For over a week, I had been GREATLY admiring the re-shaping job that Bill @wsmontana did on his Resistol Lil Big Un. I located a duplicate of the hat on the Bay, and was trying to decide if I wanted it, knowing from the photos that it would need shaping, brim curling, brim binding, and a new ribbon. Then, while pondering, another option appeared. I believed that the seller had mislabeled it in the listing, calling it wool felt. I was peripherally familiar with BountyHunter Hats, which began in 1991 in Colorado. I knew that in 1996, apprentice hatmaker Nate Funmaker, (a full-blooded Winnebago Native American), purchased the business from his former employer, shortly afterwards re-christening it as Nathaniel’s Custom Hats. I could find no evidence that BountyHunter, under either owner, dealt in anything but fur felt, so I put in a RIDICULOUSLY low bid, and discovered upon arising last Sunday, that I had won. When the hat arrived today, my hunch was confirmed, not only by look and feel, but by a hand-written tape on the underside of the sweatband, which read:
100% BLK RABBIT
WESTERN SLOPE
SZ. 23” R.O.
4 ½” BRIM
6 ¼ CROWN
ON CARLSBAD BLOCK
NF 12/96
Woo-hoo! A VERY nice fur felt hat, that required only a small piece of foam sizing tape to snug it up on my head. With only minor re-creasing, I was able to duplicate the hat I wanted, utilizing a hand-made custom, for 30% of the cost of the needed-significant-work Resistol. This is now, essentially, a black version of my Stetson Tom Mix. SO pleased!
100% BLK RABBIT
WESTERN SLOPE
SZ. 23” R.O.
4 ½” BRIM
6 ¼ CROWN
ON CARLSBAD BLOCK
NF 12/96
Woo-hoo! A VERY nice fur felt hat, that required only a small piece of foam sizing tape to snug it up on my head. With only minor re-creasing, I was able to duplicate the hat I wanted, utilizing a hand-made custom, for 30% of the cost of the needed-significant-work Resistol. This is now, essentially, a black version of my Stetson Tom Mix. SO pleased!
