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Joined: Aug 2002
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Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,956 Likes: 6 |
Well damn... Thirty years in Texas and I had never owned anything like a cowboy hat (for want of a better term) or sombrero. A lot of it was my mode of travel: A Tilley hat or a t-shirt tied around my head like an Arab had it covered, both of these will scrunch away to nothing for transport. This past week I took possession of a simple wool-felt hat, a hat blank with a simple liner, $40. For those who might not be in the loop, wool felt is the cheapest grade. Rabbit fur felt is next followed by beaver felt. The superiority of fur, and especially beaver fur for hat felt being what drove much of our Frontier history. Took the wool-felt hat blank out for a test drive today. Three-hour afternoon hike, 100 degree heat, black wool-felt hat blank on my head. Late July in South Texas. All I can say is that the R-value of wool must be phenomenal: No unusual amount of heat transmitted through the hat. And perhaps some evaporative cooling, when I bent down to tie a shoe, sweat dripped down in abundance, running down along the underside of the brim. If anything COOLER than the Tilley hats I have been using forever. 'Spect all them vaqueros and cowboys knew what they were doing after all From my perspective, a $40 wool-felt hat blank is just about ideal; it has that essential wide brim, wont break the bank if lost, and at that price can be worn out and replaced indefinitely. For a working, using, everyday hat, are the beaver and rabbit fur blends worth the money? Any thoughts appreciated. Birdwatcher
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 52,680 |
Tilly hats be the way to go..........I don't own a cow-me-boy hat either.
Liberalism is a mental disorder that leads to social disease.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2009
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Posts: 67,797 Likes: 9
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 67,797 Likes: 9 |
I still have my Dad's Stetson. It is a 10X Beaver, that was given to him back in 1957 when we moved to Kissimmee Florida. Fits me like a glove.
Sam......
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Joined: Jan 2011
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 4,831 |
Beaver felt is king. Some might remember a while back I posted a thread on the best type of water proof hat (wide brimmed). I was even looking into oil skin for a hat. What I settled on was a leather hat, Aussie type cowboy hat. Large brim, but not as wide as what you'd expect for a cowboy hat.
Well, I still love that hat. Use Mink Oil on it and it's water proof. But it's warm in the sun. Keeps it's shape very well, but this one has a wire brim. I suspect without that wire, it wouldn't.
So on to beaver. The key is to either get VERY lucky with a pre-made hat that happens to fit perfect, or, the right way is to have a hat maker make one for you. When/if you get fitted, account for hair. I shave my head and if I go too long between shaves, my hats don't fit just right.
Anyway, beaver is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. And about as water proof as you can get.
There are much cheaper ways. The wool blank you have being a prime example. And my leather one being another. But, unless ya lose it, the beaver will last forever with minimal care. So, YES. Worth every penny. But a lot of pennies.
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Joined: Feb 2004
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,148 Likes: 5 |
BWer, nice hat. I wear Tilleys (cotton) but also a "Tilley-style" KOM (wool) hat in cold wet springs or falls. By the way, will be leaving for Ghana Thursday. Will say, "hi", to all your old friends. Ball cap with a syn neck gaiter there.
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Joined: Nov 2008
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 11,371 Likes: 1 |
Your blank is actually pretty close to what real cowboys wore. They didn't wear what we now call cowboy hats.
1st Special Operations Wing 1975-1983 919th Special Operations Wing 1983-1985 1993-1994
"Manus haec inimica tyrannis / Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem" ~Algernon Sidney~
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2 |
Well damn... Thirty years in Texas and I had never owned anything like a cowboy hat (for want of a better term) or sombrero. A lot of it was my mode of travel: A Tilley hat or a t-shirt tied around my head like an Arab had it covered, both of these will scrunch away to nothing for transport. This past week I took possession of a simple wool-felt hat, a hat blank with a simple liner, $40. For those who might not be in the loop, wool felt is the cheapest grade. Rabbit fur felt is next followed by beaver felt. The superiority of fur, and especially beaver fur for hat felt being what drove much of our Frontier history. Took the wool-felt hat blank out for a test drive today. Three-hour afternoon hike, 100 degree heat, black wool-felt hat blank on my head. Late July in South Texas. All I can say is that the R-value of wool must be phenomenal: No unusual amount of heat transmitted through the hat. And perhaps some evaporative cooling, when I bent down to tie a shoe, sweat dripped down in abundance, running down along the underside of the brim. If anything COOLER than the Tilley hats I have been using forever. 'Spect all them vaqueros and cowboys knew what they were doing after all From my perspective, a $40 wool-felt hat blank is just about ideal; it has that essential wide brim, wont break the bank if lost, and at that price can be worn out and replaced indefinitely. For a working, using, everyday hat, are the beaver and rabbit fur blends worth the money? Any thoughts appreciated. Birdwatcher It looks like it's from the Swampman collection.
