As to hats...............

I really like my Palm Leaf hat. It's much better quality than the ones you can pick up at a "western wear store" and of course pricier too. It's made by Sun Body in Houston. It gets confused for straw all the time.

I just bought a palm straw hat, haven't even gotten it shaped and broken in yet but I'm pleased with the quality.

Did some looking and found that most straw hats are crafted from natural materials like palm leaves or raffia.

Fox Mike said:

I am holding, on my lap as I type. an Alamo straw hat that has 5 "Xs" stamped inside the band, so it can't be the amount of felt/fur

Click to expand...

Maybe it's the number of scarecrows they had to kill to make the hat?

I suggest you read the history of Resistol hats and other hatmakers. Those articles reveal that the X ratings (previously applied solely to felt hats) began to be applied to straw and other types of hats in the 1950s-60s.

From what information I've gotten, nutrea fur is blended with beaver fur as well.

Bob Wright

It's been many years since I was in the hat shop ( 40+ years ) , but back then , beaver felt hats were made with a blend of rabbit or camel fur.
Cheap hats were made with wool.
What they blend it with today , I have no idea.

On another note.
A Silver Belly hat was the most expensive.
It was made from the belly fur of a beaver.
Only the first 1/4 inch of fur or so on a beaver belly is used.
That is what's used in a true Silver Belly hat.
It takes a few beavers to make one Silver Belly hat.
Now days lots of them are just dyed to make the color.