Hats!

[warren]

Paul: A correctly shaped stretcher will quickly get a stiff, beaver hat to conform with a good soaking. I wear a new one into the shower, thoroughly soak it, then let it dry on my head. Or, a good storm will accomplish the same. That big, brim sucker in your photo fits well, I bet. Keeps the rain and snow off your back and protects your eyes from the sun too.
Hat in my avatar is thirty years old.

 

[aldecaker]

"I wear a new one into the shower, thoroughly soak it, then let it dry on my head."
Well, there's an image that'll stick with ya for a day or two.

 

[warren]

Sorry.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

wear a new one into the shower, thoroughly soak it, then let it dry on my head.

Warren, does that cause the hat to become misshapen?

 

[checotah]

Getting a hat to fit you usually requires a little effort. First thing to determine is your general head shape. There are round, oval, and long oval. Simply measuring your head with a tape may give you an idea of size, but will not guarantee fit., especially since many of the hats on the market are machine made off-shore and not necessarily true to size. IF you have a well made beaver felt, in your size and general shape, you can achieve a good fit with the steaming or wetting methods (Can't vouch for wearing it in the shower, tho' :lol: ). The old cowboys used to take their new hats, dip them in the horse trough or river, and wear them dry. Note this only works well with high quality beaver felt hats. Wool felt (hats, not caps) will just become a mess and not reshape. I have also found that you can usually get a well made hat to stretch to fit if it is slight tight, but if it's too large, you cannot shrink the hat.
Best, of course, is to get a quality hat-maker to custom make one for you. My best fitting hat was made by a hat-maker who uses a 19th Century measuring device that records the exact shape of your head, and creates a template that the hat-maker retains so he can use it for future hats. These are not cheap, however.
As to straws, I have found only palm-leaf ones to endure wetting and/or crushing.

 

[bnichols23]

Oh Death

"Damn, we're in a tight spot!" Won't you spare me over till another year?! o, death

 

[warren]

Anthony: 100% beaver thrives in water. The more rabbit added into the mix the more the hat will lose shape when wet.
My hat amortizes out to less than $23.00 a year. So, much cheaper than a new hat every couple of years. I get 30 years+ to a hat worn every day in all weather. The one in my avatar is 30+ years old. A bit dirty, sweat stained, smelling of campfire and full of stories, it's a trusted companion. A new hat is standing by. I bought it on impulse (sad to admit), it's blocked and fitted, ready for use. Hopefully the grandson will get some use out of it.
The wolf in my old avatar only gets worn when the temperature drops into single digits.

 

[seldom]

Warren, you look younger these days! From your posts I gather you might be from McGrath? Have you been to the Fur Rendezvous in Las Anchorage? Not sure what it's like these days because it's been a couple of decades since I was there. Seems a good place to score a beaver hat though.

 

[warren]

You can have Mr. Green make one for you with tail and teeth should you desire one. Or go with a simple, sheared "shapka" (Russian for a fur hat). He makes my wolf apparel. Do not! I repeat, "do not let your wife or significant other into the store."
I haven't been to Fur Rhondy in years. It's morphed into something far removed from the 40's, 50's and early 60's. The organizers nearly killed it through license demands, adding events, etc. They have come to their senses lately and are returning to the mid-winter, small town atmosphere roots.
Been to McGrath many times and most every nook and cranny of the State. Born here and hope to die in the wonderous mountains.

 

[seldom]

I hear you warren. I've worked/lived around the state a bit (suppose there are still old timers around who are from "the territory"). Fished out of Kodiak, worked/lived on the AK Peninsula, on the Y-K Delta, Cordova, SE, and elsewhere. Magnificent country. Life and wanderlust took me to Africa where I met a German woman who became my wife and, well, here I am in Europe. Alaska has a small population with a disproportionate number of truly exceptional people. I may return some day. But you know, every time I go back to a place I've loved I discover it has changed. Recently made that discovery upon returning to Montana for a visit.

Anyhow, hats. In the cold weather those beaver hats, or else a parka with a wolverine liner, do the trick.

 

[warren]

Montana still has a lot of unspoiled beauty though. Love the Kalispell area and up into Alberta.
Nothing beats fur for warmth. Synthetics may be lighter but, they sure as hell aren't warmer.
You gonna show your wife "The Great White North" one of these days?

 

[seldom]

The North Fork of the Flathead area and Glacier National Park are my old stomping grounds. These days I tell them they'll need to change the name from Kalispell to Kallifishfalls because Kalispell, Whitefish, and Columbia Falls are going to grow into each other. I would like to take my wife and boys to see some of Alaska although she prefers warm over cold. Here in Germany we are actually fairly far north. Roughly the same latitude as Calgary Alberta.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Well, all this talk of hats has inflicted me with a case of HAD (Hat Acquisition Disorder), and I've just purchased this fantastic leather top hat. The wait is going to be about a month, as they're made to order, so by the time it gets here perhaps it will be cool enough to don the leather jacket and show of my new hat and a pipe at the coffee shop.

Yeah... the wait is going to kill me.

 

[warren]

Looks like Terhune's (Caan's role) in the "Rio something" Wayne movie. Nice!

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Looks like Terhune's (Caan's role) in the "Rio something" Wayne movie. Nice!

The hat is called the El Dorado, so you're in the ballpark. It's definitely modeled after James Caan's hat. There are a few different hat band options, and the following photo with the buffalo nickels is probably a closer version to his...

Certainly a cool looking hat, I think. I really need to stop looking at their hats before I go broke. :rofl:

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Thank You Mr Warren & Checotah,for this valuable information, based on my experience getting a regular oval into a long oval or oval shape often leads to a slight deterioration of the overall appearance of the hat,(crown and brim shape),and here I'm mainly referring to standard mass production regular oval 10+ beaver cowboy style hats.Yet,I'm noticing Australian Akubran hats are softer,(rabbit fur) in comparison to main U.S hat manufacturer products.

Anthony R: Congrats on Your New Acquisition, well done and unique form, I remember seeing those type of hats being worn in the western serial Deadwood'

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Anthony R: Congrats on Your New Acquisition, well done and unique form, I remember seeing those type of hats being worn in the western serial Deadwood'

Thanks, Paul. I'm loving the derby, but it seems it awakened in me something similar to my pipe obsession. I'm calling it HAD (Hat Acquisition Disorder). It hasn't even been a day since I ordered the leather hat, and I'm going crazy over the wait already :rofl: I hear HBO is supposed to be bringing Deadwood back, Paul. I've recently watched the entire series, and I'm excited about its possible return.

 

[bluto]

I cant wear a hat like that at the bars I like to frequent
.. gonna lead to punchies

 

[bnichols23]

James Caan's hat.

"Alan Bourdillion Trehearne" "Well, no wonder he carries a knife."
I was figuring either that or Slash, y'know?

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I was figuring either that or Slash, y'know?

Interesting bit of history on Slash's top hat. He stole it! He was walking past a shop in Hollywood, saw the hat in the window, and the way he says it basically is, it spoke to him. He had no money so he took the hat and walked out. Next door to the shop with the hat was a place that sold a leather belt with silver conch shells, so he took that and cut it fit his hat and made a hat band out of it. My understanding is that he some time later returned to the place, told them about it and paid for the hat.