Making a Western hat by hand?

[deadlyhandsome]

I'm seen some really cool hats on here for sure. So I wear a 7 1/2 so I need to have a 7 5/8 block to allow for the sweatband? The more I see of the 3 and 3 1/2 inch brims, the more I like them.

Do you know anything about hatbodies.com?

Nope. I know Agnoulita on Etsy sells Tonak hat bodies in wool and rabbit fur felt in various finishes and weights. Felt hats are simple things, but there are lots of ways to get them wrong. The most common source of fur felt hat bodies for fedoras in the US is Winchester, but they don’t sell to hobbyists. If you look around here you’ll find many recent conversations about sourcing felt.

I’ve decided to let others make my hats. To do it right takes a lot of skill, experience, and specialized tools. I’m content with some minor refurbishment work.

 

[thundurchasur]

I found this hat last night and was curious what it might be worth to you knowledgable guys. I thought it might make a nice beginner hat for my experimentation.

 

[thundurchasur]

The guy wants $40 for it but it's 120 miles away one way, even though that's not bad for Texas. I'd like to upsize it from 7 1/4 to 7 1/2, pop the crown out and cut the brim down to + 3 inches.

 

[belfastboy]

The guy wants $40 for it but it's 120 miles away one way, even though that's not bad for Texas. I'd like to upsize it from 7 1/4 to 7 1/2, pop the crown out and cut the brim down to + 3 inches.

$40 is not a bad price at all. As you plan to work on it ask the seller to place the hat in as small a box as possible....no wasted space. From that distance the postage should be under $10. Make him an offer....for me a chunk of the fun in the buy is the bargaining. Oh, I just looked again and saw he has the box for the hat. There will be wasted space so if you want that box I think the postage jumps up to around $15-18.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

The guy wants $40 for it but it's 120 miles away one way, even though that's not bad for Texas. I'd like to upsize it from 7 1/4 to 7 1/2, pop the crown out and cut the brim down to + 3 inches.

Shouldn’t be a problem at all. Reblocking and flanging are fairly simple. Sewing in a new sweatband and doing the ribbon work takes more skill. Sometimes I’ll also pounce them a bit to make them thinner, but that’s just me ( and you run the risk of causing problems). $40 seems like a fair price, but not a steal.

Have him ship it USPS Retail Ground...should be about $10 even with the box. It will be nice to have a real hat box when you’re done.


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[jlee562]

I'm seen some really cool hats on here for sure. So I wear a 7 1/2 so I need to have a 7 5/8 block to allow for the sweatband? The more I see of the 3 and 3 1/2 inch brims, the more I like them.

Do you know anything about hatbodies.com?

If you're looking at vintage blocks, it's best to go by measurements as opposed to marked size, as marked sizes are surprisingly inconsistent. But you want a block that is 1/4" larger than the finished hat size if you are doing a complete rebuild or a new build.

The hat above is an outlet hat judging by the punched hole in the sweat band. $40 is a fair price, but I wouldn't pay much more.

 

[thundurchasur]

$40 is not a bad price at all. Make him an offer....for me a chunk of the fun in the buy is the bargaining.

I'm still waiting to hear back from the seller. I'd be willing to meet him half way. He says cash in his ad so if he's not set up to take a CC, I'll have to travel. I really appreciate your input.

 

[thundurchasur]

Have him ship it USPS Retail Ground...should be about $10 even with the box. It will be nice to have a real hat box when you’re done.


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I think he's wanting cash only. If that's the case, I'll have to reconsider.

 

[thundurchasur]

If you're looking at vintage blocks, it's best to go by measurements as opposed to marked size, as marked sizes are surprisingly inconsistent.

I wear a 7 1/2 LO so I'd be looking at a 7 3/4 block (23 1/2 inch circ.). I may try to make one. Thanks for your feedback, Jared.

 

[belfastboy]

I'm still waiting to hear back from the seller. I'd be willing to meet him half way. He says cash in his ad so if he's not set up to take a CC, I'll have to travel. I really appreciate your input.

I use PayPal and it is really easy to set up an account and works very well. 120 miles round trip.= $20 in gas?

 

[thundurchasur]

I use PayPal and it is really easy to set up an account and works very well. 120 miles round trip.= $20 in gas?

