Farmer's hat... Should I retire it? how beat am I?!?! shame

John_PA

Well-known Member
Well... It's that time of year. Bi-annually I do change my work hat. In June, I lost my last hat under the planter when doing soybeans and I took it off and hung it over the hazard light. It bit it when the wind blew it under the planter and it got a V slice up the middle, complete with a string of soybeans.


In June of 2014, my dad and I went to Ohio and bought a brand new Demco sprayer. I wasn't in a good money spending mood. I was pretty bleak about the purchase, but Jason, from Witmer's Agco in Columbiana, Ohio was a good man. I didn't want to spend the money, but we had to. Jason saw my pitiful hat and sweetened the pot. He gave my dad and I a new hat. I was floored by this. Dealers normally don't give new hats anymore. I told him I would wear it out.

Well... I think I did. It has been 6 months and I think I went maybe 8 or 9 days without wearing it to work in the time since he gave it to me.


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My dad, being semi-retired from farming(he farms, but I do everything aside from putting him behind the steering wheel anymore.) hasn't really put a lot of time on his hat. Me? I wore the danged thing out.



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This is the first time ever I got to see my hat before and after.


I think I owe all the rest of my hats an apology...



Have you ever worn out a good hat in 6 months? What was your favorite work hat?

I like my hats, but I beat them to death. I wish I had some of them back. Is there a hat you want back? I have many.
 
If you are talking about that hat on the right, it still has several years of wear left in it. Don't even look broke in yet.
 
Yup, just getting broken in.

My favorite hat (because of how it fits, not what's on the front) is from 2007 when I bought a new pickup.

It's got so much oil and grease worked into it now, it's darn near waterproof. You can't read the logo on the front anymore, but all the stitching is still tight and it's not frayed (much) so it's still good to go.
 
I have such a hard time finding a hat that has the visor and head
piece (or whatever you call it) sewn on straight, so it doesn't
look lopsided on my head (maybe my head is lopsided) that
when I do find a straight one I wear that sucker until the cows
come home.
Your visor looks straight and has the correct bend to it, it's a
keeper.
 
I've got a couple of hats that are worn and dirty, but don't part
with them as they fit my big head nicely.

Also, if I find a nice hat, I'll buy a couple two or three for future
use. I'd hate to get myself retired and hat styles radically
change (not for the better) like so many other things - LOL!
 
6 months sounds about right. In the summer I may go through 2 or 3. I sweat so much, if I don't wash mine at least once a week they won't let me in the coffee shop and after a few washings they come apart. I haven't bought a hat in years. The feed stores pretty well keep me in hats as well as the coop. If I need a hat I grab one at the coop and tell them to put it on my bill. I yet to be charged, it my be because they don't want to smell my old one :lol:
 
When a tractor dealership went out of business about 10 years ago I bought their stock of caps at their auction probably around 200 so I can have a new cap about anytime I want it.
 
Looks like there's still a lot of good mileage left in your old hat.

Unfortunately none of my hats reach retirement.

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I got both of these new from my fuel supplier this May,, both were the same hat, as you can see I do a Lot of field work in units without a/c lol
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I have a hundred hats ,one for every occasion LOl ,,. Been known to wear an old worn out one to a County government meeting ,,. I take it off during mtgs ,,. got about 4 straw hats with green viser for summer ...I cherish Dad's Hawaii cap we Got back in 2000 ...Even wear it to family functions ...
 
I still remember a "disagreement" between darling and me. I
couldn't find my hat. We turned the house upside down looking
for my favorite blue hat. I finally found it on the porch as I had
thrown it there and it fell beside the bench. When I walked in
the house with it on *it* hit the fan. "That hat is NOT blue! I've
been turning this house upside down booking for a blue had
and you call that brown thing blue. What, are you suddenly
color blind?" The only thing I could say was "it was blue when
it was new".

Semantics.

