Ask a question, get an answer

[drmaxtejeda]

I think it can vary depending on things like thickness, density, and the like. However, there probably is at least a rule of thumb.

All due respect to Joe, but Max "knows a guy," he doesn't do it.

So I'll send the bat signal out for @T Jones. I think he can give you some advice.

Hahahaha! Thanks, Jim. I have noticed when Terry does it it's creativity (and I agree), but when Ignacio did it for me it was a "desecration"

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Pardon my ignorance... what’s an AMA

American Medical Association. Hatters and Surgeons Local 455. Ignacio does a great hernia repair too.

 

[Blare]

American Medical Association. Hatters and Surgeons Local 455. Ignacio does a great hernia repair too.

ah there we go... I knew of that AMA. Just didn’t know that was what Jim was referencing. Makes sense that a surgeon would make a great hatter. Very cool.

 

[drmaxtejeda]

American Medical Association. Hatters and Surgeons Local 455. Ignacio does a great hernia repair too.

 

[Silver-Wolf]

Pardon my ignorance... what’s an AMA

American Medical Association. Hatters and Surgeons Local 455. Ignacio does a great hernia repair too.

Good thing I didn't bolt to answer Australian Medical Association lol.

 

[drmaxtejeda]

ah there we go... I knew of that AMA. Just didn’t know that was what Jim was referencing. Makes sense that a surgeon would make a great hatter. Very cool.

I got him into the ADA, too. Fills moth holes

 

[Blare]

I got him into the ADA, too. Fills moth holes

LOL

 

[HuangCheng]

I have this book for years, It help a lot.
Is there any old books I can know Stetson hat as well?
I will need to know the book's name,So maybe I can find it on Amazon
I'm hungry.

 

[Frunobulax]

Pardon my ignorance... what’s an AMA

Ask me anything.

Hahahaha! Thanks, Jim. I have noticed when Terry does it it's creativity (and I agree), but when Ignacio did it for me it was a "desecration"

Terry converts old westerns that are a dime a dozen.

 

[drmaxtejeda]

Ask me anything.



Terry converts old westerns that are a dime a dozen.[/QUOTE

True, true.
I get grief even when I convert modern hats that are still commercially available right now, even if they aren't a dime a dozen, as well as 1950s or 1960s hats that were commonplace examples.
And, honestly, really, I didn't alter hats that I felt shouldn't be altered, Jim. Of course, I was the judge of which were and weren't, but on the other hand, they were my hats

True, true.
I get grief even when I downsize hats that are still commercially available right now, even if they aren't a dime a dozen, as well as 1950s or 1960s hats that were commonplace examples.
And, honestly, really, I didn't alter hats that I felt shouldn't be altered, Jim. Of course, I was the judge of which were and weren't, but on the other hand, they were my hats.
Edit:
And besides, I didn't convert them, I just upsized them, taking care not to alter the shape and proportions

 

[belfastboy]

Ask me anything.



Terry converts old westerns that are a dime a dozen.

The old westerns are a dime a dozen.....Terry's work is priceless

 

[drmaxtejeda]

I agree. Beautiful work, he does

 

[georgie girl]

Oops, I didn't mean to start that ball of string again. I just figured who is really going to wear all of those under 6 7/8 sizes... it's not the most common hat, but right now I've seen 5 of the style on ebay all under the size of 7. I figured it would better to save the hat/style minus a 1/4" on the brim then have it end up in the trash somewhere because no one buys it. The style in question is a Dobbs westward, but perhaps the felt on those would be too thin. Cheers

And, honestly, really, I didn't alter hats that I felt shouldn't be altered, Jim. Of course, I was the judge of which were and weren't, but on the other hand, they were my hats.
Edit:
And besides, I didn't convert them, I just upsized them, taking care not to alter the shape and proportions

 

[T Jones]

I have a question for the hat makers here: what is the difference in amount of felt per size? I'm trying to figure out how much I will lose on brim size, getting a hat sized up about 2 sizes and whether it's worth my while. The original brim is 3"... Thanks

@deadlyhandsome
@Frunobulax

I've done tons of conversions and refurbs, so my experience has been,...I've done some refurbs to where I lost very little to no brim width at all, to where I lost a lot of brim, to where I had slight variances of the width all around.