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Joined: Dec 2006
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 52,680 |
Well damn... Thirty years in Texas and I had never owned anything like a cowboy hat (for want of a better term) or sombrero. A lot of it was my mode of travel: A Tilley hat or a t-shirt tied around my head like an Arab had it covered, both of these will scrunch away to nothing for transport. This past week I took possession of a simple wool-felt hat, a hat blank with a simple liner, $40. For those who might not be in the loop, wool felt is the cheapest grade. Rabbit fur felt is next followed by beaver felt. The superiority of fur, and especially beaver fur for hat felt being what drove much of our Frontier history. Took the wool-felt hat blank out for a test drive today. Three-hour afternoon hike, 100 degree heat, black wool-felt hat blank on my head. Late July in South Texas. All I can say is that the R-value of wool must be phenomenal: No unusual amount of heat transmitted through the hat. And perhaps some evaporative cooling, when I bent down to tie a shoe, sweat dripped down in abundance, running down along the underside of the brim. If anything COOLER than the Tilley hats I have been using forever. 'Spect all them vaqueros and cowboys knew what they were doing after all From my perspective, a $40 wool-felt hat blank is just about ideal; it has that essential wide brim, wont break the bank if lost, and at that price can be worn out and replaced indefinitely. For a working, using, everyday hat, are the beaver and rabbit fur blends worth the money? Any thoughts appreciated. Birdwatcher It looks like it's from the Swampman collection. Snork!
Liberalism is a mental disorder that leads to social disease.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,486 Likes: 18
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,486 Likes: 18 |
The original cowboy hats were dual purpose. They served to keep the sun off in the summer and in the winter, they'd use a bandana to tie the sides down over their ears. The modern cowboy hats sort of keep the sun off (they turn up and lose their ability to shade) and they're worthless for keeping ears warm. They're a lot more cosmetic than useful.
Since baseball caps got popular, the skin cancer rate in farmers has skyrocketed.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,956 Likes: 6
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,956 Likes: 6 |
By the way, will be leaving for Ghana Thursday. Will say, "hi", to all your old friends. I'm jealous! Oughta be the about the peak of the rainy season IIRC, never mind showers, just go stand outside in the evening And here's hoping you don't meet Giardia, my formerly close companion Speaking of giardia, you MUST take the time to eat at a real chop bar by the side of the road (hey, 3 billion flies cant be wrong ). I highly recommend fufu, groundnut soup and dried tuna; a meal sent by Onyame hisself straight from heaven Only thing possibly even close to better is banku, groundnut soup, and dried tuna. NEVER use your left hand to eat, and remember, real men drink the soup after all the fufu/banku is gone (hey, long as you dont also drink the water afterwards you'll be fine). Speaking of drinking, you MUST also go to a roadside akpeteshie bar (after all, your driver will prob'ly be driking there too). All liquor is poison, akpeteshie (tranlates to "kill me quick") makes no bones about the fact. The trick is, pretend its water and drink it like you were thirsty, that way by the time your body reacts it'll be too late. Try and sip it and you're lost. Dont worry either that some guy coughing his lungs out just used that same glass, the akpeteshie will take care of that. For the REAL akpeteshie experience, ya gotta wake up in the dust of a village street with goats and chickens looking down at you curiously as they pass. But I doubt you'll have the time to delve that deep into the local culture And speaking of drivers, and akpeteshie, NEVER ride in the front if you aint driving. Stay any legnth of time and you'll see the remains of another head-on collision aboout every time you take the main highway. Take photos, in a perfect world posted on a thread here. And dont forget the paregoric Safe Journey, Birdwatcher
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 48,411
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 48,411 |
still beats hell out of a ball cap or bandana head. my stetson beaver is downright cool once it gets good and soaked....really doesn't give up much to a straw in the summer, and much nicer in the winter.
Proudly representing oil companies, defense contractors, and firearms manufacturers since 1980. Because merchants of death need lawyers, too.
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,956 Likes: 6
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,956 Likes: 6 |
Your blank is actually pretty close to what real cowboys wore. They didn't wear what we now call cowboy hats Ya, I bought it specifically with an eye to pre-1840's Texas. Only thing gonna be hard to find is, to what extent wool felt was used in that time period. Birdwatcher
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
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Joined: May 2003
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 48,411 |
Bird, you are probably the only hombre on the planet that could get nostalgic for Ghana.
