The Conversion Corral

[1961MJS]

NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooo! (Really superb work, Josh! You're amazing with these conversions) ...but nooooooooooooo! The old version was definitely on my top ten list for other loungers' hats!

HI

I tend to agree, I liked the old shape. I also like the NEW shape, but...

Anyway Josh, how long did you spend getting the felt (Originally) Smooth and how much was spend in getting it thinner? I'd like a smoother hat next time, but I want a nice stiff Cowboy hat.

later

 

[Joshbru3]

Josh, you're awesome! That's very useful information indeed. 2-3 hours is still reasonable and totally worth the effort, I'm sure. Note to self: try hand sanding on a "what do I do with this one" hat first, then proceed.

I'm sure if I were in business making hats, spending 2-3 hours sanding a body would probably not be very lucrative.

It was worth it for me because I love a soft finish, and I also love when felt is thin and light. The problem is that the hat still has a good amount of stiffener in it. Its a dress weight, so obviously not as much as a western weight, but if this hat body had less stiffener, it would have been better in my opinion. That's the most amazing thing about vintage hat bodies in my opinion, the proper use of shellac. I have hats from the 20's and 30's that are light as a feather and thin, yet even after a good steaming, they are still pliable enough to take a crease, hold it, and then be popped back out again for storage. This modern Winchester felt needs steam to manipulate. That's not a bad thing considering that I steam a crease into my hats anyways to ensure that a strong wind won't change the crease style that I have probably spent a ton of time trying to get right. Its just when I think of a couple Dobbs 20's and 40's that I have had, the felt was stiff enough to hold shape, but pliable enough to take a crease dry. That to me is the mark of really good felt. No matter if that felt is thin or thick, it should be able to hold a crease and then let it go just as easily.

 

[Cattus Petasatus]

Great work Josh. You have a gift.

I'm new to here but I've loved reading this thread. So much so that it's encouraged me to convert a Resistol cowboy hat that I bought off Craigslist into a wide brimed fedora. Although, after seeing Josh's work I'm a little embarrased to post any pic's.

Maybe I should just send mine to you Josh for a little touch up.

 

[danofarlington]

I've tried to convert hats, but my experience is that the hats really have to want to convert, and that is rarely the case. I'm just not persuasive enough.

 

[Joshbru3]

NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooo! (Really superb work, Josh! You're amazing with these conversions) ...but nooooooooooooo! The old version was definitely on my top ten list for other loungers' hats!

Sorry Jeff. I liked the old version too, but not enough to justify the hat sitting on a shelf and never getting worn. Since now its a nod to a 1930's Fedora, it will get worn for sure.

Great work Josh!

Thank you very much!

HI

I tend to agree, I liked the old shape. I also like the NEW shape, but...

Anyway Josh, how long did you spend getting the felt (Originally) Smooth and how much was spend in getting it thinner? I'd like a smoother hat next time, but I want a nice stiff Cowboy hat.

later

When I originally sanded the hat, I sanded it purely for texture first. After I had noticed how long it was taking to get the finish that I desired and how much fur I was really taking off, I decided to go for a lightweight hat. Originally it took about 1-2 hours total of sanding the crown, and brim to get it nice. Like I told Nik, I sanded it again yesterday because I think hand sanding gives a better finish and I wanted to get the felt as soft and smooth as possible.

Here's the problem I see with modern day cowboy hats....they are TOO darn stiff. I have owned an 1890's/early 1900's Stetson cowboy hat and I can tell you that the felt was a dress weight, not a modern western weight. Not only was it a dress weight, but it was not super stiff. It was actually as stiff as a fedora. I'm sure many loungers will agree with me that the real early cowboy hats were closer to a dress hat felt wise, than a modern day cowboy hat. The more fur you take off a hat while sanding, the ever-so-slightly less stiff it will get because the stiffener is held in the felt itself. The less felt there is, the slightly less stiff it will be. Not exponentially, but slightly.

 

[Joshbru3]

Great work Josh. You have a gift.

I'm new to here but I've loved reading this thread. So much so that it's encouraged me to convert a Resistol cowboy hat that I bought off Craigslist into a wide brimed fedora. Although, after seeing Josh's work I'm a little embarrased to post any pic's.

