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The Conversion Corral

monbla256

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,239
Location
DFW Metroplex, Texas
Looks VERY GOOD to me !! Think it proves that a craftsman can produce good work when given something good to work with !! I like the whole look you had done and it suites your head perfectly shaven or not :) Look forward to seeing your next OR Redo :)
 

Mobile Vulgus

One Too Many
Messages
1,144
Location
Chicago
Sam,

The only other hat I have materially altered was an old K-Mart, wool cowboy hat. I bought it in the 1970s for $5 and in the 1980s I reblocked it and added a new ribbon and other things to make it into a recreation of the hat that the state of North Carolina sent to its Confederate troops in 1863. It turned out really nice, too. It was very unique.

Now, I also have a Charlie One Horse cowboy hat that looks very similar to the high crowned Tom Mix hat (low crown in front, high in back, single long dent with pinches in front). It is a black one, tho and the brim is generous 4-1/2 inches. On that one, I reshaped the brim from the way it came. And that one is the only other hat I made look very different from how I got it.

Anyway, I am very pleased with this OR western crease conversion.

On the next one, the one I'm going brown on the ribbon, it was not manufactured as an OR. It does not say Open Road on the sweatband but it looks exactly like the one I pictured above with the western crease. All it has is the 4X mark and the name of the company that sold it on the sweatband. It is from the 70s.

Like I said, I don't feel bad about altering an OR from the 1970s or 1980s, especially in 4X. They aren't the highest quality, ya know?
 

Mobile Vulgus

One Too Many
Messages
1,144
Location
Chicago
Looks VERY GOOD to me !! Think it proves that a craftsman can produce good work when given something good to work with !! I like the whole look you had done and it suites your head perfectly shaven or not :) Look forward to seeing your next OR Redo :)

Thanks. I am quite taken with it.

I have to say I get all swoony over that silverbelly color. This one that I altered is a little more tan than my other silverbellys and it is interesting that the black ribbon seems to draw out the tan more to the eye, too. With that ribbon it looks more tan than it is.
 

B.J. Hedberg

Practically Family
Messages
528
Location
Minnesota
stetson_transform_blk_01.jpg


stetson_transform_blk_03.jpg

You’d never catch me in the original, but the finished product is an A+ in my book. :eusa_clap
 
Messages
15,276
Location
Somewhere south of crazy
I like what you did, MV, and I can see your point about newer vs. older conversions. I also like the one you're taking out to Texas, you'll look very authentic in that one, especially with the mustache.
 

Sam Craig

One Too Many
Messages
1,356
Location
Great Bend, Kansas
I concur, I think.
If I was fortunate enough to find an original Tom Mix Stetson, or a Boss of the Plains, I would believe in it being conserved, just as if I found another mint Stetson or Dobbs derby from the '20s, I would be opposed to smashing it into a porkpie.
On the other hand, excepting historic treasures, pretty much all the rest are raw materials.
I am much happier with my former cowboy hats as fedoras, and I wear the heck out of them all fall and winter.
They are off the shelf and getting some use, and that is a good use of what I spent money for in the first place.

Sam
 

Mobile Vulgus

One Too Many
Messages
1,144
Location
Chicago
Thanks, folks. I can't wait until I get the next one back from Optimo with a brown ribbon and brown edge binding! That on is gonna look sweet.
 

azhiker

One of the Regulars
Messages
218
Location
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
I have finally got off my duff, and took one of my western style felt hats to HTH for a conversion. I am having the brim trimmed to 2.5 inches, it reblocked, cleaned, and bashed to a teardrop. I left it with paul, and it should be ready in a week or so. Here are a couple of before photos. wish me (them) luck!

66983-s-0.jpg


66984-s-0.jpg
 

Mobile Vulgus

One Too Many
Messages
1,144
Location
Chicago
As promised, here is my last conversion. Just picked it up from Optimo.

It started out as a cheapie Stetson (1970s or 80s or so) Open Road-style western, 4X in silverbelly. It was a bit dirty.

Here is what it looked like when I got it from ebay a month ago...

stetson_transform_brown_01.jpg


Here is my re-crease (by the way, it isn't stained as bad as it looks. When I took the photos of the re-crease it was still wet from the molding)...


stetson_transform_brown_02.jpg


stetson_transform_brown_03.jpg


And here is how I had Optimo finish her off...

stetson_transform_brown_04.jpg


stetson_transform_brown_05.jpg


Optimo does great work I have to say.
 

Mobile Vulgus

One Too Many
Messages
1,144
Location
Chicago
It looks incredible, MV! Congratulations!

Thanks. The only thing I was a tad annoyed at is that the original sweatband was cracked at the seams just in front. So I had to have Optimo put in a new sweatband too. I would have preferred the orig. sweatband back in but it was just too damaged (none of this was Optimo's fault by the way). On the other hand, the orig sweat was that cheap faux leather and Optimo's is real leather.

Still it really wears nice and it looks great, especially considering what it looked like to begin with.
 

Mobile Vulgus

One Too Many
Messages
1,144
Location
Chicago
If you don't mind my asking, How much did you put into it all together?

I bought the hat for $40 on ebay and Optimo charged $90 for a cleaning, blocking, brown ribbon, brown edge binding and new leather sweatband. It would have been $20 less at Optimo if that darn original sweatband wasn't messed up. I was hoping to keep the whole thing under $100, but it crept up a tad more because of the sweatband.

Still, every time I've seen a good cream colored fedora with brown contrasting binding etc on ebay it has gone for well over $180. So, I think I still did OK in the long run.
 

azhiker

One of the Regulars
Messages
218
Location
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
I have finally got off my duff, and took one of my western style felt hats to HTH for a conversion. I am having the brim trimmed to 2.5 inches, it reblocked, cleaned, and bashed to a teardrop. I left it with paul, and it should be ready in a week or so. Here are a couple of before photos. wish me (them) luck!

66983-s-0.jpg


66984-s-0.jpg

OK, an update! I received a call today from one of the gents at HTH, seems their 'hatter' is not confident enough that he can do what I wanted, so they are returning the hat to me (ok, well, i have to pick it up). Oh well, nothing ventured, nothng gained.
 

Mobile Vulgus

One Too Many
Messages
1,144
Location
Chicago
Here is what I did to an Open Road, western creased Stetson...

Here is how it started out:

stetson_transform_brown_01.jpg


I recreased it this-a-way:

stetson_transform_brown_02.jpg


And had Optimo in Chicago finish it off thusly:

stetson_transform_brown_04.jpg


stetson_transform_brown_05.jpg


Optimo does great work.
 

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