J-BAR #18287 Posted October 27 Posted October 27 Curse the "cattleman crease." Wear the hat. Grab the crown when you take it off your head. The resulting "pinch" is your custom signature. 4 1 Quote
Alpo Posted October 27 Author Posted October 27 37 minutes ago, J-BAR #18287 said: Curse the "cattleman crease." Wear the hat. Grab the crown when you take it off your head. The resulting "pinch" is your custom signature. You mean like this? 2 Quote
Blackwater 53393 Posted October 27 Posted October 27 (edited) Or maybe this? Edited October 27 by Blackwater 53393 5 Quote
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted October 27 Posted October 27 Just now, Blackwater 53393 said: Or maybe this? ???????? 1 Quote
Stump Water Posted October 30 Posted October 30 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQaNnSVjfC6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 1 Quote
PowderRiverCowboy Posted October 30 Posted October 30 On 10/26/2025 at 8:57 PM, J-BAR #18287 said: Curse the "cattleman crease." Wear the hat. Grab the crown when you take it off your head. The resulting "pinch" is your custom signature. I know a few thousands of cowboys that like me grew up with a cowboy hat would laugh at that one . 1 Quote
Blackwater 53393 Posted October 31 Posted October 31 (edited) The “cattleman’s crease” is my least favorite shape!! I did “Cowboy Christmas” in Las Vegas some years ago! We made up dozens of hats with that stupid shape and the “taco” brim, as well as some with the regular rolled brim and the sloped brim that’s supposed to be popular in the Wyoming/Montana region! What actually sold was hats with the Montana Pinch, the “Gus” crease, the Boss of the Plains, and a couple of Pale Rider crowns. I also sold “Cavalry Slouch”, (wide brim fedoras) and flat top “Gambler” crowns!! We ended up steaming out most of those cattleman crowns and reshaping them to other styles! Edited October 31 by Blackwater 53393 4 Quote
Stump Water Posted October 31 Posted October 31 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQesXLajTsk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Quote
Subdeacon Joe Posted October 31 Posted October 31 15 hours ago, Blackwater 53393 said: What actually sold was hats with the Montana Pinch, the “Gus” crease, the Boss of the Plains, and a couple of Pale Rider crowns. I also sold “Cavalry Slouch”, (wide brim fedoras) and flat top “Gambler” crowns!! Could you please give pictures of those? Quote
Stump Water Posted October 31 Posted October 31 (edited) Gus Boss of the plains Montana Pinch Pale Rider Gambler or Telescope Crown Cavalry Slouch Lots of variations on this one. Sometimes one side was pinned up (Hardee), sometimes both and sometimes the front (a la Corporal Agarn). . Edited October 31 by Stump Water 3 Quote
Alpo Posted October 31 Author Posted October 31 Does anyone happen to know what they mean by "wool blend" when referring to a hat material? Hats are made of felt. Felt is made from animal hair. The good/expensive stuff is made from fur. The not so good/cheap stuff is made from wool. If it was a blend of wool and fur, it seems like they would call it a fur blend. Because fur is better and costs more. Wool blend? That a mixture of wool and cotton or nylon or something? Because that's what it means when they're talking about 'that blanket is a "wool blend blanket".' 1 Quote
Blackwater 53393 Posted October 31 Posted October 31 2 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said: Could you please give pictures of those? Stump Water covered them pretty well! The first of my photos above is/was my most requested version of the “cavalry slouch” hat. The second photo is my own “Gus”. That name became popular for that shape after the appearance in “Lonesome Dove”, worn by Robert Duval’s character, Gus McCrea. 2 Quote
Subdeacon Joe Posted October 31 Posted October 31 3 hours ago, Stump Water said: Gus Boss of the plains Montana Pinch Pale Rider Gambler or Telescope Crown Cavalry Slouch Lots of variations on this one. Sometimes one side was pinned up (Hardee), sometimes both and sometimes the front (a la Corporal Agarn). . 1 hour ago, Blackwater 53393 said: Stump Water covered them pretty well! The first of my photos above is/was my most requested version of the “cavalry slouch” hat. The second photo is my own “Gus”. That name became popular for that shape after the appearance in “Lonesome Dove”, worn by Robert Duval’s character, Gus McCrea. Thank you! Quote
