Western, anyone?

[Hurricane Jack]

I must admit, I'm not much of a cowboy... but every few years I have a "Man With No Name" Halloween costume I drag out of storage...

Here's a closer look at the hat:

The makings of a great song too.

 

[Herb Roflcopter]

Who made the hat? It looks like the one Penman was making.

I looked at the underside of the hat...

Buffalo Gal Hatters in Montana. Their website seems to be down- but when I originally bought the hat, it was through a vendor who was specializing in the outfit from Eastwood's spaghetti westerns, so I had no direct contact with this hatter.

On a side note, I looked up the vendor and they closed up shop in 2018. A shame, really. They were excellent folks to do business with.

https://www.themanwithnoname.info/the-holster/spaghetti-western-replicas-holster

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Woomera at the gate.

 

[Bamaboots]

83° @ 80% humidity at 9:00 am when I wore this big Montecristi out to water the tomatoes and my herb garden. With the weave on this thing, it wasn’t long before the temp and humidity we’re higher under the crown. Wiped the sweat down at least three times during the short outing. The straw got a good conditioning.

 

[Yahoody]

I generally I prefer to make my own western hats out of 100% Winchester blanks or just as likely I'd buy a similar custom hat typically made from the same Winchester felt. But I have gotten lazy as of late and wanted a couple of store bought manufactured hats. Last one I bought was a Rodeo King 10X. Nothing special, but the price was good and it is a solid felt hat.

More recently I've been looking for a 40X or better yet a 100x from American hat Co. in Texas. On a lark I called on Monday and had a 100X American Hat delivered yesterday. Again, nothing special for felt but it is obvious someone took extra time pelting this one. Still need to decide if the 100X AmH Co is worth double the price of the 10X Rodeo King. Likely not. The 100X is nothing to write home about.

I do think Am Hat Co. makes a outstanding western straw hat. I have a couple of them with a 5" brim that I use on a regular basis.

Both companies make a decent hats. Not great hats, IMO, just good working hats. Neither is as nice (pelting) or as durable ( as the 100% beaver felt) as my Winchester hats are, be it custom or built at home. All of the less expensive than the AmH Co. 40x or 100X. The nice thing that really stands out is the AmH Co' felt its by far the thinnest and lightest felt hat I own for size. By a fair bit. It has a 5" brim and 6" crown. Counts for something I guess. Good sweat, very cheap liner, fair sewing.

10x Rodeo King is the "best buy", better hat is my opinion. Rodeo King may not be the better felt or pelted to a fine finish but my impression is the RK hats are built better. That surprised me after owning AmerH Co. straws and the hype ($) behind their felt. A real disappointment for the price you pay for a 40X or 100X AmerH Co. hats. If you have a choice and some time buy a reasonably priced custom ($600 or under) built on Winchester felt, you'll be happier. Or just stick to 7x or a decent step up for quality and price, the 10X Rodeo King hats.


The newest AmH Co. lid with a full 5" brim . I added my silver concho.

 

[Yahoody]

83° @ 80% humidity at 9:00 am when I wore this big Montecristi out to water the tomatoes and my herb garden. With the weave on this thing, it wasn’t long before the temp and humidity we’re higher under the crown. Wiped the sweat down at least three times during the short outing. The straw got a good conditioning.
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That is a nice hat Mr. Boots! I can relate to the heat and humidity. We are doing a bit better here. I suspect you guys can swim at 80%. Nasty Over cast (fire smoke) here today. 109F this afternoon, 43% humidity. Yes, the "dry" heat More typically 17% here.

Setting up a portable, 1100 gallon, stock tank and filling it took about 20 minutes. And that just about did me in

Hat was a wide brimmed, palm leaf Sunbody, as usual.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

WTF?

 

[Robieman]

I generally I prefer to make my own western hats out of 100% Winchester blanks or just as likely I'd buy a similar custom hat typically made from the same Winchester felt. But I have gotten lazy as of late and wanted a couple of store bought manufactured hats. Last one I bought was a Rodeo King 10X. Nothing special, but the price was good and it is a solid felt hat.

More recently I've been looking for a 40X or better yet a 100x from American hat Co. in Texas. On a lark I called on Monday and had a 100X American Hat delivered yesterday. Again, nothing special for felt but it is obvious someone took extra time pelting this one. Still need to decide if the 100X AmH Co is worth double the price of the 10X Rodeo King. Likely not. The 100X is nothing to write home about.

I do think Am Hat Co. makes a outstanding western straw hat. I have a couple of them with a 5" brim that I use on a regular basis.