With that said, sizing up or sizing down isn't the only thing to factor in when considering brim width. It's all going to depend on the block you're using that can determine how much brim you'll lose. For example, are you completely changing out the open crown shape as well the crown height from what was original to the hat? That can determine what you'll lose in brim width as well.

Here's a Royal Stetson Open Road that I sized up from a 7 1/8 to a 7 1/4. It originally started out with a 2 1/2 brim and I ended up with that same brim width after I sized it up. But the block I used was very similar to the hat's original open crown shape and height.

I also lost some brim width when I downsized this tapered up crowned Peurto Fino from a 7 3/8 to a 7 1/4...and not only that, it varied in width all around the brim. In this case, though, I totally changed out the block shape, raised the height by 1/4 inch, and reduced it one size smaller. If I recall, the brim width on this was originally 3 inches but I still had plenty left to trim it down to a 2 5/8 brim width.

Before:

After:

Here's a Resistol Stagecoach that was gifted to me from a fellow Lounger. It started out with a 4' brim but I sized this one up from either a 6 5/8 or a 6 7/8 to a 7 1/4 and converted it to a "Whippet" style fedora with a 2 5/8 brim. Of course, all three variables of my block completely changed this hat, and no doubt, there was going to be brim loss. The size, the shape of the block, and the crown height was changed out from 6 1/4 inches to 5 3/4 inches...

Before and after:

On the head:

Changing the block shape, the block height, and the block size, (all three together), from the original will have an affect on your brim width. Staying with a similar block shape and block height as what was original to the hat "may" have slight to no affect on your brim width if you're only going up a size. But, don't always count on that to be set in stone.

 

[Blare]

@deadlyhandsome
@Frunobulax

I've done tons of conversions and refurbs, so my experience has been,...I've done some refurbs to where I lost very little to no brim width at all, to where I lost a lot of brim, to where I had slight variances of the width all around.

With that said, sizing up or sizing down isn't the only thing to factor in when considering brim width. It's all going to depend on the block you're using that can determine how much brim you'll lose. For example, are you completely changing out the open crown shape as well the crown height from what was original to the hat? That can determine what you'll lose in brim width as well.

Here's a Royal Stetson Open Road that I sized up from a 7 1/8 to a 7 1/4. It originally started out with a 2 1/2 brim and I ended up with that same brim width after I sized it up. But the block I used was very similar to the hat's original open crown shape and height.

I also lost some brim width when I downsized this tapered up crowned Peurto Fino from a 7 3/8 to a 7 1/4...and not only that, it varied in width all around the brim. In this case, though, I totally changed out the block shape, raised the height by 1/4 inch, and reduced it one size smaller. If I recall, the brim width on this was originally 3 inches but I still had plenty left to trim it down to a 2 5/8 brim width.

Before:

After:

Here's a Resistol Stagecoach that was gifted to me from a fellow Lounger. It started out with a 4' brim but I sized this one up from either a 6 5/8 or a 6 7/8 to a 7 1/4 and converted it to a "Whippet" style fedora with a 2 5/8 brim. Of course, all three variables of my block completely changed this hat, and no doubt, there was going to be brim loss. The size, the shape of the block, and the crown height was changed out from 6 1/4 inches to 5 3/4 inches...

Before and after:

On the head:

Changing the block shape, the block height, and the block size, (all three together), from the original will have an affect on your brim width. Staying with a similar block shape and block height as what was original to the hat "may" have slight to no affect on your brim width if you're only going up a size. But, don't always count on that to be set in stone.

Very informative Terry. And makes a lot of sense.

 

[belfastboy]

@deadlyhandsome
@Frunobulax

I've done tons of conversions and refurbs, so my experience has been,...I've done some refurbs to where I lost very little to no brim width at all, to where I lost a lot of brim, to where I had slight variances of the width all around.

