Western, anyone?

[Hurricane Jack]

^^^Click, save. Great pics Ross! Monument Valley is ahh inspiring when you are there. Especially when you learn there are about a dozen Navajo families grandfathered in & allowed to live there still.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Rand’s 10X:

 

[Jesse John]

Found this No. 1 Quality online. I had second dibs on it and luckily, the first person in line turned it down.Happy that I am the new caregiver of this beautiful gem and I had to take it for a spin. Would appreciate some help on identifying an age for it. But I’m going to say late 40s early 50s as a guess. Can’t believe how soft this sweatband is

 

[Woodtroll]

That's a nice hat - good catch!

 

[BobHufford]

Found this No. 1 Quality online.

Great looking No. 1 Jesse! I like the truck a lot too. What year is it? Came close to buying a new Dodge truck in '78. Wish I would have.

Also digging that Rand's @deadlyhandsome !

 

[deadlyhandsome]

View attachment 368349 Found this No. 1 Quality online. I had second dibs on it and luckily, the first person in line turned it down. The seller told me it was someone in FL who didn’t want it… I'm assuming it didn’t fit in “Dads” collection.. could be wrong though. But am I?? I am the new caregiver of this beautiful gem and I had to take it for a spin. Would appreciate some help on identifying an age for it. But I’m going to say late 40s early 50s as a guess. Can’t believe how soft this sweatband is
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This is a favorite style. Great find!

 

[Jesse John]

Rand’s 10X:

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That ribbon is such a classic look. Really brings that large profile together. Very nice sir, along with your other fantastic westerns!

 

[Jesse John]

Great looking No. 1 Jesse! I like the truck a lot too. What year is it? Came close to buying a new Dodge truck in '78. Wish I would have.

Also digging that Rand's @deadlyhandsome !

Hey Bob thanks! This one is an ‘85 D150. 83k in miles. Picked it up last year and it’s been a ton of fun. Gotta put her away for the winter soon! I dig the 70s line of Dodge pickups. The older the better! Thanks for the compliments!

This is a favorite style. Great find!

I’m definitely a fan! I’ve acquired a few like this one. Each time I think “it’ll probably be like the last. Will I love it?” Then I get it and the answer is… yes. Yes I do love it

 

[Blare]

View attachment 368349 Found this No. 1 Quality online. I had second dibs on it and luckily, the first person in line turned it down.Happy that I am the new caregiver of this beautiful gem and I had to take it for a spin. Would appreciate some help on identifying an age for it. But I’m going to say late 40s early 50s as a guess. Can’t believe how soft this sweatband is
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That is a real beauty, Jesse.

 

[glider]

Nice hat but I'm afraid the Dodge stole the show for me.

 

[hatophile]

View attachment 368349 Found this No. 1 Quality online. I had second dibs on it and luckily, the first person in line turned it down.Happy that I am the new caregiver of this beautiful gem and I had to take it for a spin. Would appreciate some help on identifying an age for it. But I’m going to say late 40s early 50s as a guess. Can’t believe how soft this sweatband is
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Super hat!

 

[Hurricane Jack]

View attachment 368349 Found this No. 1 Quality online. I had second dibs on it and luckily, the first person in line turned it down.Happy that I am the new caregiver of this beautiful gem and I had to take it for a spin. Would appreciate some help on identifying an age for it. But I’m going to say late 40s early 50s as a guess. Can’t believe how soft this sweatband is
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I consider mine to be 1940's - 1950's but will defer to the expert.

 

[hatophile]

I consider mine to be 1940's - 1950's but will defer to the expert.

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Nice, hat and truck.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Stetson One-hundred NOR, tan with dogbone crease.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

1989 Kevin O'Farrell Natural Beaver as rain showers move out this morning.

 

[Jesse John]

I consider mine to be 1940's - 1950's but will defer to the expert.

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Also, super truck!!

Nice hat but I'm afraid the Dodge stole the show for me.

I’m ok with this! Thank you!

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Nice, hat and truck.

Also, super truck!!

I must admit guys, the Chevrolet is not mine. Yrs ago I had a 5-window cab I drove pretty regularly.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

1989 Kevin O'Farrell 3x6 Rancher in Dun with 3-cord ribbon. The hand is so soft & the brim is nice & thin. It is soft enough to roll & give if you lean & bump into something with the brim, without knocking your hat off.

Much nicer than my 1987 Ritch Rand 10X chocolate which was a 3.25" BE brim Rancher before I made it a 4-corner. But different price points. At the time Kevin's prices were ~$200 more than Rand's. Kevin knew how to work felt & make a Western hat.

 

[Bamaboots]

1989 Kevin O'Farrell 3x6 Rancher in Dun with 3-cord ribbon. The hand is so soft & the brim is nice & thin. It is soft enough to roll & give if you lean & bump into something with the brim, without knocking your hat off.

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Much nicer than my 1987 Ritch Rand 10X chocolate which was a 3.25" BE brim Rancher before I made it a 4-corner. But different price points. At the time Kevin's prices were ~$200 more than Rand's. Kevin knew how to work felt & make a Western hat.

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Interesting contrast, HJ. The pics of the O’Farrell show just how thin that brim is. Unusual in a modern western. The only O’Farrel’s I’ve handled were post Kevin and I wasn’t that impressed. Great colors on both of those and I know Rand makes a great cowboy hat but not all makers have the skill or willingness to get a hat to where your O’Farrell is.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Interesting contrast, HJ. The pics of the O’Farrell show just how thin that brim is. Unusual in a modern western. The only O’Farrel’s I’ve handled were post Kevin and I wasn’t that impressed. Great colors on both of those and I know Rand makes a great cowboy hat but not all makers have the skill or willingness to get a hat to where your O’Farrell is.

Thanks BB. I think it's labor intensive & takes lots of experience to get it there & your price point & market have to justify the effort. Except for maybe his earliest days Rand always had 3 to 5 employees making hats. Kevin didn't. Most Kevin O'Farrell collectors use 1990 as a cutoff date even though he worked with the Glenn family training them for a short while. I have one Glenn family era O'Farrell hat for comparison & have no interest in the Canyon Road era or Santa Fe store hats.

This 3x6 has a brim probably among the nicest of any hat I own. It would come close to a 7XCB. If you go much beyond a thin 3-1/2 in a Western brim it's going to need a certain amount of stiffener. Much has been made about the scene in The Searchers where the brim of John Wayne's hat rolls up in the wind only to relax after the wind gust subsides. That's just movie magic. The only wide brim hat I've ever seen or handled that could even come close to doing that would be a wool Civil War slouch hat. And that may very well be what his hat is supposed to be in the movie. If you recall the character Ethan Edwards as played by John Wayne, is returning to his family at the end of the Civil War so it's 1865. Even if John B. Stetson had made his first beaver BOP by that time in 1865 it would be highly unlikely that Ethan Edwards would have one. I think it's a slouch hat.