The Conversion Corral

[LuvMyMan]

It's a 5x.I'm a sucker for tall crowns.

Super nice..yeah we love them elevator crowns here at our place, too.....(going up)...~! LOL!

 

[LuvMyMan]

Couple more pics

You are getting too good...lol!

 

[DOGMAN]

You are getting too good...lol!

Thank you,I just have a lot of fun working with the westerns.

 

[Cornshucker77]

It's a 5x.I'm a sucker for tall crowns.

I like those tall, full, crowns too. A classic look. Excellent work.

 

[Cornshucker77]

Thank you,I just have a lot of fun working with the westerns.

I got a couple of Cowboy hats I thought of converting and then I thought.....no I like them as Cowboy hats. I love the Old West so they ended up as "Old West " hats. But I will keep trying.

 

[T Jones]

I got a couple of Cowboy hats I thought of converting and then I thought.....no I like them as Cowboy hats. I love the Old West so they ended up as "Old West " hats. But I will keep trying.

I've made it a rule for myself. If the Western has 3 1/2 inches of brim or less, I convert it. If it has a 4 inch brim, I keep it Western and rework the crown and reshape the brim...

With that said, I like working on Westerns too, whether it's converting one or keeping it Western.

 

[DOGMAN]

I've made it a rule for myself. If the Western has 3 1/2 inches of brim or less, I convert it. If it has a 4 inch brim, I keep it Western and rework the crown and reshape the brim...

With that said, I like working on Westerns too, whether it's converting one or keeping it Western.

I have no rules....

 

[T Jones]

I have no rules....

I keep a few around....

 

[Cornshucker77]

I've made it a rule for myself. If the Western has 3 1/2 inches of brim or less, I convert it. If it has a 4 inch brim, I keep it Western and rework the crown and reshape the brim...

With that said, I like working on Westerns too, whether it's converting one or keeping it Western.

Beautiful Terry. I have worn Western hats most of my life so I have a fondness for them. Love your work.

 

[Wesslyn]

Couple more pics

Sweet! I think it just gave me a high bloodsugar.

 

[T Jones]

Beautiful Terry. I have worn Western hats most of my life so I have a fondness for them. Love your work.

Thank you, buddy. I appreciate that. Though I like fedoras, I like the Western hats too. One Western that I've been wanting is either a Resistol or the Stetson that had the 7 inches tall crown and the 5 inches wide brim. I have some ideas for one of those, if I ever come across one.

 

[RJR]

Sweet! I think it just gave me a high bloodsugar.

 

[DOGMAN]

Sweet! I think it just gave me a high bloodsugar.

Careful,Wesslyn.I don't want to be responsible for any diabetes..

 

[Doc Glockster]

So, I think the quest for the "perfect" safari hat has ended.

I've tried many options, and none satisfy me quite like converting an Akubra military slouch hat to a dedicated "safari" hat. In fact, I've done some research and old photographic evidence from the late 19th-early 20th century suggests that the origin of the "classic" safari hat (olive green hat with puggaree) may in fact have originated with hunters in Africa wearing that version of the Australian slouch hat to begin with!

First, I carefully snipped the threads on the outside of the brass clip sewn to the hat's crown with the tiny scissors that come with a Swiss Army Knife. Once you snip the threads and remove the clip, it leaves just six tiny holes. On a new hat, a few drops of water on the holes causes the fur to "felt" a little, concealing the holes. I also did this to an older hat and the holes are just barely still visible. I'm hoping they will close over time.

Next, you have to get rid of the square loop on the brim. If you snip the threads here, it leaves holes in the brim. I opted instead to cut the brass loop itself with a sturdy pair of wire cutters (the parrot-beak type as opposed to the dyke or needle-nose type). I cut the loop on either side of the threads, then with a pair of needle-nosed pliers I pulled the remaining brass piece out of the threads on the brim. Yes, this leaves a lump of threads, but it's less conspicuous than holes would be. Since making the conversion, I've never had anyone ask me about the "extra" threads on the brim. You literally cannot tell that anything was ever attached to the crown, and the threads on the brim are inconspicuous enough that most people will never notice. The threads on the brim tend to snuggle down a bit after you remove the clip and become even less noticeable. (You can barely see them in the pic).

