My latest ... a Resistol

[RBH]

What do ya'll think of this one?
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/2015/s1rv6.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/1537/s2ev7.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

before
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/8656/beformd5.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

here it is with the original bash, sort of Alpine style, I favor the c-crown but if some wanted to leave it, the original bash does look unique.
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/7374/alpineef8.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>
and the liner
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/3025/linerag5.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>
and it also came in its original box, I didnt know I would get it.
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/6475/boxgb0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>
I promise this is my last reworked western. It was kind of like the lone puppy at the pound, no one wanted this one so I got it for a song.
I have enough silver belly hats but the band on this one just called out to me.It has what looks to be a rust stain near the bow, maybe from a pin in the past. I can live with a little added character to the hat.
The crown is 4 3/4 in front and 4 3/8 in back the brim is 2 3/4 wide it was 3' before the trim. It has a 1 1/8 wide band.
It was really dirty but not in bad shape, I now have it taking a refreshing naphta bath.
After the cleaning I will try to post a few pics with the hat on.

 

[DocBob345]

Congrats!

I like the new lid, RBH. I see that the Resistols are very popular here at the lounge. I have one, but it's strictly western - a "Quicksilver" model.

I picked mine up on a trip to Houston. Do you or other members get theirs through ebay? Or vintage stores?

Best,
Robert

 

[deanglen]

Oh, Magoo, you've done it again!

Beautiful! Simply beautiful. Why is this your last?

dean

 

[RBH]

Thanks Doc, I find mine on E-Bay we have very few vintage stores around here. I have yet to find any hat in one. Its easy to convert a western to a fedora. You just have to have vision.

Dean, work is slow right now and I have spent enough lol
Anyway I think I have enough hats to do me awhile... [huh]

 

[spiridon]

Super looking hat RBH! Love what you did with the re-bash.:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[GentlemanFarmer]

The way you had before the re-bash is how I wear mine - Alpine bash with the front brim down.

Looks great the way you reworked it. Did you trim the brim?

 

[RBH]

The way you had before the re-bash is how I wear mine - Alpine bash with the front brim down.

Looks great the way you reworked it. Did you trim the brim?

Thanks GF,
Yes I trimed the brim from 3' down to 2 3/4',
The Alpine does look good, I just am not use to it on my head. lol

 

[Atomic Glee]

Very nicely done!

We just took in a '50s-era Resistol for renovation at the shop - but it's a dress hat through-and-through, a cute little chocolate brown stingy brim with the "Kitten Finish." Don't see too many Resistol stingy brims anymore!

 

[RBH]

Very nicely done!!

Thanks Atomic!!!
coming from one that works with hats I really take it as a compliment.

 

[duggap]

RBH - since you are a "thin ribbon" collector, I will be glad to take that one off your hands, particularly since you rebashed it. Nice work on a nice hat.

 

[tonyb]

If that stain is indeed rust (as opposed to something merely rust-colored), you might try this stuff called Whink Rust Stain Remover. It's for use on colorfast fabrics and white sinks and toilets. I've used it on fabrics and it worked quite well. I bought some oh, a year or so ago. Found it in the laundry-products section at the supermarket. I still have about 95 percent of the bottle's contents. (A drop or two will do ya.)

 

[Lieutenant]

Good job RBH. Did you trim the brim yourself or did you have to take it down to a hat shop?

 

[RBH]

Thanks duggap, it is a thinner ribbon than most wide bands.. but got to tell ya I am liking this hat.

Thanks to you too Tony, I may try that. The soak in naphta did nothing to the ''stain''.

Lieutenant, i did it myself. I marked it with a compass and took some sharp scissors and cut a little to the outside of my mark, then used fine grit sand paper to smooth and even the brim out.

Here are a couple of pics of me in my Resistol, it is a sweet hat. The crown was easy to bash with a little water.
It also cleaned up well, the naphta was really brown after the soaking. You can tell how pleased I am by my goofy grin in the first pic!
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/2584/new1to9.jpg" border="0" alt="another rework by RBH" /></a>
I think it has a little taper, if I had one of those shaper blocks I believe I could get rid of it.
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/2850/newhu6.jpg" border="0" alt="another rework by RBH" /></a>

 

[Lieutenant]

Resistol always did and still do make dang good hats!

 

[deanglen]

The joy in your face says it all, and you have a hat that just look so great and words alone cannot convey how happy I am for you and how downright inspired I am to follow your lead.
WELL DONE, RBH
What will call this one?

dean

 

[RBH]

OK John, we are awaiting your call!!!!
What do you think its name should be????

 

[DOUGLAS]

Damn you're good RBH!!!! I don't know if I have the will to do the kind of great job you are doing. Congrats man:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[44forrest]

There are so many oppertunities to buy a fedora that shape, maybe not with that width of band. But the "before" picture hat is a rare find for a western. Not to take anything away from the work you did, but I lust for a hat with the rare "before" shape and ribbon.

 

[ideaguy]

RBH- Great job on that hat! I've got a number of Westerns, but reluctant
and uninformed as to how to transmogrify one into a more familiar style;
(gotta admit, been looking for a way to use that word-got stuck in my cranium
and wouldn't leave- maybe I've purged it once and for allllll)
How-To soften the Western hat enough to work with it? I'm willing to experiment, and no, I'm not too lazy to dig through threads, just thought I'd go
to the current King of Cowboy transmog....NOOOOO it's there again....help!

Seriously, please give me a holler if you can help, I'd really be glad to get a
hand from someone. thanks M

 

[RBH]

How-To soften the Western hat enough to work with it?

What I do is wet the felt... and then work it ,,, wet it some more... work it ... and wet it again if I have to, till I can shape it like I want.

There are so many oppertunities to buy a fedora that shape, maybe not with that width of band. But the "before" picture hat is a rare find for a western. Not to take anything away from the work you did, but I lust for a hat with the rare "before" shape and ribbon.

I understand what you are saying 44, that is one reason I dont think I will do anymore reworks. That said ..this hat had only one bid..mine. After I recieved it I could tell that it had been years since anyone has worn it.
Now I will tell you I have not taken it off since it has dried from the cleaning.
So while I am not taken anything away from your point, which is worse, what I did to this hat to make it where someone [me] would wear it or, it sitting in someones closet for years and NO ONE ever seeing it. Its just one of those things. I have searched for a hat with a ribbon like this [If you know anything about me you know the thin ribbon is my FAVORITE] but the cost was just more than I wanted, either custom or auction. The rework of a western was the most cost effective option I had.
Hope I have explained myself and just to let you know my granddad gave me my love of fedoras, but from about age 16 to around age 32 I wore cowboy hats all the time. Here I am in 1981 with Ken Curtis of Gunsmoke fame. Festus was always my hero!
and man I had some hair back then!!lol
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5083/rbhfestusks3.jpg" border="0" alt="Festus is the MAN!!!" /></a>