The Conversion Corral

[pjt113]

Very nice job!

 

[bowlerman]

My wife wanted a hat to call her own. She's a veterinarian for large animals as well as small and wanted a tough hat for all weather conditions, one that could maybe get knocked into the mud and survive. I found a Beaver brand western in perfect condition to play with. It had one of those funky 1970's bands on it, the brim was way to wide for her, and the crown too high. She found a leather artist on Etsy to make a custom band, cut down the brim, and reshaped the hat.

Before:

After:

That's great, Randall! I love the tooled leather band. Got any closeups of that?

 

[randooch]

Thanks, guys. She had a blast morphing the hat. Now she needs to wear it enough to feel inconspicuous doing so.

Here's that closeup, Jeff. The guy does great detail.

That's great, Randall! I love the tooled leather band. Got any closeups of that?

 

[Joshbru3]

That's great, Randall! I love the tooled leather band.

+1

Awesome job!!

 

[scottyrocks]

Beautiful hat, Josh. I can understand if you don't want to do it, but I am so curious as to what this hat would look like with just a center dent, and not that cross crease. I've tried cross creases on a couple of my hats, and didn't care for the way it looked in side view where the crown dips down in the middle. It looks better on yours, probably because you have more with that hat to work with.

 

[bowlerman]

A few moments of insomnia spurred a wave of reverting a few hats to their original shapes: Stetson 25OR back to its cattleman crease with up-flanged brim; Beaver Brand Silverbelly restored (mostly) to it's low, boxy C-crown, and Megahat reverted from Gus back to the tall mesa pinch with high front-sides.
The only trouble I had was getting that BB (5X) back to its properly streamlined snap brim. I think less of this felt quality now, since it doesn't appear quite as resiliant to multiple manipulations.

 

[pjt113]

My conversion done by Parker at Falcon park Hattery

 

[gtdean48]

My conversion done by Parker at Falcon park Hattery

Looks nice PJT. Got any before shots?
Brim width, ribbon size & color, etc.? Enquiring minds want to know.....

 

[pjt113]

Looks nice PJT. Got any before shots?
Brim width, ribbon size & color, etc.? Enquiring minds want to know.....

Unfortunately I don't, I bought the hat in the 80's during my Waylon Jennings phase, Resistol Stagecoach & the brim was probably 5", the ribbon was made from feathers, I had the brim cut down to 2 3/4, the brim is still a little stiff but that's OK by me and Parked used a block from the 1930's to give it an authentic feel

 

[barrowjh]

randooch & pjt113 - awesome conversions in both cases! I saw pjt113's post over in the FPH thread and came over here to see if there were more pictures, and lucked into seeing randooch's conversion; gotta be a great day today with such good fortune already.

 

[MikePotts]

Here's a little conversion project that, I think, turned out well:

I stole a typical cowboy style NWOT Resistol 5X in 'crystal' from someone on the bay, sorry no 'before' pics, and massaged it into this more wearable form:

I'll admit that had I known 'crystal' was so frickin' WHITE, I'd have found another donor, I was hoping for something more silverbelly-ish.... SO.........I made up a batch of really strong tea (PG Tips ) and put it into a spray bottle and went to work, the above was the result after a couple of coats.

I was quite pleased with the 6 point crease, I also changed the ribbon very slightly.

There have been a couple of posts in other threads recently about 'inexpensive 'entry level' hats and I'd like to suggest this as a way to go.

 

[thespoiler]

Here's a little conversion project that, I think, turned out well:

I stole a typical cowboy style NWOT Resistol 5X in 'crystal' from someone on the bay, sorry no 'before' pics, and massaged it into this more wearable form:

I'll admit that had I known 'crystal' was so frickin' WHITE, I'd have found another donor, I was hoping for something more silverbelly-ish.... SO.........I made up a batch of really strong tea (PG Tips ) and put it into a spray bottle and went to work, the above was the result after a couple of coats.

I was quite pleased with the 6 point crease, I also changed the ribbon very slightly.

There have been a couple of posts in other threads recently about 'inexpensive 'entry level' hats and I'd like to suggest this as a way to go.

Mike, really good job!....how did you get that look with tea (what was the PG tip)??

 

[monbla256]

Here's a little conversion project that, I think, turned out well:

I stole a typical cowboy style NWOT Resistol 5X in 'crystal' from someone on the bay, sorry no 'before' pics, and massaged it into this more wearable form:

I'll admit that had I known 'crystal' was so frickin' WHITE, I'd have found another donor, I was hoping for something more silverbelly-ish.... SO.........I made up a batch of really strong tea (PG Tips ) and put it into a spray bottle and went to work, the above was the result after a couple of coats.

I was quite pleased with the 6 point crease, I also changed the ribbon very slightly.

There have been a couple of posts in other threads recently about 'inexpensive 'entry level' hats and I'd like to suggest this as a way to go.

Nice job making a "Rustic Fedora" ! You need to contact TomS who asked about where to get a "Rustic Fedora" yesterday

 

[MikePotts]

Mike, really good job!....how did you get that look with tea (what was the PG tip)??

Ahhhh, not quite spoiler - "P.G.Tips" is a brand name for a blend of English tea, I think any decent, not too 'powdery' brand would work.

aside: the P.G. part of the name are the first letters of the words 'pre-gestive' from when tea was marketed as a health drink to aid digestion. 'Tips' are the type of leaves that are picked from the tea plant of course.

MP

 

[MikePotts]

Nice job making a "Rustic Fedora" ! You need to contact TomS who asked about where to get a "Rustic Fedora" yesterday

I'll send him a link, if I can figure out how to do it , should you be around Peters Bros. any time soon would you mind poking them with a sharp stick and chivvying them along with my Marathon? - just kidding, they've only had it a couple of weeks, but I do miss it...

MP

 

[bond]

Good job Mike, it now looks like it belongs in the outback,very authentic look to it.

 

[thespoiler]

Ahhhh, not quite spoiler - "P.G.Tips" is a brand name for a blend of English tea, I think any decent, not too 'powdery' brand would work.

aside: the P.G. part of the name are the first letters of the words 'pre-gestive' from when tea was marketed as a health drink to aid digestion. 'Tips' are the type of leaves that are picked from the tea plant of course.


MP

Ah....! Now I make the connection.

How did you use the brewed tea to get that look ...just spray it on?....let it dry?....Wipe some of it off?..

 

[MikePotts]

Yeah, just sprayed it all over and wiped the sweat down with a 'Chlorox Wipe' to stop it from getting sticky and dabbed any parts that looked darker than the rest with some paper towels. It evened out a little as it dried. Gotta brew that tea about 10x normal strength though.

MP

 

[MikePotts]

The tea also gives the lining that 'lived in look'

.........now to start kicking it down the driveway!

MP

 

[randooch]

Wow, that tea makes it look like the hat's made of suede! Interesting effect; nice experimenting, Mike.