OT- A nice hat...

[catulle]

The guy in the picture is my old friend Tony Bose. Tony builds the best pocket knives ever. I mean, Tony's knives are something else. Not only are they beautifully crafted, but the blades are ground and tempered like no other.

Anyway, Tony asked me about how to get a panama hat. Panama hats are hand made in a very small and remote town in Ecuador, an almost lost art of very fine craftsmanship if you're after the real thing.

Because I lived in Ecuador for seven years and used to go duck hunting once a year every year to the general area where these hats are made, I had a pretty good idea of where to get Tony a truly good panama hat. I made a few calls and after a few weeks wait, the result is now on Tony's proud head.

The fine panama hats weigh as much as an envelope and last several lifetimes. It takes a great deal of time and dexterousness to weave one and there are very few of the good artisans left.

There you go, Tony...

[Pete Serotta]

very nice hat......... WE need one for BEN!!


On knives, let us have the web site for him... SPOKES is a big knife lover.


PETE

[catulle]

very nice hat......... WE need one for BEN!!


On knives, let us have the web site for him... SPOKES is a big knife lover.


PETE

boseknives.com Tony'll be at the Atlanta Knife Show at the end of May. The Atlanta show is held on a yearly basis and is the most important knife show in the world. And Atlanta is one of my favorite cities in the US, so attending the show is a very nice experience altogether.

One of these hats in very expensive, not nearly as much as a Meivici, but quite costly. However, a good hat that at the right place in Ecuador goes for $600, in the US could easily go for several thousands.

[Blue Jays]

Cool chapeau. That lid cost a couple thousand bucks? Yowza.

[Too Tall]

boseknives.com Tony'll be at the Atlanta Knife Show at the end of May. The Atlanta show is held on a yearly basis and is the most important knife show in the world. And Atlanta is one of my favorite cities in the US, so attending the show is a very nice experience altogether.

One of these hats in very expensive, not nearly as much as a Meivici, but quite costly. However, a good hat that at the right place in Ecuador goes for $600, in the US could easily go for several thousands.

Boss, you treat your friends very well it speaks volumes.

[catulle]

Boss, you treat your friends very well it speaks volumes.

For friends like you and Tony, nothing is too much. :beer:

[stevep]

i love knives.
they are cool.

[catulle]

i love knives.
they are cool.

Priceless whittler.

[Fixed]

i love knives.
they are cool.
me too

[djg]

The hat's cool and the knife's cool and good friends are priceless but . . . um, so why aren't they called Ecuador hats?

[dbrk]

I believe...and Catulle should correct me if I'm mistaken...but the proper suit to wear with that Panama Hat is called a drill cien...so something quite like that. It's white, linen and cotton, Cuban in origin (I think), once upon a time I had one bespoke from a tailor in Miami. It was genuinely elegant even on my less than rakish self.

The knives are something else. I'd hurt myself with such an object but I admire them aplenty. When I was in grad school in the 80s there was a project at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts where a Samurai sword master was commissioned to make a sword on the premises. Every Sunday you could watch him for a few hours. I did that for months till it was done. Unforgettable experience.

dbrk

[catulle]

I believe...and Catulle should correct me if I'm mistaken...but the proper suit to wear with that Panama Hat is called a drill cien...so something quite like that. It's white, linen and cotton, Cuban in origin (I think), once upon a time I had one bespoke from a tailor in Miami. It was genuinely elegant even on my less than rakish self.

The knives are something else. I'd hurt myself with such an object but I admire them aplenty. When I was in grad school in the 80s there was a project at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts where a Samurai sword master was commissioned to make a sword on the premises. Every Sunday you could watch him for a few hours. I did that for months till it was done. Unforgettable experience.

dbrk

You're quite right. But first let me explain why Panama hat and not Ecuador hat. In Ecuador these hats are called "toquilla" hats (that's the name of the straw used to make the hat), or Jipijapa or Montecristi hat (which are the places where originally these hats were woven.) However, the hat became popular in the US and Europe with the construction of the Panama Canal. When old Teddy visited Panama to check on the progress of his canal, he wore a Jipijapa hat and the picture of Teddy wearing his hat in Panama circulated around the world. Thus, the panama hat (no capitals now.)

