Western hats and brim bands

[Fox Mike]

While discussing western hats here a while back it was stated that no "real cowboy" ever wore a hat with the band on the brim. Well today I was watching some episodes of Gunsmoke and guess what...Mister Dillon's hat had a band around the brim; not in one but in episode after episode. Guess he wasn't a real cowboy though.

 

[Bob Wright]

............................................................Mister Dillon's hat had a band around the brim; not in one but in episode after episode. Guess he wasn't a real cowboy though.

Yeah. You tell him that!

Bob Wright

 

[wolfsong]

Uh, no, he was James Arness, an actor.

A cowboy's hat is first and foremost a tool, a functional, practical and utilitarian component of his working tools.

Fancier accoutrements were for Sundays and holidays and "rich" cowboys. Most cowboys only owned one hat. These days, however...

 

[bogus bill]

Had to laugh when one friend claimed another friend we had that always wore cheap hats, that he bought them in carnivals!

 

[bogus bill]

I live in SW Utah. They wear a lot of hats here and you still see people walking through Walmart occasionally wearing spurs. Still, there are plenty of cowboys around that wear a baseball cap too. I have some western hat`s but seldom wear them anymore. I was told to wear them by my doctor as I lost my nose to skin cancer. Think I will start to wear them more this summer. I have some nice ones, just got out of the habit. Here is a real Tom Mix Stetson that I never had the nerve to wear in public! I gave it to a nephew that died a little later and I took it back.
Looked better on him than me. Poor guy.

 

[dougader]

Some have the brim binding and some don't. If the ribbon for brim binding matches the color of the felt then most people won't notice it anyway.

I have 2 western hats and neither has a bound brim. An Akubra Coober Pedy came with a brim binding but it's not real noticeable. I have Fedora type dress hats that came both ways, too.

 

[willk]

No Marshal Dillion was an officer of the law not a man who worked on a cattle ranch.

 

[callshot]

I always wondered how fast the bird was flying that hit the front of cowboy hats that I would see in the drug store. I haven't seen too many of them lately.

 

[Bob Wright]

No Marshal Dillion was an officer of the law not a man who worked on a cattle ranch.

In many early episodes, Miss Kitty refers to him as "Cowboy." Supposedly he did a little cowboying in Texas prior to becoming a lawman.

Bob Wright

 

[Bob Wright]

For the record, binding and lacing of the brim was to stiffen the brim to keep it from drooping. This especially for wool felt hats.

And the up turned brim in front dated back to the US Mounted Rifles, where the brim was turned up to avoid hitting the rifle as it was shouldered and aimed. Much as the Australian practice of turning up the side of the brim on one side.

Western hats traditionally had very tall crowns, until the advent of the pick-up truck, where the tall crowns would not fit.

And I believe it was Michael Martin Murphy who posed the riddle: "Three cowboys in a pick-up, how do you know which one is the real cowboy?"

"Why, there just ain't no way to tell."

"The one in the middle. He dont have to do the drivin', and he don't have to fool with the gate."

Bob Wright


And my apologies for strayin' too far from the subject at hand.

 

[Fox Mike]

I always wondered how fast the bird was flying that hit the front of cowboy hats that I would see in the drug store. I haven't seen too many of them lately.

You mean like the one Richard Petty wears?

 

[willk]

No Marshal Dillion was an officer of the law not a man who worked on a cattle ranch.

In many early episodes, Miss Kitty refers to him as "Cowboy." Supposedly he did a little cowboying in Texas prior to becoming a lawman.

Bob Wright

Roger that. Thanks for the update

 

[Nite Ryder]

Cowboy hats were a useful tool back when a man spent the day on the back of a horse exposed to the sun, his cheeks and neck would have been sun burned without the wide brim of a cowboy hat. I had a couple different cowboy hats growing up on a ranch, and bought maybe half a dozen more as i could afford them in the 70's. After I started Cowboy Action Shooting in 2006, I've acquired many more. Some came from a shop that will custom shape the crown for you. Out of all the hats i have, I have only one with fancy trim on the brim. I don't know why I bought it, a whim I suppose, it is my least favorite hat.

 

[Nite Ryder]

Cowboy hats were a useful tool back when a man spent the day on the back of a horse exposed to the sun, his cheeks and neck would have been sun burned without the wide brim of a cowboy hat. I had a couple different cowboy hats growing up on a ranch, and bought maybe half a dozen more as i could afford them in the 70's. After I started Cowboy Action Shooting in 2006, I've acquired many more. Some came from a shop that will custom shape the crown for you. Out of all the hats i have, I have only one with fancy trim on the brim. I don't know why I bought it, a whim I suppose, it is my least favorite hat.

 

[Nite Ryder]

Cowboy hats were a useful tool back when a man spent the day on the back of a horse exposed to the sun, his cheeks and neck would have been sun burned without the wide brim of a cowboy hat. I had a couple different cowboy hats growing up on a ranch, and bought maybe half a dozen more as i could afford them in the 70's. After I started Cowboy Action Shooting in 2006, I've acquired many more. Some came from a shop that will custom shape the crown for you. Out of all the hats i have, I have only one with fancy trim on the brim. I don't know why I bought it, a whim I suppose, it is my least favorite hat.

 

[Nite Ryder]

Cowboy hats were a useful tool back when a man spent the day on the back of a horse exposed to the sun, his cheeks and neck would have been sun burned without the wide brim of a cowboy hat. I had a couple different cowboy hats growing up on a ranch, and bought maybe half a dozen more as i could afford them in the 70's. After I started Cowboy Action Shooting in 2006, I've acquired many more. Some came from a shop that will custom shape the crown for you. Out of all the hats i have, I have only one with fancy trim on the brim. I don't know why I bought it, a whim I suppose, it is my least favorite hat.

 

[Robes]

Well,... I got nine horses,... and ride most of them. I "ain't " no cowboy,... I'm a horseman. Don't got no cows,... don't want no cows. I rope and cut a wee bit with friends. I see a lot of "concrete cowboys" who have never tacked up a horse and have no idea which side to mount. But they sure got some nice hats,... and them "Puerto-Rican fence climbers" ( fancy-dancy western boots with the big heal and sharp toes) are just the cats arse.

On hats,... the brim is paramount. That is what you form and make the hat functional. I have a "Montana". I need a lot of shade and with this hat,... I can sell shade. Hat band? Not really. I have a "stampede strap" that is braided rawhide and that does give some decoration to the brim. It comes up each side just in front of the ear and circles the crown. The hat is 100% beaver and you can wear it in any weather,.. rain, shine, snow,.. it stand up to anything.

I do have a "dress hat" with a gold braided hatband. I wear that to weddings, and funerals and such. Looks nice, but useless in the saddle....