I then shaped the hat into a pinch front telescope bash, and shaped the brim to the classic Aussie style of drooping in the front and back, flared on the sides.

For the puggaree, I tried the original it came with (the green one apparently meant for the Haitian military), an original military pug from Lawrence Ordnance, and an old one salvaged from a Banana Republic hat I no longer own.

None of them quite looked right.

I settled on a khaki puggaree from Village Hat Shop. Even though it's described as "khaki" the color is closer to British Tan. I liked how this one looked next to the olive color of the hat, and I felt it gave it the "classic" safari hat look more
than any other.

 

[T Jones]

So, I think the quest for the "perfect" safari hat has ended.

I've tried many options, and none satisfy me quite like converting an Akubra military slouch hat to a dedicated "safari" hat. In fact, I've done some research and old photographic evidence from the late 19th-early 20th century suggests that the origin of the "classic" safari hat (olive green hat with puggaree) may in fact have originated with hunters in Africa wearing that version of the Australian slouch hat to begin with!

First, I carefully snipped the threads on the outside of the brass clip sewn to the hat's crown with the tiny scissors that come with a Swiss Army Knife. Once you snip the threads and remove the clip, it leaves just six tiny holes. On a new hat, a few drops of water on the holes causes the fur to "felt" a little, concealing the holes. I also did this to an older hat and the holes are just barely still visible. I'm hoping they will close over time.

Next, you have to get rid of the square loop on the brim. If you snip the threads here, it leaves holes in the brim. I opted instead to cut the brass loop itself with a sturdy pair of wire cutters (the parrot-beak type as opposed to the dyke or needle-nose type). I cut the loop on either side of the threads, then with a pair of needle-nosed pliers I pulled the remaining brass piece out of the threads on the brim. Yes, this leaves a lump of threads, but it's less conspicuous than holes would be. Since making the conversion, I've never had anyone ask me about the "extra" threads on the brim. You literally cannot tell that anything was ever attached to the crown, and the threads on the brim are inconspicuous enough that most people will never notice. The threads on the brim tend to snuggle down a bit after you remove the clip and become even less noticeable. (You can barely see them in the pic).

I then shaped the hat into a pinch front telescope bash, and shaped the brim to the classic Aussie style of drooping in the front and back, flared on the sides.

For the puggaree, I tried the original it came with (the green one apparently meant for the Haitian military), an original military pug from Lawrence Ordnance, and an old one salvaged from a Banana Republic hat I no longer own.

None of them quite looked right.

I settled on a khaki puggaree from Village Hat Shop. Even though it's described as "khaki" the color is closer to British Tan. I liked how this one looked next to the olive color of the hat, and I felt it gave it the "classic" safari hat look more
than any other.
View attachment 103193

Yup. I like Safari hats. I like Slouch too. I always admired the slouch hat that Robert Mitchum wore in, "The Sundowners". My other favorite was Charlton Heston's hat in, "Secret Of The Incas". Nice job Doc.

 

[Redshoes51]

Couple more pics

That is just gorgeous...

~shoes~

 

[DOGMAN]

That is just gorgeous...

~shoes~

Thank you,shoes

 

[LuvMyMan]

I have no rules....

I can't afford any rules.....LOL!

 

[LuvMyMan]

I've made it a rule for myself. If the Western has 3 1/2 inches of brim or less, I convert it. If it has a 4 inch brim, I keep it Western and rework the crown and reshape the brim...

With that said, I like working on Westerns too, whether it's converting one or keeping it Western.

Well now pardner, you'all need some of them there shaggy chaps and a 6 gun to go with those hats.....lol. I actually LOVE the brown as it is something you just don't see anywhere, makes it a one of a kind in my book!

 

[T Jones]

Well now pardner, you'all need some of them there shaggy chaps and a 6 gun to go with those hats.....lol. I actually LOVE the brown as it is something you just don't see anywhere, makes it a one of a kind in my book!

Why, thankee Ma'am. Where can a regular guy, an average cowpoke such as myself, git a pair of them thar shaggy chaps?