Coolest Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Skin Cowboy Hat Piece Of Art

I was shopping at a second hand store the other day and saw this snakeskin hat. At first, I picked it up just to admire it and then I realized it was not just snake skin but had Diamondback Rattlesnake skin on it. 

I couldn't believe it was only $20 as in my 50 years of life, I have never seen one. I saw a gun-belt a few years back that was a real collectors piece for $100 and I have always regretted not buying it as I know I could have sold it for much more and it was a piece of art with handmade metal pieces and worked leather and a unique history.

I didn't want to regret not getting this piece of art. I know it isn't as valuable as the gun holster but it also wasn't as expensive as the belt. I don't have much excess cash so I usually don't purchase many things over a few dollars unless I know the value is much more and I can make money such as on Jewelry bags that have silver and gold in them. 

However, I looked at this hat like a piece of artwork that would hang on a wall. If I saw a piece of art I loved for $20, I would absolutely purchase it. There aren't many pieces of art I love that much but there are some and to me, this is absolutely a piece of art.

The craftmanship of this is amazing. The placement of the skins and the details of the cuts, it just really is artwork. I am sad to say that the artist didn't sign it that I can find anywhere on the hat and that makes me sad as something that beautiful should be signed. 

I could tell by the hat inside, it was a purchased cheap hat to use as the base and then the artist covered the hat. The hat makers name is painted over on the inside hat sweatband as you can see by one of the photos. 

I was worried about the condition of the hat as the snake scales were lifting at the corners and on the hat band skins so I did some research looking for a few different things. I was first looking to see if I could find other hats like this one. I found two similar hats but none exactly like it. 

The first was on an article showing 15 interesting things with snakeskin on them. The hat was near the bottom of the list and was listed at costing over $1500. I clicked on the link hoping to find more like that and all the links in the story didn't lead me to any workable site for hats. 

The second hat I found, was on a cowboy auction site where at some point, a similar but very light colored hat sold for $250. I don't know how old the site and auction were, but those were the only two cowboy hats I could find with rattlesnake skin on them. I was able to find a few hats out of larger snake skins that were interesting but usually black colored snakes. 

I was able to find LOTS of rattlesnake hat bands, headbands, stuffed snakes, and one weird rattlesnake skin crown which I can't imagine anyone wearing for real ever, but to each his own. 

After looking up similar items, I looked up care of snakeskin boots knowing the treatment would be similar for both. I have seen snakeskin boots many times in my life and bought a few to sell back when eBay first started but I have never been a cowboy boot girl. I find them uncomfortable and pinchy at the toe which is probably why more current cowboy boots now have a spacious and rounded toe.

There were a few videos on how to treat them using an "Exotic skin care kit" but I didn't want to water treat it and purchase a lot of product just to display it. However, I knew it was dry and needed something to make the skin pliable again. I went to my standard leather treatment system of Lexol leather treatment.

I have used this product for years and since it is for leather you wear and use, I knew it couldn't be super toxic as I may wear the hat for a costume or something at some point, but mostly just wanted to condition the skins and the dried out scales. 

I gave the hat a few coats of Lexol and it does dry sticky for a few days even when I used it on my leather couch but it eventually dries to the touch and has really stopped the color fading on my expensive leather and down sofa. 

After a few coats, the dried and curled up scales started to soften and I could push them back down on themselves. At first they were super brittle and I was worried they would break off . As I sprayed the Lexol on and let it sit for a few minutes and rubbed it in with a dry cotton cloth, they softened up after a few coats and I was able to push them down but they wouldn't stay down very well and I was worried about them drying out again. 


The drying scales were the worst on the crown of the hat so I gave that a lot of sprays and let it sit for some time. I didn't want to saturate the skin and make the glue come loose from the hat so don't "pour" the Lexol on, just spray and blend it into the skin and allow it to sit for a few minutes. 

Once the scales were very pliable. I took plastic wrap and wrapped it around the hatband portion of the hat and then placed a rubber band over that section hoping if I left it overnight, the scales would once again lay flat on the next scale. My idea worked and I was able to get the hat band portion to lay down flat which was wonderful. 

I wasn't able to do that with the rest of the hat other than on a few spots I put plastic wrap down and then put a bottle or jar over it to hold the plastic wrap down and the weight push the scales down. It worked somewhat and you can see the picture of the bottle on the rim along with the saran wrap.


I loved the way the hat turned out and it is much softer now that I treated it. If I were going to wear the hat, I would probably purchase the "exotic skin treatment" set of three and cover it with water proofing spray but since I am NOT going to wear it, I will just keep it treated when I treat my leather couch just to keep it soft as it can get dry with the furnace etc. 

I love how it looks in my basement and the colors match the décor down there. I thought about selling it, but I really love it. I have a few pieces of furniture that would probably fetch a penny, but to me, they are art and I enjoy using and admiring them. I hope to have a cabin someday to display all these fun western items but until then, I will enjoy them in my basement. 

Have a Blessed and Snake free Day!