Maybe I should just send mine to you Josh for a little touch up.

Thank you very much!! Please don't ever feel embarrassed to post anything here on the lounge. My first conversions were not so great, but after some constructive criticism and learning different methods from fellow lounge members and custom hatters, I was able to hone into some things that I do well. I do not have the equipment to bind a brim, so I wont even try doing it by hand. I have learned techniques that I am comfortable with, but I can assure you it took a ton of practice and I ruined my fair share of hat bodies.

Lets see your conversion!!

 

[Joshbru3]

I agree if that was is intended in the first place. One of my finest 1930s soft felt hats is not pliable at all and it's on the heavy side felt wise. It takes a center dry crease but doesn't want side dents which I believe was intended.

Your absolutely right, Steve. I should have mentioned that there are exceptions to every rule. I guess writting that response, I was only thinking of the majority of my collection. Most of the early non-velour/non-long hair hats that I own are a medium to lighter weight felt with a certain shellac consistency and feel. None of them are exactly the same, but most of them are in the same spectrum. Two hats that come to mind that didnt follow that trend were the two 1930's Gordon's that I onced owned. Both Gordons were very well made hats, but both had very thick felt and could not be creased without steam. If you tried to put pinches in without steam, they would pop back out. I guess my personal prefference is the felt thats on the thinner side with a mold-ability factor like clay.

 

[RBH]

Great work Josh. I was there when you made this hat...I hope to see this new reimagine soon!

 

[mayserwegener]

Josh, Sorry I deleted the post because I thought it might confuse the situation. My feeling is that is more related to the style hat or customer preference. I have a good number of Habig Homburgs from a similar time period and quality mark but they vary in felt weight and malability while the finish and construction quality are consistent.

 

[Landman]

Josh, that turned out great. Well done!

 

[Joshbru3]

Great work Josh. I was there when you made this hat...I hope to see this new reimagine soon!

Josh, that turned out great. Well done!

Thank you, Rusty & Mike!!!

 

[bowlerman]

Okay, so these aren't really conversions, but very slight alterations but I didn't know where else to post them. Sometimes tiny adjustments make a big difference in a hat.

First, I converted my self-restored Resistol into a pork pie, because I just couldn't stand the taper on it. Perhaps the first pork pie I wouldn't feel totally uncomfortable wearing.

Next, my beehive bowler from Tim Bender needed a little life, so a slight bend on one side, inspired by coble's Black Sheep Copperpot, made all the difference, to me anyway.

I just didn't like this grey Dobbs derby with its black ribbon. I'm starting to think I just enjoy a little less contrast than that, so I took a more "Brando" route and put a brown ribbon on a grey hat.

Finally, this Resistol was just way to wide for me, no matter how I shaped the brim, so I took 7/8" off of it, coming in now at exactly 3".

 

[randooch]

Good modifications one and all, Jeff.

The beehive doesn't have any extra room in it, eh? The profile -with no brim- could be your cranium!

 

[Chepstow]

Good modifications one and all, Jeff.

The beehive doesn't have any extra room in it, eh? The profile -with no brim- could be your cranium!

Totally agree!

 

[LoveMyHats2]

I am so impressed with how bows and hat bands get made by everyone! To date I have only done so one time, and it was so painful to undergo, I promised myself to never do it again and I have not! Geez, some of you have such a talent I wish I could do half of what people do in converting a hat over to be so different.

 

[bowlerman]

I'm really impressed by everyone's work as well, especially with adornments. I should clarify, however, that I literally "put" the brown ribbon, whose bow preexisted, over the black one on that Dobbs derby. Not a stitch was removed or sewn...

 

[DOGMAN]

Josh,thanks for the sanding advice.Bowlerman nice alterations.Here is my next conversion.A Thoroughbred moleskin finish ten x quality custom made.Brim was 3 7/8" now 2 6/8".Crown front 4 6/8",back 4",side 4 7/8".Ribbon 2" brown,bow has ivory stripe

 

[JonnyO]

That looks awesome DOGMAN, nice job. I wish I had the kahones to attempt such a thing.

 

[mikespens]

Excellent result DOGMAN.

 

[JonnyO]

I have been looking to change the ribbon on the Lee below, do you think the ribbon pictured below, rust, will look ok on it?