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I have not worked on many western refurbs ....more on older fedoras. I have found that after the naptha bath and or an Orvis paste washing the felts loosen up some. In some cases of vintage fedoras I have had to put shellac back in to he felt to stiffen it up a touch. Have you found any lessening/loosening of the felt stiffness in the westerns after you have worked them? I have this thought to play around with some old/beater western, naptha, washing, hot water immersion just to see if I can loosen them up. Thoughts?Thank you BB. I appreciate that. Converting a Western would definitely work to get the proportions Deeeluxe D is looking for, if he doesn't mind the stiffness. But it would definitely work. On the other hand, if he's wanting something a little more similar to a vintage feel a custom build might be his best option. So maybe you and he can get together on a build?
Here's a Resistol Stagecoach that I converted some time back...
Before:
After: tall straight crown:
On the head: in b&w
I also agree with J Lee about crown height and crown shape to a person's body proportions and head shape. As a general rule I think 5 3/4 is plenty tall for a fedora. On the other hand, someone with DH's physical proportions and head shape can easily pull off a 6 inch open crown height with a wider brim. CVW posted a hat he made with those proportions that would've worked out perfect for DH.
Again, maybe you and Deeeluxe can get together on a build.