Our panama hat supplier sent us a series of photographs that document the making of the Panama Hat. The finest hats come from Ecuador where the climate makes it ideal for growing the toquilla straw used in making the hats. Ecuador is also home to the world’s finest hat weavers.
The straw is first chopped down and transported. 
The fiber is split into narrow strands from the stem.
The straw is dried and then bleached, if necessary.
The straw is woven and blocked into shape.
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Many people ask how to store their hat when it isn’t in use. The most common ways are to use a hook or set the hat on its crown. Both will work fine. But for long term storage, we recommend keeping a hat stretcher in the hat. This prevents the hat from shrinking over time from disuse. You can easily set the hat on its crown and put the stretcher inside. David uses a second method.
Put door stops on the hat stretcher. This way the hat can remain sitting upright. The brim will remain above the surface so it won’t bend over time.This also works when the hat gets wet. The entire hat can rest on the stretcher and the top of the hat will dry along with the rest.
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David Morgan is proud to present the Burke and Wills by Akubra. This hat is part of Akubra’s Heritage Collection of premium hats. It is a western-style hat with a crown that reaches to 5 inches at the front and 5 1/2 inches at the sides.
Like the Territory, the brim is a wide 4 inches. There are 3 eyelets on each side.
Unique for our line of Akubras is the center crease with side dents. This shape is often found in the American West where it is known as the Cattleman’s Crease. A horsehair band finishes off the hat with style.
Burke and Wills
Sand colored. Sizes 7 to 7 5/8 (56 to 61).
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We’d love to see our customers wearing an Akubra or a Panama. Send us your photos here and we’ll put them up on our blog or on our customer photo sections within our online catalog. For starters, here’s a photo of one of our employees on vacation in the San Juans. His hat is the Angler:
Here are three photos of our customer, Hans-Dieter Zimmer from Germany wearing his Adventurer. Thanks, Hans-Dieter!
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David Morgan presents a new line of nylon whips from Karaka Products of New Zealand. They are machine-braided nylon, with a lead shot loaded nylon fall and cracker. Nylon whips are generally less expensive than hand braided leather whips and maintenance free. If they get dirty, you can wash them with water. They work well in rain, mud and snow. We offer two types of Karaka whips: an 8 foot bullwhip, and a 6 foot stockwhip.
Item 368 in our store, the 8 foot Karaka Bullwhip:
Item 366 in our store, the 6 foot Karaka Stockwhip
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Maytie and Bob Leinweber brought a whip to us for repair. We’re not sure what the whip is, but it appears to be a California style 8 plait Latigo. It is a swivel-handle bullwhip. The white and brown diamond pattern you see near the handle is from an extra set of strands braided into the whip for reinforcement. An example of the whip can be seen in Whips and Whipmaking on page 25.
Later, Maytie sent us these pictures of Bob as a young man. She explains:
These are the fun photos (no alcohol involved) taken by Bob Leinweber’s dad, Clarence. They are of Bob and his friends Doug Peak, Richard Houghton & Doug Marshell for their friend Max Lacey who had joined the Navy and later went to Vietnam. The pictures were taken in summer of 1961. One of the pistols held by Bob is an original 1851 Navy Colt. Bob and Doug learned the skills of the Bull Whip in 1958 and enjoyed their Whip Cracking Display for their friends and classmates all through school and into Bob’s Forest Ranger Days in Sequoia National Park, California. Bob’s 16 foot Bull Whip was originally purchased out of a nationally known catalog in 1957.
Thanks Maytie and Bob for the great photographs! We hope you enjoy them as much as we did.
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For those of you who are interested in more pictures of our #455 10 foot bullwhip, we have a few close-ups for you.
The full whip
Close-up of the coil
Close-up of the braid
The handle
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This Saturday, February 7th at 5 pm, the History Channel will air a repeat of Extreme Marksmen. One portion will feature whip cracking from Anthony De Longis and another will highlight bullwhip making. The show has footage of basic whip construction and interviews with David, Meagan and Alex.
David, with Meagan and Alex. (photo credit Kyle Johnson)
David with the crew from Extreme Marksmen.
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John Leonetti stopped by the store just after Christmas to introduce his friend, Paul Johnson. Along with Will Morgan, they examined and photographed several of David’s whips.
John and David
David and Paul
Below are some photographs from David’s collection. (Some photos courtesy of John Leonetti)
6 ft Pocket Snake made by David Morgan
Deer Hoof with thong from Beau Hickory, made in the 1970s.
Peruvian whip from Bernardo del Carpio
Peruvian whip from Bernardo del Carpio
On Sunday, Will, John and Paul spent the day cracking whips at the SANCA facilities with BWAHAHA (The Barton-Wright Applied Hopology And Historical Antagonistics League).
Neal Stephenson on left, John Leonetti on right
John, Paul and Louie Foxx
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The Bushman, open crown
We often get requests to bash an Akubra hat, and we are happy to do so. But the truth is, anyone can bash a hat. It doesn’t take any fancy equipment. Here are two popular ways:
Cowboys used to get their hats wet by wearing them in the rain or dunking them in a stream. Once wet, they could bash the hat into the desired shape. Then, like cowboy boots, they wore them until dry. Drying it on the head not only kept it from shrinking, but helped it conform to the individual’s own head shape.
While we use a steamer, a tea kettle works just as well. Run the part of the hat to be shaped over the steam for a few seconds. The steam penetrates the felt, which allows you to work the hat into the shape that you want. We give step by step instructions online for a number of bash styles at: Bashing Your Open Crown Akubra
Remember, an open crowned hat can always be reshaped. And don’t worry about making the perfect bash. Take a look at the hats worn by such icons as Howard Hughes and Al Capone You’ll see ripples and dents where the hat was creased. That isn’t a bash with flaws, but a hat with character.
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Akubra Hats
Bashing Your Open Crown Akubra
Hat Sizing
