The Fuzzy Slipper

I found this poem, and it made me laugh! I thought it was perfect for Wild & Wooley Wednesday. The reason I think it hit me so funny is that all the woman in my life do everything in flip flops or slippers. My wife was wearing them through the last snow storm we had. My sister used to clean stalls every day in flip flops. Can you just imagine all that stuff between your toes?? Every time we go practice my mom cusses her flip flops, and yet somehow the next day she shows up to run chutes in her flip flops again, and we hear about it one more time.

Warmer Days

I am back had an AWESOME weekend off! I am ready to spill a little more information on Hats. I spent my weekend in a warmer climate, wishing I had packed my Straw Hat. This inspired me to tell you more about Straw Hats.

There are 8 main Straw types that are used in making these Hats, which are hand woven. I have already educated you on Jute Straw Hats, and the next one I want to share with you is Shantung. It is sometimes referred to as Shantung Panama.

Shantung is a man-made high performance paper yarn. The Japanese people named this high performance paper "Washi," which literally means "Japanese Paper." Because of availability, and tensile strength, washi is now mainly made from the Manila Hemp Plant. One of the characteristics is that it can absorb thirty percent moisture without having the feeling of wetness. It is considered to be one of the strongest of all natural fibers. It is awesome for making hats. Shantung is light weight, and durable.  It is very similar, by looks, to genuine Panama Hats. 

Funky Fact Friday

Here are some things I have come across this week that I think everyone should know even though you will probaly never need it.
*In the original version of Cinderella the slipper was made of fur, not glass.... maybe they should have just had it a Hat?
*Owls are the only birds that can see blue
*Iron weighs more after it rusts
*The only king without a mustache in a deck of cards is the King of Hearts
*Cans of soda have a 4x longer shelf life then bottled soda
*To be awoken by a kiss on Valentine's day is considered LUCKY!
*15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day

If anyone has some Funky Facts, leave a comment below to let me know what it is, and I will pick a few to feature on one of our Funky Fact Friday posts!

Kettle Iron Curl

Here it is "Throwback Thursday" upon us once again. I want to tell you a little about the Kettle Iron Curl. It is when you have your brim rolled up over the sides. I have heard lots of differnt names for it. Most of the names come from the diameter of the curl such as the quarter iron curl, pencil curl and rain catcher curl. To achive this look it takes a Heat, Steam, Water and a Kettle Iron.

By doing this, it helps strech the Hat fibers to curl in a half circle around the brim. (See above picture) You can just run it on each side, rather than all the way around, for a more traditional look. You can also do it just in the back for more of a flat top Buckaroo look. Or like Tom Mix, Hop Along Cassidy and Val Kilmer as Doc Hoiday in the movie Tombstone, with the Kettle Iron Curl around the whole brim.

This week I have been practicing the Kettle Iron Curl since going to visit JW Hats. It's really growing on me, and I think I want a Hat with that curl to it. Yesterday I had the opportunity to make a Hat that looks just like Tom Mix's hat he wore. I will post a picture of my replica Hat tomorrow.

Steer Wrestling Terminology

Here we go with some "Trivia Tuesday". So before we go any farther, everyone should know that I am a bit passionate about Rodeo especially the Steer Wrestling and Roping.

When you run up on a steer, get in the hole, grab the left horn and just when your feet come out of the stirrup, you and the steer take a nose dive and go ass over elbows. I would like to see how many of you know what this is called in the Steer Wrestling event.

Here is a picture to further my explanation! Going along with the theme of Hats, I have destroyed many Hats this way. Check out his Hat!!!!!! They don't last very long when you throw steers this way!

JW Hat Adventure

For Memory Monday I would like to tell you about my little adventure up to JW Hats in Salt Lake City, Utah. I have been working on my quarter iron curls but decided I needed some help. So I found out who made the irons for us and saw how close they were located to us. I called JW Hats Thursday afternoon and told him I needed some help on my technique. He told me to be there the next morning and he would show me how. Kade and I drove up Friday morning and spent the day learning and building Hats with JW. Both Kade and I built some Hats from a raw state, it was sweet to go through the process.

