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Western, anyone?

bowlerman

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6,294
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South Dakota
Thanks, Frank. I might look into that brim cutter. The "brim cutter" I have used is really a leatherworking tool, and the length you set it at has to be cut freehand, which made for a little damage control with sandpaper...

I actually tried a bit of "Gus" as well as mule kicks, and though it did lower the crown a bit, I found that I like the balance of the hat in the abstract much more with the mesa pinch. I'm not too tall (understatement-- about 5'5") and so I just get nervous when hats dwarf me.

In what part of the CA desert do you live, if you don't mind me asking?

Neo-- maybe my soft spot for TN accounts for our similar taste in hats :)
 
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jlee562

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5,099
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San Francisco, CA
Alright, I have messed around a lot with my grey hat from ebay guy, and I have to say it is one of the most easily manipulatable hats I've ever seen, which as far as I understand, would indicate more beaver content, right?

Not necessarily. Could also be due to the relative amount of stiffener.
 

frussell

One Too Many
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1,409
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California Desert
bowlerman - the part near Palm Springs. Once you get past the golf courses, it's all desert around here, and temperatures can be similar to Death Valley. Frank
 

bowlerman

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6,294
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South Dakota
Project du jour: Stetson 3X eddie bauer western, long ovalified, dented, and replaced the band. I couldn't deal with the tacky 70s band it came with.
Before:
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After:
0052v.jpg
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0112t.jpg
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First time ever messing with a ribbon, and it's VERY amateur, but I'm already wearing it a lot!
 

frussell

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1,409
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California Desert
Great job. I thought about buying one of those a few weeks ago, they pop up from time to time. The hat band was the one thing that stopped me. That's a hat I would wear now. Frank
 

fmw

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1,017
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USA
A pencil curled Western. Tthat's very cool. Not only would I wear it but I would treasure it. Great hat.
 

barrowjh

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1,398
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Maryville Tennessee
Bowlerman - great idea and a nice job executing it - I have a couple of '70s - early '80s hats that need a ribbon replacement also. Felts were often still made well, but some of the ribbon treatments - I have one that looks like a strip of shag carpet! good grief. I'm hoping to be able to change out the ribbon in a visit to Buckaroo Hatters in Covington someday. I think the brim curl is more of a 'full kettle curl' rather than a pencil curl, and it was a popular style. Maybe someone will help us pinpoint its popularity; my guess is late 19th century - early 20th century (for full kettle curl western hats). Yours is a full kettle curl with a bound edge, and I presume it would still be called a full kettle curl. The pencil-curl brims on bowlers and homburgs were tighter curls.

Here's my full kettle curl similar to yours (with the shag carpet) - I put a flare crown into it, amateurish, but its not as ugly as the shag carpet!
072310001.jpg
 

bowlerman

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6,294
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South Dakota
bowlerman - the part near Palm Springs. Once you get past the golf courses, it's all desert around here, and temperatures can be similar to Death Valley. Frank

I lived in Thousand Oaks (about 40 mi north of LA on the 101) from the time I was 8 until I was 25, with the exception of going to school. Spent a lot of time on the 15, 5, etc., but never actually stopped in Palm Springs. I really love the desert.
 

bowlerman

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6,294
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South Dakota
fmw, Neo, randooch, Frank, Josh: Thanks! I only put a few holes in my thumb trying to throw a stitch through the felt... but ended up putting a spot of glue anyway.
It is kind of a treasure now. It definitely has elements of a few different hat types-- a little Homburg, a little cowboy, a little 3:10 to Yuma, I don't know what.
Wiser Hatter-- yes, the ribbon appears to have made ALL the difference in this one.
Josh-- That's a great flared flat top! That looks like it would be far beyond my skill level!
 

1961MJS

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3,370
Location
Norman Oklahoma
Project du jour: Stetson 3X eddie bauer western, long ovalified, dented, and replaced the band. I couldn't deal with the tacky 70s band it came with.

After:

0112t.jpg
[/IMG]

First time ever messing with a ribbon, and it's VERY amateur, but I'm already wearing it a lot!
Hi Bowlerman

I'm VERY impressed, first of all by your skill, and secondly in the hat itself. That's not a look that I would have thought went with a t-shirt, but it's a casual homburg ,which is sort of like saying beautifully ugly or formally informal. Some form of copy is now on my list of things to do, after I get a new Sahara colored Safari hat (my wool one shrunk in the rain). I'm kind of thinking Pecan with a Copper band and copper brim.

Oh, speaking of Thousand Oaks, I used to go there on business back in the late 1980's with Northrup. Nice place, we used to stay at the Casa Sierna Resort Hotel. I read online that it's VERY rundown now. That's where I learned to eat my eggs with Pic-ante sauce.

Good job on the hat
 
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Joao Encarnado

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7,776
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Portugal
I think the brim curl is more of a 'full kettle curl' rather than a pencil curl, and it was a popular style. Maybe someone will help us pinpoint its popularity; my guess is late 19th century - early 20th century (for full kettle curl western hats).

Maybe Victorian top hats started the brim curl?
 

barrowjh

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1,398
Location
Maryville Tennessee
Joao Encarnado - Yes, there was a particular hat style that was very prominent from 1830s - 1880s, think of the hat worn by Depp's character in Dead Man - a flare crown, short relative to the typical top hat, with the usual pencil-curl brim. It seems logical that in practice, in sunny climes, the brim would get wider and the curl more relaxed. However, that is simply a best guess; someone with more specific knowledge might be able to help us out.
 

Joao Encarnado

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Portugal
However, that is simply a best guess; someone with more specific knowledge might be able to help us out.

True but some facts can be collected on the wikipedia:
-Original top hats (1790-1840) might had wider brim than today
-Narrow brim top hats were popular in 1840-1860
-J.B. Stetson started making the BOP in 1865 and until then there was no "cowboy hat"
-Before 1865 the popular hat in American West was the bowler hat
-Bowler hat was designed in 1849
-Bowler hats usually have curled brims (at least by the pictures I have seen)
 
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bowlerman

I'll Lock Up
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6,294
Location
South Dakota
True but some facts can be collected on the wikipedia:
-Original top hats (1790-1840) might had wider brim than today
-Narrow brim top hats were popular in 1840-1860
-J.B. Stetson started making the BOP in 1865 and until then there was no "cowboy hat"
-Before 1865 the popular hat in American West was the bowler hat
-Bowler hat was designed in 1849
-Bowler hats usually have curled brims (at least by the pictures I have seen)

...and I believe Johnny Depp's character (William Blake) in "Dead Man" said he got his hat "in Cleveland." :)
 

frussell

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1,409
Location
California Desert
My new to me gigantic size 8 Resistol Diamond Horseshoe from Casechopper. After a good cleanup and wet-down with clean water from a spray bottle. Really keeps the sun out of my eyes as-is. Re-shaping, shrinking and tweaking to come. If not successful, I believe my wife and I will use it as a gazebo in the summer weather. Will post pictures after treatment. Frank
http://
P4070058.jpg
 

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