Ben Bitten Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I was watching Open Range a few nights back and a question came to mind: what was the quality of hat most cow pokes had back in the late 19th Century? Was it equivalent to our 6x? our 10X? ...Less than our 6x? Or did it vary depending on who made the hat? I realize that more expensive hats would be of higher quality - just like today. A businessman might be able to afford a better quality hat than a drover, farm hand, rustler, miner, and so on. But on average, what the the man on the trail have as far as hat quality? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I was watching Open Range a few nights back and a question came to mind: what was the quality of hat most cow pokes had back in the late 19th Century? Was it equivalent to our 6x? our 10X? ...Less than our X6? Or did it vary depending on who made the hat? I realize that more expensive hats would be of higher quality - just like today. A businessman might be able to afford a better quality hat than a drover, farm hand, rustler, miner, and so on. But on average, what the the man on the trail have as far as hat quality? Couldn't ya but The 'X' system seems somewhat quirky as it seems to vary from hat maker to hat maker... GG ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hangfire SASS #24379 Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I seem to remember that the "X" system used to mean something years ago and it had something to do with the proportion of beaver fur in the felt. At some point however, some maker or makers started ignoring the system and marking their hats whatever they wanted. So, suggesting a number that might be comparable would really mean nothing today as you would also have to identify the brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Howdy Remember when flour sacks in the cartoons all had XXXX on them? And Whiskey bottles had XXX on them? Well, maybe you're not old enough to remember that, but the system of Xs was used for a lot of products. Here is an old Pillsbury Advertisement. Four Advertisement Pillsbury actually had very exact standards regarding what flour they would label XXXX. As the bag says, it was the best. Same thing with hats, the number of Xs denoted the percentage of beaver fur in the felt. But I doubt there was an industry standard that all hatters followed. Today, the number of Xs on a hat really means nothing, except maybe within a specific brand. There is no organized industry wide system defining how much beaver fur is required for any number of Xs. Just like today, in the 1800s you could pay a lot of money for a hat, and you could pay hardly anything. One of the first hats I bought for Cowboy shooting stretched so much after a day long drenching that I threw it away. No way it was ever going to shrink back to fit my head. And I'm sure that in the 1800s you could buy a cheap hat that would fall apart after a good drenching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunblade SASS #10206 Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I've wondered about that too. Did the old cowboy's hats have liners and sweatbands? I have two hats...a black Bailey and a tan colored Stetson. Both have had the liners and sweatbands torn out and I don't even need a hatband to keep 'em on my head...basically they're just all felt and nothing else. If they get dirty I just slosh 'em out in the creek and let 'em dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jake1001 Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 The OLD sayin' was that a cowboy would spend a months wages ($20-$30) on his boots or hat. Everything else was lots cheaper. First thing on in the morning, last thing off at night. Big Jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold Canyon Kid #43974 Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Derby hats were the most popular in the old west time period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 The OLD sayin' was that a cowboy would spend a months wages ($20-$30) on his boots or hat. Everything else was lots cheaper. First thing on in the morning, last thing off at night. Big Jake Yup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond S Doug Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 It's been a while since I read this article and don't know if it would answer your question but it is good reading on cowboy hats. http://www.curtrich.com/hats.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VICIOUS, SASS#8014 Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 HOWDY. After 20 years of CAS shooting through dust rain and sweat I had to break down and get a NEW hat .Got a BILTMORE made mist colour stetson ,the local saddery was clearing out the back room and I got one made years ago. Saddely all the western hats are now made in Texas as they were bought out . They only make Mountie hats for the RCMP at the Guelph plant now. But managed to haggle a 50 dollar price for a 7X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bitten Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share Posted December 23, 2011 The OLD sayin' was that a cowboy would spend a months wages ($20-$30) on his boots or hat. Everything else was lots cheaper. First thing on in the morning, last thing off at night. Big Jake Question is: which would a cowboy buy first... his hat or his boots. It's been a while since I read this article and don't know if it would answer your question but it is good reading on cowboy hats. http://www.curtrich.com/hats.html Excellent Link! Thank you. I figure the average cowboy on the trail had a pretty decent hat if it was going to survive through rain, sweat, heat, and snow (depending on the region), and being a pillow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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