With that said, sizing up or sizing down isn't the only thing to factor in when considering brim width. It's all going to depend on the block you're using that can determine how much brim you'll lose. For example, are you completely changing out the open crown shape as well the crown height from what was original to the hat? That can determine what you'll lose in brim width as well.

Here's a Royal Stetson Open Road that I sized up from a 7 1/8 to a 7 1/4. It originally started out with a 2 1/2 brim and I ended up with that same brim width after I sized it up. But the block I used was very similar to the hat's original open crown shape and height.

I also lost some brim width when I downsized this tapered up crowned Peurto Fino from a 7 3/8 to a 7 1/4...and not only that, it varied in width all around the brim. In this case, though, I totally changed out the block shape, raised the height by 1/4 inch, and reduced it one size smaller. If I recall, the brim width on this was originally 3 inches but I still had plenty left to trim it down to a 2 5/8 brim width.

Before:

After:

Here's a Resistol Stagecoach that was gifted to me from a fellow Lounger. It started out with a 4' brim but I sized this one up from either a 6 5/8 or a 6 7/8 to a 7 1/4 and converted it to a "Whippet" style fedora with a 2 5/8 brim. Of course, all three variables of my block completely changed this hat, and no doubt, there was going to be brim loss. The size, the shape of the block, and the crown height was changed out from 6 1/4 inches to 5 3/4 inches...

Before and after:

On the head:

Changing the block shape, the block height, and the block size, (all three together), from the original will have an affect on your brim width. Staying with a similar block shape and block height as what was original to the hat "may" have slight to no affect on your brim width if you're only going up a size. But, don't always count on that to be set in stone.

I concur. I lose brim width when I use my very square shouldered, straight sided (Boss o t Plains)block where as I am not likely to lose it using my domed/tapered block.

 

[Blare]

Just remember the fourth law of hattingdynamics: felt can be neither created or destroyed: it has to come from somewhere and it has to go somewhere.

makes a lot of sense... I’m thinking now to Cavanagh edge where as I understand that the felted edge was created during as last steps of the felting process. So that the raw hoods were in a way already sized before blocking. Makes sense though... a possibility the raw Cavanagh hoods could have been more a size range. Rather than each and every specific 1/8 size. And then when blocked allowing one sized Cavanagh edge hood to cover say three or four sizes

 

[Frunobulax]

True, true.
I get grief even when I downsize hats that are still commercially available right now, even if they aren't a dime a dozen, as well as 1950s or 1960s hats that were commonplace examples.
And, honestly, really, I didn't alter hats that I felt shouldn't be altered, Jim. Of course, I was the judge of which were and weren't, but on the other hand, they were my hats.
Edit:
And besides, I didn't convert them, I just upsized them, taking care not to alter the shape and proportions

I'm not going there, but I believe the real grief you got was from the big heads for downsizing a couple larger sizes of vintage hats.

Plus, I don't believe I came out to play during that discussion. You were getting beat up enough w/o me joining in!

 

[T Jones]

True, true.
I get grief even when I downsize hats that are still commercially available right now, even if they aren't a dime a dozen, as well as 1950s or 1960s hats that were commonplace examples.
And, honestly, really, I didn't alter hats that I felt shouldn't be altered, Jim. Of course, I was the judge of which were and weren't, but on the other hand, they were my hats.
Edit:
And besides, I didn't convert them, I just upsized them, taking care not to alter the shape and proportions

Trust me, I've caught that grief too, especially from one particular Lounger who doesn't post much here anymore. Every time I did a conversion he would chime right in and try to shame me for converting Stagecoaches. I had to remind him, a few times, who those hats belonged to. On the other hand, with some nice older vintage hats that come my way and that definitely need a lot of work, I think more about refurbishing and restoring them to as close to original as I possibly can rather than converting. With that said, it's nobody's place to tell someone else what to do with their own property.

 

[T Jones]

The old westerns are a dime a dozen.....Terry's work is priceless

Thank you, kemosabie!