Both companies make a decent hats. Not great hats, IMO, just good working hats. Neither is as nice (pelting) or as durable ( as the 100% beaver felt) as my Winchester hats are, be it custom or built at home. All of the less expensive than the AmH Co. 40x or 100X. The nice thing that really stands out is the AmH Co' felt its by far the thinnest and lightest felt hat I own for size. By a fair bit. It has a 5" brim and 6" crown. Counts for something I guess. Good sweat, very cheap liner, fair sewing.

10x Rodeo King is the "best buy", better hat is my opinion. Rodeo King may not be the better felt or pelted to a fine finish but my impression is the RK hats are built better. That surprised me after owning AmerH Co. straws and the hype ($) behind their felt. A real disappointment for the price you pay for a 40X or 100X AmerH Co. hats. If you have a choice and some time buy a reasonably priced custom ($600 or under) built on Winchester felt, you'll be happier. Or just stick to 7x or a decent step up for quality and price, the 10X Rodeo King hats.


The newest AmH Co. lid with a full 5" brim . I added my silver concho.
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Nice review of the 2 hats. I too have been looking at AHC ones, but the price does seem high. But good to know the felt is nice like you said. I would be curious how it compares to the Mackey you got a while back, if you don’t mind. I’ve looked at their website and their prices are very good.

 

[Robieman]

WTF?

View attachment 350894

Perhaps a disagreement with the wife!

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Perhaps a disagreement with the wife!

I can make out the Ace of Spades crease but what happened to the side?

 

[Bamaboots]

I can make out the Ace of Spades crease but what happened to the side?

I saw that as well. I think the Sheriff and the prisoner were wondering the same thing.

 

[Bamaboots]

That is a nice hat Mr. Boots! I can relate to the heat and humidity. We are doing a bit better here. I suspect you guys can swim at 80%. Nasty Over cast (fire smoke) here today. 109F this afternoon, 43% humidity. Yes, the "dry" heat More typically 17% here.

Thanks, Yahoody. Get a kick out of all your western postings. Interesting stuff on the modern hats. We get a taste of that smoke down South occasionally. It hit 110° on the heat index here yesterday. I feel your pain on the humidity. It’s been especially brutal for us this week.

 

[Woodtroll]

WTF?

View attachment 350894

Maybe he got whacked upside the head with one of those rifle barrels? Or it's a "side mule kick" crease?

 

[Yahoody]

Nice review of the 2 hats. I too have been looking at AHC ones, but the price does seem high. But good to know the felt is nice like you said. I would be curious how it compares to the Mackey you got a while back, if you don’t mind. I’ve looked at their website and their prices are very good.

Thanks Robie. Glad anyone can find a use for the info.

Mackey was who I had in mind when I wrote the above. I understand some don't like the Winchester felts compared to older felt. I recently found if you wanted to strip the lacquer (and stiffness) out of a Winchester blank easy enough to do for a softer felt. All it takes is alcohol.

Sorry, but back to the question. I have 4 Mackey hats. I'll hit the sales points that always concern me. Mackey delivers a custom hat in a timely manner. That is important to me. Bound edges are machine sewn, sweats are hand sewn. I can do a good hand sewn sweat. So that bothers me some. Never noted that until I rebuilt one of their hats. They use the highest quality liners and sweats. The pelting on a 100% beaver blank is just so, so. Just past the mark of acceptable to unacceptable. And why they are able to sell their hats at that price point. I have one really nice hat of the 4 that needed some serious extra work on the pelting that should have been done but wasn't.

But all in there are several makers using Winchester beaver in the $500 range. Mackey is one of my favorite. They are consistent on hat quality and easy to work with. I could have gotten a nice 100% beaver Mackey for the price of my new AMH Co. hat and had money enough left over to buy a 10X Rodeo King.

Once I put that in writing guess I have the perspective I was looking for. The Winchester blanks make great working hats. Been using one I built pretty hard now for 7 years. Rebuilt it once. The 40X and 100X AmH Co hats? Their liners are the least expensive you can buy. The leather sweats middle of the road. Pelting? decent and done on a machine. Foo-foo hats if you are making a in hand comparison to the others mentioned. They'd make a nice dress hat IMO. If I were to guess I'd have to think they were using Winchester dress weight felt with a lot of lacquer. Which my alcohol test seemed to confirm. I'd be surprised if they could live up to day to day use here. I'll update this 5 years from now. 'Cuz I sure could be wrong.