Blackwater 53393 Posted October 31 Posted October 31 2 hours ago, Alpo said: Does anyone happen to know what they mean by "wool blend" when referring to a hat material? Hats are made of felt. Felt is made from animal hair. The good/expensive stuff is made from fur. The not so good/cheap stuff is made from wool. If it was a blend of wool and fur, it seems like they would call it a fur blend. Because fur is better and costs more. Wool blend? That a mixture of wool and cotton or nylon or something? Because that's what it means when they're talking about 'that blanket is a "wool blend blanket".' What is wool blend made of? What are wool blends? Wool blends are fabrics that combine wool fibers with other natural or synthetic fibers, such as cotton, polyester, silk, or nylon.Mar 9, 2023 1 Quote
Alpo Posted October 31 Author Posted October 31 Can they felt cotton and polyester and silk and nylon? Quote
Blackwater 53393 Posted November 1 Posted November 1 (edited) 1 hour ago, Alpo said: Can they felt cotton and polyester and silk and nylon? The ones I worked on for customers, (I never sold wool hats due to quality issues) were more of a tight weave like an army blanket with lots of some stiffening agent applied. I usually had to soak them in my own stiffening solution, (which was sprayed on) and then allow them to almost dry before trying to put some shape in them. I hated working on them because they were so much trouble to make and keep looking good! Edited November 1 by Blackwater 53393 1 Quote
Alpo Posted November 1 Author Posted November 1 What you think? https://myhathaven.com/products/homburg-beaver-hat-7beddfd786ba-dd4d-412c-b28a-7cb25876dca1 A beaver hat, for $69. It's made of luxurious felt fur. I've heard of fur felt but I've never heard of felt fur before. Quote
watab kid Posted November 1 Posted November 1 i added a bit of double stick tape to the hat band of mine to get it to fit right , worked great for 20+ years now , still going Quote
Stump Water Posted November 1 Posted November 1 15 hours ago, Alpo said: What you think? https://myhathaven.com/products/homburg-beaver-hat-7beddfd786ba-dd4d-412c-b28a-7cb25876dca1 A beaver hat, for $69. It's made of luxurious felt fur. I've heard of fur felt but I've never heard of felt fur before. I think for $69 there's not a single animal hair in that hat. A hat with a beaver blend is gonna cost you a few Franklins. 100% beaver, several. https://www.rockymountainhatcompany.com/products/100-beaver-pecan-western-fedora-size-7-3-8-copy-1 2 1 Quote
Alpo Posted November 1 Author Posted November 1 My dress hat is a KOSA from Colorado mountain hat company. It's 50% beaver, and it seems like it was around $300. In 2001. I just went and looked at their prices. Rabbit is over 400. 50% beaver starts at seven and a half. Beaver starts at a grand. Quote
Blackwater 53393 Posted November 1 Posted November 1 The last new custom 100% beaver hat that I sold went for $850.00 almost ten years ago! I was considered cheap compared to the custom hatters out west!! I own custom hats in both of the usual blends and one 100% hat as well as a couple of straw hats. Oddly enough, that pure beaver hat was a gift from another hatter that was given to me for helping him with two major shows. I have two of the 15% beaver hats that are sold as standard hats. Both of them are more than twenty years old and, if cleaned up and shaped up, STILL look top of the line! I also have a 50% hat that I seldom wear. It fits very well, but is shaped in a Montana pinch with a mule kick. It’s a really nice hat, but I rarely go anywhere that it would seem appropriate, other than cowboy events. I usually wear the cavalry slouch in my fist post above because it fits me really well and comfortably. The “Gus” in my second picture is the 100% beaver hat and I wear it to more formal occasions and events. That big straw hat gets used on really hot days and on the once in ten years occasion that I might do yard work!! 😵💫 Quote
Alpo Posted November 3 Author Posted November 3 1 hour ago, Stump Water said: https://rvlifestyle.com/cowboy-hat-etiquette/ "He thought I needed to know something: A black felt hat, no matter how nice, is a winter hat. Wearing felt in Texas before November is just not done. " Don't wear felt before November? Is that like "don't wear white after Labor Day"? Anybody gives you grief about a felt hat, look him straight in the eye and tell him, "straw hats are for farmers". 2 Quote
Stump Water Posted November 3 Posted November 3 5 minutes ago, Alpo said: Is that like "don't wear white after Labor Day"? Exactly what I thought. And don't wear open-toe shoes or drink white likker. My straw hat is the hottest of the four cowboy hats I own. I'll wear my black, 50/50 beaver/hare in the summer before my straw hat. Me in said black hat running from Carolina Jack. 1 Quote