When we were finished at JW Hats, we drove over the hill to the Burns Cowboy Shop in Park City and helped sell some Hats to a few of the skiers and people shopping in the store. I got to try on one of the "ugliest coats in the whole world!" is what my wife says, but I think it is the most spectacular piece of clothing I have EVER tried on! This coat made me feel like a King! Hmmm......King Kody.....kinda has a little ring to it, don't you think?!

How It's Made Stetson Hats

Here is a video that i found that walks you throught building a hat! Check it out!

Tumbleweed

For "Featured Friday" I want to show and tell you about one of my many creations. This Hat I call the "Tumbleweed" is one of my own creases. The color of the Hat is Buckskin, and the brim measures 3 3/4" with what I call "Hand Curls". One of the coolest features about this hat is the Distressing!! I am constantly making brand new Hats look "broke" in. I love how it helps highlight some of the characteristics of the Hat. Distressing definitely adds character and personality to your lid! It makes the stories about "living" in this Hat more believable! Last, but not least is the sweet Hat band. It is made from vintage leather that has been saved from when Burns Saddlery was making harnesses for wagons and stagecoaches. Adding the antiqued studs to the Hat band, it makes for an awesome rugged appeal.

If you want one of our distressed Hats, stop by one of our stores in

Salina, Utah

Park City, Utah

or Carmel-By-The-Sea, California

Taller Crowns

For "Throwback Thursday" I want to talk about the late '70's and early '80's styles and creases in Hats.

One of my favorite things is looking at old pictures of my Grandpa, and Dad wearing Hats from that era. The style of Hats they generally wore were 7" crowns and 3 3/4" brims, also with outragous looking Hat bands. Some with so many feathers it looks like you ran into a bird.

For example:

If any of you know the movie "Urban Cowboy" you know what I am talking about! That was a staple for this kind of hat. After that movie was made, it helped the western attire grow more popular!

                                                                             

There is one Hat that is still floating around out there from this era, and the guys that wear it won't change. It's called the "Quarter Horse" crease. It has a 7" crown with a 4" brim. The crown is tapered with deep pocket vents, and the brim is dipped in the front and in the back with a slight quarter iron curl on the sides.

The gentleman that wear these Hats love it and is the only Hat they are interested in. If you try to show them something new, they turn and walk away. The only downside to these Hats is trying to find a new one. There are very few companys that have it still available.

"THE BIG FAN"

The way I would clean and shape a hat is as follows:
**Spray "Scout Felt Hat Cleaner" on the top of the Hat
**Take a Hat Brush and brush counter-clockwise on the brim and crown
**Spray Hat Cleaner on the bottom side of the Hat
**Brush the Hat clockwise on the brim
**Hold over steam until pliable
**Shape Hat as desired

Now for the Wild and Wooley Wednesday...

One of the things I have been reading about is "Hat Fanning". What this means is while riding a bucking horse or bull, you take off your Hat, and fan it at the stock. This spooks the animal to a more "colorful" ride. By doing this, it would increase the scores for the cowboys, and always entertained the crowd. Now a days you don't see much of the "Hat Fanning" because the stock have been bred for bucking.

Now I think that is pretty "Wild and Wooley". Don't you?

Cleaning Your Hat

I had a gentleman come in and was just amazed at our Hat wall and watched me clean 2 Hats. He picked up the pure beaver Hat that I shaped up for myself and began to praise it. He told me he was a novelist in Hats but loved them and had been starting to play with them. He told me, the old timers where he is from, told him that the best and only way to clean and shape a Cowboy Hat was to soak it in Windex then let it dry.

   So that started me thinking of a great question for Trivia Tuesday: How do you clean YOUR Hat? What are the proper ways in cleaning and removing dust, stains, ect. from a Hat??