I’ve gotten spoiled with my cowboy hats. I got a custom-made one a while back, and that made it so I couldn’t wear any of my store-bought ones anymore. They just didn’t fit like that custom one fits. But custom hats aren’t cheap, so even though I had a dozen hats to choose from, there was only one real choice.
So I learned how to make hats myself. I started making hats really just to make a few for myself, but I found that, not to brag, I’m actually pretty good at it. And it came with the side benefit of learning how to rebuild older hats, too. So I spent a few weeks tearing down all my old hats and remaking them so they fit as well as that custom hat did. I also took some time to play with shapes and styles to find hats that still work as cowboy hats, but can also be worn while fly-fishing or shooting my bow.
Now that I know what I’m doing, I’m ready to turn my attention to making hats for other people. Hats that fit perfectly, are shaped exactly like the buyer wants them, and that’ll last long enough to be handed down to the next generation.
I got the idea to make hats that wouldn’t get in the way of the bow string when you’re drawing your bow from an old hat my dad cut down years ago. It started out as a pretty nice hat, but he cut the brim down, then cut it down again. I figured I could do better. I don’t have it perfect yet, but I took one of my old hats and fiddled with it, and it’s close to what I’m after. I think I just have to make a few more tweaks, and I’ll have something that will still look good, but work with a bow. Then I’ll work on making a good fly-fishing version.
Give me a call if you want a good hat. Either a nice Western hat or one that doubles as a fishing or hunting hat.
