Hannibal Heyes hat

[marksound]

I'm on a quest to build a reasonable facsimile of the hat Pete Duel wore in Alias Smith and Jones.

There are a lot of pics and all that, and I've sourced a hat and the hardware for the hat band. I have the material for the stampede strings, too.

What I'm interested in is advice about what thickness of leather to use for the hat band. I've done some experiments with tooling and whatnot and I'm not really satisfied with my results. The color is a bit elusive but I'm getting closer.

Here are some pics of The Hat, screenshots from the show and a couple I swiped (shh) from a fan site of the actual hat 50 years later.

 

[Apollo]

Loved that show!

Good luck in your search!!!!

 

[FPLeatherCo]

If you're tooling the leather (is there tooling on the band? I can't see any), you'll need some natural vegetable tanned leather. Anywhere from 5oz - 8oz will work for a hat band though that one looks on the thinner side.

Also grab some Fiebings Pro dye in chocolate. That's an easy dye to use and is pretty close to that color. Dilute up to 50% with some denatured alcohol and you can sneak up on the saturation of color.

 

[marksound]

If you're tooling the leather (is there tooling on the band? I can't see any), you'll need some natural vegetable tanned leather. Anywhere from 5oz - 8oz will work for a hat band though that one looks on the thinner side.

Also grab some Fiebings Pro dye in chocolate. That's an easy dye to use and is pretty close to that color. Dilute up to 50% with some denatured alcohol and you can sneak up on the saturation of color.

Thanks for the info. I got a length of 5-6 oz veg tanned 1" wide and cut the edges like for stitching (but it's not stitched). Last night I put on a couple of coats of Fiebing's dark brown, and another coat this morning. We'll see what it looks like when I get home this evening. If the color is right I'll seal it and then start the nerve-wracking part, punching for the spots.

I'll post some pics when I'm sure I haven't messed it up.

 

[marksound]

Well, here it is. The band didn't turn out as dark as I wanted, even after several applications of dye. I think I got pretty close to the hat shape, using a small clothes steamer to shape the brim. I think it will continue to be a work in progress. But for now, it's good.

 

[marksound]

I worked on the hat band some more and finally got it to a color that is acceptable to me. After looking at screenshots I decided that the braided stampede strings in the 2nd season are brown rather than black, so I fixed that.

There are some details that still aren't quite right but I have a few leads and I keep researching.

So for now, here's a selfie.

 

[EEvansHilton]

Nicely done! Had my wife custom-made from Custom Cowboy Hats and Leather - The Last Best West

 

[marksound]

I couldn't leave well enough alone.

If you have Heyes' hat, you have to have Kid Curry's hat, too. I've always liked the season 2-3 hat so I decided to give it a go.

After hours and hours of searching for the right hat and concho belt, and learning how to add the turquoise spots, here is the pair. Of course I had to make a couple of hat stands too.

And a screenshot from the show:

 

[renparker]

Loved that show!

Good luck in your search!!!!

I love Hannibal Heyes Hat I thought I bought one from a website and they cheated me and didn't send me the hat. I'm so broken hearted I was going to wear it to the Rodeo next month

 

[marksound]

I love Hannibal Heyes Hat I thought I bought one from a website and they cheated me and didn't send me the hat. I'm so broken hearted I was going to wear it to the Rodeo next month

Hey, if you're into trying to make it yourself, I found nearly everything I was looking for on this site:

Outlaw Heyes Hat Band – Lazy JV Ranch Equipment Sales

lazyjvranchequipment.com