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Butch's Hat

hatflick1

Practically Family
Messages
623
Any thoughts on where I could pick up a hat like Paul Newman's in Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid?

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1835309056/tt0064115

Or, what I could buy and re-shape to make it similar to the western style in the film. At first I thought it was a converted Gambler style because of the telescope crown and narrower brim. But, as I studied it, it appears to have a higher crown than Gambler's commercially available.

As always, thanks!
 

billyspew

One Too Many
Messages
1,746
Location
London, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
hatflick1 said:
Any thoughts on where I could pick up a hat like Paul Newman's in Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid?

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1835309056/tt0064115

Or, what I could buy and re-shape to make it similar to the western style in the film. At first I thought it was a converted Gambler style because of the telescope crown and narrower brim. But, as I studied it, it appears to have a higher crown than Gambler's commercially available.

As always, thanks!

Akubra Down Under or Warrego maybe?
 

Carlisle Blues

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,154
Location
Beautiful Horse Country
I thought you meant this Butch


butch.jpg
 

hatflick1

Practically Family
Messages
623
Thanks for the tips.

Actually, the Akubra suggestion got me looking. The Stockman actually seems like it could be reshaped to reflect Butch's hat.

http://www.davidmorgan.com/product_info.php?products_id=87

It's for a friend who may not be as critical as I am when it comes to detail. An approximation may do.

(Oh, and I enjoyed the reference to Little Rascals. However, Butch was not nearly as colorful as Froggy.)
 
Messages
10,524
Location
DnD Ranch, Cherokee County, GA
DnSchlng said:
didnt newman and redford have the same style hat but with slight differences or is my memory wrong?
Most of hats for movies were shaped by the costumers working on the crew. They both probably started out as open crown blanks that had bands, creases done & brims cut & formed. If you see a specific model, it was done post production to resemble the hat in the movie.
 

DnSchlng

One of the Regulars
Messages
134
Location
Pennsylvania
unless you get thouse low budget movies where they just by a stock stetson and dirty it up. When movies do that it just doesnt have as much character as customizing a hat
 

DMc

New in Town
Messages
16
Location
Sydney, Australia
From Akubra, the Down Under would be the best choice, but you would need to cut down the brim width. The Stockman's crown would not be full enough to achieve the telescopic shape.
 

majormoore

Vendor
Messages
802
The hat has a telescoping crown about 4 1/2" tall maybe a little taller, and a short brim, some where around 3 1/2"this hat was very comman in movies in the 50's and 60's. Little Joe wore one alot like this hat also.

Major Moore
 

Corky

Practically Family
Messages
507
Location
West Los Angeles
The Newman/Cassidy hat

The Newman/Cassidy hat could be made easily. But I wouldn't try to exactly replicate the hat, merely try to come up with one that has the same spirit as the one worn in the movie.

One could just get a hat like an an open crown Camp Draft or Open Road and work on it a bit.

Replace the Camp Draft's band with a wider grosgrain ribbon, carefully remove the trim on the edge of the brim, and block it down into a telescope bash and your're set to go.

newman_butch_cassidy_32479a.jpg


Or one could have some fun with the project. There are lots of FL threads about the process of remaking a project hat, do a few searches on this web site on topics such as cutting down hat brims, re-blocking a hat into a telescope crown, how to re-shape a hat's brim, Cowboy conversions, etc.

Then, find any old decent grade Stetson or Resistol cowboy hat that fits. Look for a soft one with some beaver in the blend. The more XXXs the better. The less it feels like cardboard, the better it will feel on your head.

(I'd remove and toss the hat liner, but that's purely a matter of taste.)

Using a compass (with the angle taped so it doesn't slip while you're marking the cut) and a sharp scissors (a big pair of Fiskars will work perfectly) cut a quarter of an inch off the brim, all the way around. I think the brim on the hat in the movie still photo above looks like 2 3/4 inches, but I would start at 3 1/2 inches and then take off a quarter of an inch at a time until it looks right to your eye.

When you like the way the brim looks, take it outdoors and sand the edge of the brim lightly all the way around with 150 grit sand paper.

Soak the crown in water (taking care to not not get the inner leather sweat band wet) and re-block it into a low telescope, maybe 4 or 4 1/2 inches. Let it dry.

Butch's hat in the movie photo lappears to have a grosgrain band. Get a suitable band in a slightly darker color than your hat and attach it with a few stitches.

I would replace the hat band with a latigo saddle string, but again, that's your call.

Then using teakettle steam or a spray bottle of water, shape the brim to your taste.

Be sure to send us a card from Bolivia.

Best regards
 

Benzadmiral

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,815
Location
The Swamp
Any thoughts on where I could pick up a hat like Paul Newman's in Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid?

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1835309056/tt0064115

Or, what I could buy and re-shape to make it similar to the western style in the film. At first I thought it was a converted Gambler style because of the telescope crown and narrower brim. But, as I studied it, it appears to have a higher crown than Gambler's commercially available.

As always, thanks!
John Penman has a model on his site called the Unipiper: http://www.penmanhats.com/mens-hats.html It comes pretty close in the telescoping crown and rolled brim departments, though it is a little pricey.
 

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