No... that's one way. 240 RT. My truck gets about 18 mpg so that would be around $30 in fuel and that effectively makes that $40 hat a $70 investment. I like the white but not that well. lol

PS.... I have PayPal but haven't used it for years.

 

[Hat and Rehat]

OK finished up the Nutria hat. I still may make some changes to the brim shape but here it is for now. I included a photo to show the flexibility of the brim. The felt is soft yet holds its shape well and springs back. It feels lightweight while wearing it. It's not a masterpiece but I'm satisfied with this first attempt. I modeled this after the Stetson Dakota with a 5.5 inch open crown and 3.5 inch brim. My brim came up just shy of 3.5 but I did get a 5.5 inch open crown. I went with 3/8 inch silver belly ribbon rather than the 7/8 I initially considered.
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That's great, Scott (you've probably heard that all your life)!
Really nice, man.
Where did you buy the Nutria hatbody?
Don't tell me you're a trapper too .... please.

 

[Hat and Rehat]

Yes, seems like everyone wants to get into the hat making practice now. Supply of beaver bodies is limited, as Winchester is not always accepting new customers. As a non-hatmaker I might suggest not starting with the top of the line materials anyways as even experienced hatters sometimes have to discard a body and start over. Many folks, including Bob at Black Sheep Hatworks, cut their teeth, so to speak, renovating western hats which are relatively cheap and plentiful.

I gave myself that very advice coming into it, Jared.
Seeing hats like this one sure tempts me to go off the reservation though!

 

[Hat and Rehat]

Damn, I think we drove through there. On a brighter note we stayed at Kickapoo State Park and saw the bats......all 3 million of them. And I saw my first live armadillo....my wife would not let me capture it and bring it home.

Buy her a bottle of wine next time.

 

[Hat and Rehat]

I would recommend you follow @belfastboy's advice. I have never built a from-scratch hat from a fur felt hood. My experience comes from repairing, refurbishing, and rebuilding damaged and aged hats I find. I have completely torn down, reblocked/resized and rebuilt several hats, but never actually "made a hat."

How much difference is there, Jim?
Rebuilding can also give you the nicer felt.
C'mon!
Go trap some coons!

 

[Hat and Rehat]

I found some cheap wool blanks when I first started. Now I can't stand using wool.

I made my own wool hoods, really cheap, by throwing thrift store hats in a bucket overnight.

 

[belfastboy]

Buy her a bottle of wine next time.

No she is a mean drunk.

 

[Hat and Rehat]

No she is a mean drunk.

Mine sleeps.
Here, Armadillo! Come to papa!

 

[T Jones]

The guy wants $40 for it but it's 120 miles away one way, even though that's not bad for Texas. I'd like to upsize it from 7 1/4 to 7 1/2, pop the crown out and cut the brim down to + 3 inches.

40 bucks is a good price for that hat, especially when you consider what sellers on eBay are asking for one like that. If all you're going to do is size up hats for your own use I'd get a cheap plastic straight sided dome block from hat shapers. I do tons of conversions and the straight sided dome is my favorite 'go to' block shape for an open crown. You can get a lot of nice full creases out of that block. Secondly, if that hat has a 4 inch brim, I personally would keep it Western. You'll more than likely lose a little brim width but not enough to where you can't keep it Western...and if you're determined to convert it to a fedora keep in mind that you're going to need more hat tools than just a block to make it look right, and they're not cheap if you're on a budget.

Here's a Beaver Brand Western that I blocked up about three sizes to a 7 1/4 to fit me. I creased the crown to a teardrop, ( a crease that you would typically see on a fedora), and then I bound the brim and reshaped it to retain its Western originality, keeping about 3 1/2 inches of brim width. The teardrop crease with the bound Western styled brim gives it something of a 'crossover' look between a fedora and a Western.

 

[Rmccamey]

Sept-Nov is overall the best time to visit Texas. Come back soon.

Welcome, spent a week in your neck of the woods this spring til we got spooked by the weather trying to kill us.....6 hour lightning storm, tornado alert 3 miles to the north of us and tennis ball sized hail stones. ….sent us back to NMexico. May visit again when feeling braver or luckier.