mean there's some character with a hat?...lol

Mark George: snazzy huh? I like that. The brim is 31/2" It seemed big at first, but after being in the hot noon day sun, the shade it created was well worth the brief moments of wiping the sweat off my forehead.

RBH: I agree. There seems to have been some cross fertilization in the development of hat styles. I've read someplace that a western hat was the fusion of the sombrero and the European fedora.

Sefton: Looking at that photo got me thinking how the western hat had so much variety in the bashes.

 

[surely]

Pretty enough to make my cry, Surely, that's a fine stand in for an M1883 Campaign Hat! have you gandered at trhe Campaign Hat Corps thread? I'm willing to open membership to you right now. Okay. Just did. Feel free to drop it in your sig, if you want.

dean

Why, I'd be might proud to be a member. Yep, I surely am....

 

[deanglen]

These guys agreed to model theirs for your appraisal, potential bash styles you might consider, even.

dean

 

[carter]

Originally Posted by carter
That is surely a beautiful hat! :eusa_clap

Originally posted by deanglen
Is there a pun in there?

Yup, there surely is.

Originally posted by Sefton
there is another Henry Fonda movie that has a great hat;"My Darling Clementine". The hat that Fonda wears is my favorite cowboy hat. It looks a bit like a modern rangers hat

That bash looks like a Montana Peak. Anyone out there ever tried one of these at home?

 

[dostacos]

my question is where is the shot of you slapping the hat against your leg?

 

[deanglen]

That bash looks like a Montana Peak. Anyone out there ever tried one of these at home?

Yes.

dean

 

[carter]

Originally posted by deanglen
Yes.

Dean,

Thanks for not making that reponse too long-winded.

Is there a thread on the Montana Peak? (I'll go look as soon as I post this.)

If there is no thread, can you share a little wisdom regarding the procedure?

Please and thank you, Sir.

 

[deanglen]

Dean,

Thanks for not making that reponse too long-winded.

Is there a thread on the Montana Peak? (I'll go look as soon as I post this.)

If there is no thread, can you share a little wisdom regarding the procedure?

Please and thank you, Sir.

Well...since you insist. Basically you use your fingers to indent the crown at four places, somewhat equally and you end up with this. This picture has the largest one shot inclusion of variety in Montana Peaks I have ever seen. From behind the hats would look similar to the front.

There are hat blocks that give you a perfectly symmetrical peak. Personally, I prefer the hand indent.

The RCMP has it's own style of peak, indent in front.

On a Fedora, it would make the front look identical to the back. This Open Road I used to own could have had a MontanatPeak in this shot, though it was actually a diamond bash with front tight pinch.

I have this small image from an early 1900's clothing ad that has a fedora with a Montana Peak

Actually I think shallow Montana Peak dents would look okay on a fedora, but it isn't the standard so it looks perhaps a bit affected. And that's the long and short of it.

dean