Regarding the drill cien dress, drill cien means 100% cotton drill cloth. Drill cloth is a particular pattern of weave. The virtue of the drill cien textile is that it keeps you rather cool in the humid and hot tropics. However, I believe that there was/is some linen in the better drill cien textiles; which is a bit confusing because cien means hundred for 100% cotton. And, of course, the typical drill cien suit is white.

To summarize, the drill cien textile and the panama hat somehow merged, as they have different origins, in the Caribbean, Central America and the tropical countries of South America and remained popular with locals and foreigners during the last half of the XIX century to the first half of the XX century. More recently, though, it remains popular with the horse set in Colombia and Peru.

I'd trade any number of hats, though, for a Samurai sword crafted the traditional way.

[Dekonick]

This is a fine example of what makes this forum special. What better place to learn about hand crafted works than here?

Bikes, watches, hats, knives, wine, beer, all of the highest quality. A true education awaits those willing to hang out at the Serotta forum.

Thanks Ben!

:)

[Too Tall]

Good stuff. It was because of an much older thread that I began looking at handcrafted pocket knives and gained new appreciation for some of the things I've always had near me. Everything is about people.

[majorpat]

The Camillus Cutlery factory just down the street from me finally closed this winter. I guess they just couldn't make it work anymore. Though not as finely crafted as Catulle's knives, they were well made, workingman's blades.
In US manufacturing, if you aren't boutique or proprietary, better watch out, the end may be near, it is sad to say. Happy to say that the original Ka-Bar company in Olean, NY is still trucking along proudly!

Camillus mades the mass-produced, government contract Ka-Bar USMC fighting knives, not a bad tool.


Pat

[catulle]

I'm very sorry to hear about Camillus. However, Randall Made Knives is doing better than ever. Randall's story is a true inspiration of the American work ethic and culture. Three generations of the Randall family have been building the most wonderful hand-made knives in a small orange grove in Florida.

Very little has changed since old Bo Randall made his first knife and in spite of tremendous demand they've kept their ways. I think it takes now some five years to get a Randall knife from the factory.

Here are a few Randall Made Knives:

[Too Tall]

Darn it. You started me down "that path" again.

I've got a fav. pocket knife for just about everything except gardening...now this. I've given Case pocket knives as birthday gifts a number of times. Always well rec'd.

[Pete Serotta]

Thanks for the education on Knives and on Suits. Five year wait.....

Got to get SPOKES on the list.. :D

Pete

[Blue Jays]

I've got a variety of Busse, Microtech, and Benchmade models that I certainly enjoy. All are high-quality tools.

[catulle]

Darn it. You started me down "that path" again.

I've got a fav. pocket knife for just about everything except gardening...now this. I've given Case pocket knives as birthday gifts a number of times. Always well rec'd.

Tony Bose designs knives, pocket knives, for Case. They are identified as so and cost more than the regular Case. I heart Case meselfmo, atmo.

[catulle]

Thanks for the education on Knives and on Suits. Five year wait.....

Got to get SPOKES on the list.. :D

Pete

Glad to oblige, Pete.

[Too Tall]

Stop me. Just found J.Wayne and The man in black series

[jerk]

ahmmm.i've got a pair of pink kershaw scissors....and my uncle brought back a gurkha knife from his stint in burma with stillwell.

that's all i got on knives. oh, i got some nice french steak knives with little bumblebees on'em.

jerk

[Ozz]

Good stuff. It was because of an much older thread that I began looking at handcrafted pocket knives and gained new appreciation for some of the things I've always had near me. Everything is about people.
Too Tall...being a "foodie"....you will appreciate this local (to me) guy:

Kramer Knives (http://www.kramerknives.com/index.htm)

Cool stuff....