Now that I have been forced to put my thinking cap on......

7x Rodeo King hats are yoeman's work. I like them and they are cheap ($200 to $250). But the 10X Rodeo King is a good step up on the 7x and when I start making comparisons to all these 100% beaver hats, that RK 10x is a hat that makes me like it all the more @ under $350. It is a damn fine hat IMO. May be a bit over priced but a hard value to match if you are looing around.

If you wanted a another nice hat I'd think hard on that 10x. If you don't own a 100% beaver and have an extra $100 to burn I'd buy a Mackey made to order. That is a extra $100 well spent either way.

 

[BobHufford]

I can make out the Ace of Spades crease but what happened to the side?

The actor (not used to wearing a big hat) banged it getting into the Jeep Cherokee for the ride to the location. Or maybe not…

 

[Yahoody]

WTF?

View attachment 350894

Some nice hats and guns there. Anyone know the movie?

 

[Redshoes51]

How about in the art style of David Mann?

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Those are marvelous filters!!!

~shoes~

 

[Yahoody]

Thanks Boots! I took a moment to look up the heat index. A number I usually ignore. Likely to my own determent.

It hit 110° on the heat index here yesterday. I feel your pain on the humidity. It’s been especially brutal for us this week.

109 and 43% is a shocking
Heat Index Temperature: 137°F (58°C or 331K)
Extreme danger: at this condition, heat stroke is imminent.

I'm an idiot as my wife will tell you....no fooking wonder I felt like chit the rest of the afternoon. The more typical 15% humidity truly is balmy for us. I need to pay better attention That dry heat does make a difference. Surprised at just how much by the numbers.

 

[Robieman]

Thanks Robie. Glad anyone can find a use for the info.

Mackey was who I had in mind when I wrote the above. I understand some don't like the Winchester felts compared to older felt. I recently found if you wanted to strip the lacquer (and stiffness) out of a Winchester blank easy enough to do for a softer felt. All it takes is alcohol.

Sorry, but back to the question. I have 4 Mackey hats. I'll hit the sales points that always concern me. Mackey delivers a custom hat in a timely manner. That is important to me. Bound edges are machine sewn, sweats are hand sewn. I can do a good hand sewn sweat. So that bothers me some. Never noted that until I rebuilt one of their hats. They use the highest quality liners and sweats. The pelting on a 100% beaver blank is just so, so. Just past the mark of acceptable to unacceptable. And why they are able to sell their hats at that price point. I have one really nice hat of the 4 that needed some serious extra work on the pelting that should have been done but wasn't.

But all in there are several makers using Winchester beaver in the $500 range. Mackey is one of my favorite. They are consistent on hat quality and easy to work with. I could have gotten a nice 100% beaver Mackey for the price of my new AMH Co. hat and had money enough left over to buy a 10X Rodeo King.

Once I put that in writing guess I have the perspective I was looking for. The Winchester blanks make great working hats. Been using one I built pretty hard now for 7 years. Rebuilt it once. The 40X and 100X AmH Co hats? Their liners are the least expensive you can buy. The leather sweats middle of the road. Pelting? decent and done on a machine. Foo-foo hats if you are making a in hand comparison to the others mentioned. They'd make a nice dress hat IMO. If I were to guess I'd have to think they were using Winchester dress weight felt with a lot of lacquer. Which my alcohol test seemed to confirm. I'd be surprised if they could live up to day to day use here. I'll update this 5 years from now. 'Cuz I sure could be wrong.

Now that I have been forced to put my thinking cap on......

7x Rodeo King hats are yoeman's work. I like them and they are cheap ($200 to $250). But the 10X Rodeo King is a good step up on the 7x and when I start making comparisons to all these 100% beaver hats, that RK 10x is a hat that makes me like it all the more @ under $350. It is a damn fine hat IMO. May be a bit over priced but a hard value to match if you are looing around.

If you wanted a another nice hat I'd think hard on that 10x. If you don't own a 100% beaver and have an extra $100 to burn I'd buy a Mackey made to order. That is a extra $100 well spent either way.

Thanks for the comparisons. I do already have a few 100% beaver hats, all Winchester no doubt. Pretty stiff except the one I got from Michael Gannon. It’s really soft. He obviously does better on his. But I was curious about your thoughts as I know you work in yours. Thanks again.

 

[Yahoody]

Interesting that some want a softer felt. I have no use for one but it was fun to find out how to make a softer blank. Answer is obvious, it just never occurred to me. Mr. Gannon obviously figured it out some time ago.