Doc Eagle Posted November 3 Posted November 3 Years ago wife and I befriended the owner of my favorite Tack store, and owning a ranch we did a lot of business with her. She always commented she loved my hats and wondered why she didn't sell many hats locally even though she had a good inventory (quantity wise). I told her that her hats were very good quality but they were just boring. She asked who shaped my hats and I said I did. I've been doing it for years and I've never worn a store shaped hat in my life. She gave me a few hats to play with and after I brought them back they sold within days. From that point on she would give me 5-10 hats at a time and my payment was I could keep my pick of any batch she gave me as "payment". Over the few years we had this arrangement going she contributed greatly to my hat collection and she sold a LOT of hats!!! 4 Quote
Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme Posted November 3 Posted November 3 On 10/27/2025 at 12:02 AM, Blackwater 53393 said: Or maybe this? That's a Charlie Daniels look, for sure and for certain. 1 1 Quote
Blackwater 53393 Posted November 3 Posted November 3 10 minutes ago, Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme said: That's a Charlie Daniels look, for sure and for certain. He was a friend! I went to high school with his original guitar player and drummer when he formed The Charlie Daniels Band and he saved a good friend of mine’s life when the kid crashed his car in front of Charlie’s house! 2 Quote
Alpo Posted November 3 Author Posted November 3 In one of Skeeter's ME AND JOE stories, the two boys wanted to get black hats. There were a couple of black hats at the store and they thought they were just cool as all get out. But only bad guys wore black hats in the movies. And they did not want to be mistaken for bad guys. And one day this guy came in on the train. Older man. Wore a black suit. Necktie. Black Stetson. And a Smith & Wesson Triplelock. He was a retired US Marshal. And he told them not to pay any attention to what anybody else said about their hat. Wear what you wanted. Because the only one that it really mattered if he liked your hat, was you. He was in town for a week or so, on whatever his business was. And after he left, Skeet and Joe went down to the store and bought them black Stetsons. Quote
Doc Eagle Posted November 4 Posted November 4 (edited) On 11/3/2025 at 7:43 AM, Stump Water said: https://rvlifestyle.com/cowboy-hat-etiquette/ That’s a Texas “rule”. In reality a silver belly GOOD felt hat (not one of those thick wool blanket bargain hats) is appropriate all year round anywhere in this country. And I’ve never met a Texan than has given me a hard time about wearing mine in the summer. Straw hats are also NOT appropriate for formal events, I don’t care how many XXXXs your sweat band has on it. So please don’t show up to a funeral or wedding with one on your head. Edited November 5 by Doc Eagle 1 Quote
Rip Snorter Posted November 4 Posted November 4 I just don't like straws, even an expensive Stetson my Wife talked me into. At best, I may wear one on the tractor when it is really hot - factually, I don't think they are a lot cooler than any of my custom fur felt. They are pretty much disposable when they get ratty - I haven't tossed a fur felt yet, and a Rancher friend has hats from his Father and Grandfather that he still wears. They still look great. As to season / color, here in central MT, seems to be a matter of personal taste. Quote
Doc Eagle Posted November 5 Posted November 5 8 hours ago, Rip Snorter said: I just don't like straws, even an expensive Stetson my Wife talked me into. At best, I may wear one on the tractor when it is really hot - factually, I don't think they are a lot cooler than any of my custom fur felt. They are pretty much disposable when they get ratty - I haven't tossed a fur felt yet, and a Rancher friend has hats from his Father and Grandfather that he still wears. They still look great. As to season / color, here in central MT, seems to be a matter of personal taste. I don’t dislike straw but you nailed it when you called it disposable. When I was training horses at my ranch a straw hats was a one season investment through the summer regardless of cost or “quality”. If I bought it in May, by the end of September it was trash. On the other hand a decent light fur silver belly might get stained with sweat stains but it will last a loooooooong time. Many years in fact. I have fur hats that have been crushed under horses hooves and I was still able to clean them, steam them and put them back in rotation. 1 Quote
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