Now I am more careful about finding the current color of cap.
Wear your purdy hat. Still lots of life. Especially for a tightwad
like me. A change in color is just the beginning.
 
As others have said, wash it and keep wearing it. I air dry mine after washing by putting it over a tupperware container to keep it's shape. I had a good , comfortable, cool hat that a salvage yard gave me while I was on vacation a couple years ago that was the best cap I had found in a long time. It blew off my head about 100 feet from the driveway one day in a gust of wind. I saw it stop on the edge of the road and figured I would pick it up when I left with the truck. Got back 5 minutes later and it was gone. Someone got a nice hat. Usually have trouble with people throwing stuff out along the road, not picking it up lol.
 
This hat is one of many and maybe the most unique. My wife
brings them home from work (by the dozen) where a co-
worker who's husband works for Gander Mountain has a
basement full of them.



I second the recommendation of washing your hat in the
dishwasher . I have a plastic frame made to hold the hat,
comes out looking like new.

Can't beat the fit of a well worn hat.
 
I get about a year out of mine. Last one was a plain JD, this one is a black "Pape" (john deere store owner) hat, and it is VERY comfortable...

The one I had before those was my favorite, it was from Husqvarna. I had a big 372 or some other high back saw on the hat, and it said Husqvarna on the bar, and then under it, it said "Run Forest". :) LOVED that hat!!!

Bryce
 
It depends on what you call a hat. I have a hat that I bought about 15 years ago. I wore it for good and then 3 years ago it became a work hat. Hydraulic hose broke and it became well oiled. I have cleaned it 4 times and the oil still keeps coming out and it looks dirty all the time. I have several holes worn in the felt that add to extra air movement. I wear it fall winter and spring and then the straw comes out for summer time. Ya its a good ol' hat and probably has as many years left in it as I do.
Bud
 
My 'favorite' farm hat is a 30 year old black felt
'cowboy' hat.It will never get 'retired.Everybody
just seems to 'love' it.Even been asked to sell it a
couple of times!
 
John,

This hat was the hat my Dad was wearing the day that he passed
away, October 29, 1951. My brother wore it for many years and I
inherited it when he passed away. It now hangs in my office and
brings volumes of memories every time I look up at it.
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If you'd look at the one I'm wearing right now you'd see you've got a lot of life left in your hat. What I do with mine is coat them with something like Shout stain remover and wash them. The last time I did this, my hat went in with absolutely no color, beyond the grease, and came out looking as close to new as you can get for a hat that's at least two years old.
 
Mine always looked worse than that by the time I got a new one, at least while I was on the farm.

Very few places gave them away back then, so I wore the old ones till they came apart.
 
never did buy CAP BOUGHT LOTA HIGH PRICED EQUIPMENT ALLWAYS GOT A NEW HAT SAME WITH AUTO PARTS GOT LOTS OF HATS FROM THEM THAY DONT LIKE TO SEE U WEAR ONE FROM THE COMPITION
 
(quoted from post at 12:19:49 12/20/14) You GOT a FREE HAT off of Witmers REALLY ??? good god they are going to go BELLY up for sure now .


Not 1, but 2 free hats! I didn't beat him down on the price of the sprayer, and they sold a gleaner K for $9000, so I figure they could toss a hat in.

8)
 

Tom,

That is an amazing story. I'm very lucky to have my dad around and I never forget it. To this day, my dad still has his father's wallet, with everything still inside on the day he died. Inside that wallet is my great grandfather's driver's license. I guess my grandfather held onto that with him everywhere he went. It must run in the family...

Thanks for the pictures and the story.
 

Ford/New Holland hats don't get dirty! :lol: :wink:

2 Other hats don't get dirty, either... DeKalb winged corn and FS Seed corn. Those hats were also the most expensive ones. Many years of $200-300 per bag to buy those hats!
 

I just re-read my original post. I left out the most important part. The reason the hat is to be retired is "gentle persuasion" from those who see me wearing it. Hate to do it, it does fit nice.
 

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