'60s Stetson XXX Beaver Cowboy hat?

[johnnycanuck]

Question along the same lines. What kind or scissors do you use to cut the brim? Any good methods to measure such a cut? How difficult is it to use ribbon to bind the brim? Where does one get proper ribbon for a hat? I have been thinking of re-inventing a old Black cowboy hat I got a few years ago as well. I am sure Matei would need to know similar information to undergo such a project.
Also Matei what kind of hat do you have on in your Avatar. More importantly where did you procure such an item?

 

[matei]

Also Matei what kind of hat do you have on in your Avatar. More importantly where did you procure such an item?

It is a Royal Stetson that I got on eBay last year. It is pretty old - 40's or 50's. I got it for a decent price, and it was in perfect shape (save for a faded liner).

 

[Uncle Vern]

Cutting the Brim

I use a small steel ruler and measure out from the crown to the exact distance I want, and make a pencil mark there. I move the ruler over and inch and repeat, making sure the ruler is perpendicular to the hat. Once I've worked my way around the hat, I sketch a circular pencil line to connect the dots. The closer together the dots, the easier it is to draw the circular line. Then I place the hat on a wooden table, and using either a very, very sharp razor knife or a clamshell (horticulture) knife, I trim the brim. The trick is to use a razor-sharp knife. Go slow. You don't have to press hard, and it's very easy to control the flow of the cut--the blade will slip though the fur felt like butter. Works great, and I've never had a problem. All that's left to do is a little sanding along the edge, and there shouldn't be much of anything to trim once you're done. If you're right-handed, cut to the right. Lefties to the left. That way, you're cutting away from the brim, so that if you slip, you'll more likely just cut through the brim area you plan to remove.
If you're insecure about it, and the brim is wide enough, do a practice cut out past where you plan to trim it.

 

[Raindog]

I used good quality wilkinson sword multi purpose scissors. As long as they're good quality it will do it.
Marking out was done with a compass with a pencil clamped in. Because I wanted to keep the brim identical in shape to the one already on the hat, just shorter, I ran the compass round the brim, using the edge as a guide for the spike to touch, and the pencil set at the brim width I desired. Nice smooth line results.
Then just cut and sand lightly

Jeff.