Western, anyone?

[frussell]

[/IMG]Stetson 10X from eBay, re-creased from a very tall 70s cattleman. Sure feels better than the 4X I ordered recently for rodeo season. Frank

 

[Neophyte]

Stetson 10X from eBay, re-creased from a very tall 70s cattleman. Sure feels better than the 4X I ordered recently for rodeo season. Frank

Having recently gained an appreciation for the Gus, I have to say that this looks AMAZING! :eusa_clap

 

[RBH]

Frank, cool look. I like the hat pin also!

 

[frussell]

Thanks Rusty. Neophyte - having worn a "Gus" since before there was a "Gus," I appreciate it. I've had hats in this shape since I was a teen, and remember when my friends called it a "Tom Horn hat," after the Steve McQueen movie from 1980. I grew up looking at photos of relatives in similar hat creases, so it always looked natural to me. Only problem is I hit a lot of doorways, and a few ceiling fans. Happy Holidays. Frank

 

[msm007]

Having recently gained an appreciation for the Gus, I have to say that this looks AMAZING! :eusa_clap

Very nice looking crease!!!!

 

[hatophile]

Well, as this crease seems to have gained the approval of Loungers in the WHAYWT thread, I guess I'll post it here.

This Campdraft originally had a teardrop with snap brim. Through careful working, I put it into a type of Gus/Tom Horn crease (not as great as the one Frussell recently posted ). I then changed it to a telescope, to imagine what the Pale Rider-style crown would look like on me. I love the look, but it didn't look right on the Campdraft (crown too short, my skills too low, and brim too narrow). So, I changed it back too the Gus/Tom Horn.

I have since changed it back to the telescope, as the Gus/Tom Horn was hard to maintain with the soft, floppy felt of the Campdraft. Here's what it looked like, though:

These experiments over the last couple of days have been quite fun!

Neo,

If you decide to keep the telescope crown shape, the hat might look better with the brim turned down all the way, or at least flattened out. Just my opinion.

 

[rlk]

 

[frussell]

Ahh, the good old days when you could still drink the water without getting some kind of weird intestinal parasites. Been a long time since I drank from a creek, although I think I would have had my taste before my horse was standing in it. Frank

 

[suitedcboy]

Ahh, the good old days when you could still drink the water without getting some kind of weird intestinal parasites. Been a long time since I drank from a creek, although I think I would have had my taste before my horse was standing in it. Frank

I am not a germophobe nor any kind of clean freak but when I saw this earlier today what crossed my mind was mercury, dirt, sweat, and stuff that only ends up in a hat after it has been on a head not washed very well nor too frequently.
The last of those things would be the one that would likely give the water consumed from a hat its "flavor".

Oh, and another thing: felt leaks, old tired felt leaks even worse.

 

[kyboots]

You would be OK as long as you were drinking from your OWN hat!

 

[Corky]

One problem in drinking from streams throughout the American west is the possible presence of old mining claims and the byproducts of the prospecting and extracting of the ore upstream (aresenic, etc.) leaching into the water.

Also, in The Old Days, we were not concerned with weird intestinal parasites because there were no weird intestinal parasites, we were simply unaware of their existence.

 

[Neophyte]

Here's a "Western-inspired" crease on my Akubra Campdraft. At the very least, it'll tide me over until after Christmas !

 

[hatophile]

Here's a "Western-inspired" crease on my Akubra Campdraft. At the very least, it'll tide me over until after Christmas !

Hey Neo,

I'm currently reading a novel about Billy the Kid, which prompted me to look at some of my Old West picture books to get some ideas of how they wore hats, etc. I noticed that a lot of the hats look much like yours in this picture. No real specific bash, (frequently open crown) and brim sort of all over the place, or sometimes flat as a pancake.

In fact, many of them were not that wide-brimmed, and looked a lot like an OR in brim width and style.

So, with the way you have that CD now, you could pass for an old-time cowboy (not necessarily Billy the Kid).

Yeehaw!

 

[Neophyte]

Hey Neo,

I'm currently reading a novel about Billy the Kid, which prompted me to look at some of my Old West picture books to get some ideas of how they wore hats, etc. I noticed that a lot of the hats look much like yours in this picture. No real specific bash, (frequently open crown) and brim sort of all over the place, or sometimes flat as a pancake.

In fact, many of them were not that wide-brimmed, and looked a lot like an OR in brim width and style.

So, with the way you have that CD now, you could pass for an old-time cowboy (not necessarily Billy the Kid).

Yeehaw!

Thank you sir! I too noticed that in many Old West photos and movies, nearly all of the hats were either open crown or telescope crown. Most of the hat's personality came from the brim and whatever accesories were attached. I actually really, really like the look of a telescope crease on my head, but the CD has neither the width nor the height to satisfy me lol!

 

[hatophile]

Heck, put a nice concho band on there and you got a good Old West hat!

 

[gtdean48]

Most true Old West creases & brim shapes were the result of putting the hat on & taking it off. Lots of old photos were staged & photographers would set up the shot so the hats would not cast a shadow over the face of the subjects. Brims would be swept back, hats tilted back, etc. Some creases, like a telescope, would trap rain water, as would some brim curls. This would make the hat heavier in bad weather. May look good for a dress hat but not desired for a true working cowpoke's hat....

 

[Neophyte]

Most true Old West creases & brim shapes were the result of putting the hat on & taking it off. Lots of old photos were staged & photographers would set up the shot so the hats would not cast a shadow over the face of the subjects. Brims would be swept back, hats tilted back, etc. Some creases, like a telescope, would trap rain water, as would some brim curls. This would make the hat heavier in bad weather. May look good for a dress hat but not desired for a true working cowpoke's hat....

That is something to consider. Certain brim shapes would divert the flow of rainwater, while others would capture it. Would you say, then, that common crown shapes in the Old West would include open (round) or open (flat), with a dent or pinch here or there?
I find that the Old West hats appeal to me much, much more than the Western and Modern Westerns, so any and all information would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[hatophile]

That is something to consider. Certain brim shapes would divert the flow of rainwater, while others would capture it. Would you say, then, that common crown shapes in the Old West would include open (round) or open (flat), with a dent or pinch here or there?
I find that the Old West hats appeal to me much, much more than the Western and Modern Westerns, so any and all information would be appreciated. Thanks!

Neo,

Best thing to do, is go to your local library and check out some of the books with pictorials in them on the Old West. Time-Life put out a great series years ago with some awesome pictures of Old West characters, some known, some anonymous.

Keep in mind that what gtdean said is true, some of the photos are staged, however, they will still give you a feel for what the hats looked like and how they wore them. Some of the best are the candid shots of cowboys at work or around the chuck wagon.

One of my favorite pics is of the "Dogde City peace commission", with notables such as Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and Luke Short. Again I am surprised at how small the brims appear, but then again, these guys were city dudes.

 

[Neophyte]

Neo,
One of my favorite pics is of the "Dogde City peace commission", with notables such as Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and Luke Short. Again I am surprised at how small the brims appear, but then again, these guys were city dudes.

Oh yes, I like that pic a lot . Thanks for the advice as well.

 

[fmw]

I would go as far as to say that Neophyte's hat is probably closer to what they wore in the wild west than a modern Stetson or Resistol western hat. I don't think rolled brims were all that popular with cowboys. They were interested in keeping the sun off their heads and necks. When I was a teenager I worked a cattle roundup in Eastern Oregon. I saw rolled brims there but that, of course, was the modern era.