Proudly representing oil companies, defense contractors, and firearms manufacturers since 1980. Because merchants of death need lawyers, too.
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,956 Likes: 6
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,956 Likes: 6 |
Bird, you are probably the only hombre on the planet that could get nostalgic for Ghana. Naah, thats 'cause you aint seen it like I have. About the friendliest place on that whole continent. As an Obruni (White man) pretty much ANYWHERE you go in the 'sticks you have a roof, a free meal, and all the akpeteshie and/or palm wine you can handle, free of charge. This from people who literally ain't got a pot to pee in. What you'll get too is a bunch of good conversation, thats what Ghanaians do. You might get that beaver hat a bit dusty tho' Birdwatcher
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 16,419 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 16,419 Likes: 1 |
Take that felt hat, soak it good, and wear it - air conditioning, and it'll conform to your head perfectly. DO NOT remove until relatively dry. DON'T leave in the sun, as it will shrink. WHEN (not if) you make that mistake - submerge again! Mark
I've always been a curmudgeon - now I'm an old curmudgeon. ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 12,155 Likes: 2
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 12,155 Likes: 2 |
Tilly hats be the way to go..........I don't own a cow-me-boy hat either. Keith: I trust that other than endorsing Tilley hats that this finds you and yours doing well this fine. To the original query Birdwatcher posed on whether or not a larger number of X's thereby indicating more rabbit or beaver fur in the hat makes it last better, I'd say it depends. I've talked to Okanagan cowboys who managed to kill a good hat every couple years, but then they expose it to a lot of snow and rain, which combined with the sun here seems to speed the deterioration of the felt up somewhat. When I first moved here I ran a Biltmore hat that was mostly beaver as I recall and it lasted almost a decade before it began to really fall apart. The dye held up very, very well however and the color didn't run one bit over the years. By the way they are a Canadian made hat - Canuck plug inserted here. http://www.biltmorehats.com/aboutus.htm http://www.smithbilthats.com/hat-history The Biltmore near the end of it's run, when I was just starting out on mine - or so it seems. My good wife then bought a Smithbilt for me - these made in Calgary - and it's been a pretty good hat although the band is getting pretty ratty and the felt on the crown is showing some cracks. This hat is a lower grade felt with more rabbit fur content, but the dye is holding very well in it too. Somewhere in there I picked up a wool felt Bailey for hunting too and though the felt itself has proven to be very tough, the original brown dye has faded into an olive drab green. For a $100 hat, it's been pretty good really. Here's me and the girls having an Okanagan style tailgate party a few years back now. Before I leave this, I've got to share a cowboy hat story with you all. A buddy of mine used to kid me about my cowboy hats and tell me that the "real cowboys" that he knew all wore ball caps. I'd always respond that a well fitted felt hat tended to stick on the four corners of my noggin - the product of German ancestors no doubt. Having one's hat stay where it's supposed to can be one of those wee things in life that are quite comforting at times or so I've found. Anyway in the fullness of time he decided that he wanted to go on a horseback hunt with me and so we did. After his ball cap got brushed off by a Ponderosa pine branch for about the fourth time - necessitating his having to ride back, dismount, rehat and then remount, I slid my mare over beside him and casually noted, "Most of the real cowboys I know wear ball caps......" Would you believe replied with a less than charitable two word phrase? The day ended OK for him though in that he shot a nice two point mulie with a unique rack that tasted just fine. Here's the scanned shot of me finishing packing up his mulie - note my hat is still in place. Hopefully that information was at least slightly useful to someone out there tonight. Thanks for indulging my ramblings as I unearthed some hat memories from days gone by as well. All the best to you and yours this week Keith and to you too Birdwatcher. Dwayne
The most important stuff in life isn't "stuff"
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 6,387
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 6,387 |
Never been to big on covers. Guess I have to get use to them in a few months.
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 13,268
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 13,268 |
I wear a baseball cap most of the time. About the other 20% of the time I will wear either a stetson or a resistol. I'm pretty sure there are some members here that wear these after reading their post, fill in whoever you think they are on your own.
Otto is my co-pilot.
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 26,389 Likes: 6
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 26,389 Likes: 6 |
About the friendliest place on that whole continent. As an Obruni (White man) pretty much ANYWHERE you go in the 'sticks you have a roof, a free meal, and all the akpeteshie and/or palm wine you can handle, free of charge.
This from people who literally ain't got a pot to pee in. As it should be. I like ball caps, gotta a Twins cap on right now and I look uber cool. I look like a complete idiot in any kind of 'cowboy' hat. lol
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