Custom made Shade

Local masters craft premium hats
DAVID STEPHENS

    The image is iconic. A cowboy hat slanted over a tanned face. An irreplaceable and mandatory piece of the West Texas wardrobe. Hardworking ranchers and cattle herders know life in the Big Bend is hard. The dust is unforgiving, the sun relentless. A good hat keeps both in check, and some of the finest examples are handmade in the Big Bend.
    James Spradley’s shop, Spradley Hats, in Alpine is simple and clean. Only essential equipment and pieces of beaver felt in the back and finished hats ready for shipping stacked in the front. John Davis’s store, Limpia Creek Hats,

is similarly arranged in Fort Davis. All these craftsmen need is the essential materials and a keen attention to detail.
    Spradley’s interest in hat making began while he was working at a western store as a young man. "I got a taste and a touch of really good hats at a young age,” he said. “My job was to take care of the hats.”
    Despite his early enthusiasm, Spradley didn’t attempt hat making as a full time endeavor until much later. After ranching for most of his life, some buddies convinced him to make hats full time. He opened up shop 12 years ago.

   
    Davis, who has been operating Limpia Creek Hats over two years, wouldn’t practice his craft anywhere else. “This part of the country is perfect,” he said. “It’s usually dry; a drier climate is better for hat-making.”
    Even with the climate on their side, these expert hat-makers agree that the final product is only as good as the quality of the felt used to make the hat. The finest quality felt comes from beaver fur. Second best is a blend of beaver and rabbit.
    Regardless of the felt used, both men make hats following a method that dates back to the 1800s. Each hat is unique; perfectly fitted to the customer with “hat blocks,” wooden molds that serve as a model of the head size and shape.
    The felt is fitted over a hat block, sanded down until fuzz and stray fibers are gone, and ironed until the brim is flat and smooth. The felt is then shaped into the desired style. Finally, the decorative details of liners and hatbands are added. The entire process can take around 40 hours per hat.
    The 100% beaver hats will cost you, but the tighter, denser fibers in the hair make the hat lightweight without sacrificing any durability, and slick enough that water slides off the brim like drops of mercury.
    “The natural oils in the beaver fur is so much better for the weather and being water repellant,” said Davis. “The vast majority of people that wear our hats are working people that wear them everyday. We try to build something that lasts.”
    These two talented and hardworking men know the business is really about who walks in their door. "The thing about this is that you really got to want to serve people,” Spradley said. For John Davis the best part is the very end when the customer finally puts their hat on and looks in the mirror. “You see a grin come on their face and then you know you’ve done a good job.”  BB