The Conversion Corral

[RobFedoraField]

Scottyrocks, glad to see you're still around.

That is a wonderful conversion, seems like the kind of hat you'd wear taking your lady to a soda fountain for dessert

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[DOGMAN]

Thank you ,Geldoc glad you liked it.Circuitrider nice 7x Resistol.

 

[bond]

Here's an update on a vintage stetson homburg conversion,that I think is a nice beaver quality,after adding brim binding. Was hesitant about adding a binding but now that its on I think it really completed it.

 

[ManofKent]

^The brim binding looks good.

 

[bond]

Nice work guys. Good job on the ribbon dogman.

 

[Chepstow]

Nicely done, Circuit and Scott!
Both variants looks good. With and without brim binding!



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[DOGMAN]

Thanks,Bond.That's a good looking hat,nice job on the brim binding.

 

[Geldoc]

That brim binding looks great, Bond.

 

[Doc Glockster]

My "Winter Safari Hat", so-called because of the brown color (instead of green) and the lack of vent holes.

This started out as a Stetson Revenger (see my avatar) I got off eBay. The crown was wrinkled at the front, making me think someone had tried to pinch the front before, so I got the idea for the Winter Safari Hat.

I wet the crown and pinched and worked it into the shape you see, then steamed and worked the brim. By the time I got done, the liner had detached itself. I reasoned that the Australian military slouch hat doesn't have a liner and people use it for a safari hat, so I ditched the liner that came with this hat. It was stained anyway.

I removed the original hat band carefully because I felt a safari hat needs a puggaree.

The khaki puggaree is from villagehatshop.com . I tried to order more of these puggarees: they are a dull cotton twill that looks appropriate to this type of hat. Unfortunately, Village Hats does not list them anymore and when I emailed them they replied simply that they are "out of stock."

 

[Joshbru3]

Early 1900's Etchison Hat Co Rebuild/Conversion

I wanted to preface this post with saying that I almost NEVER convert any hat that was made pre-1940's. I have always wanted to, but have never done so because I have not wanted to destroy the historical importance of a pre-1940's hat. I have however always wondered what it would be like to work with 19-teens/1920's felt.

I bought this Etchison on ebay a couple years ago. I have always wanted a vintage black western with a 3 inch rolled brim and a tall and straight crown. I thought when I bought this Etchison, it would fit the bill. Unfortunately, there were some condition issues with the hat when I received it that were very disappointing. When I received the hat the sweatband was VERY dry and every time I touched it, it seem to pop more and more stitches. The labeled size was 6 7/8, but it had shrunk to 6 3/4. The hat needed a total re-block because it looked like the felt was bashed down at one point and left lines. The worst part about it was that even though the felt had NO moth bites or nibbles.......on the rear left curled corner it looked like a dog had taken a bite out of the felt. On the curl itself, an inch chunk had been taken out by some sort of animal. All of these things made me toss the hat into a box for the last 2 years.

I never wear black hats, but I absolutely love the old Stetson westerns from the early 1900's. I wanted to use the hat body from the Etchison because of all the condition issues and make a black hat that I would be proud to wear. I figured that I would rather wear this hat than let it sit in a box for the next 100 years.

Like I said before, the felt was in perfect shape except for the chunk missing on the back curl and the crease lines. Because the original block was a VERY straight sided and flat topped block, I knew that re-blocking it using a 52 block wouldn't be a problem. The original crown height was 5 1/2 and I wanted to use a 6 inch tall block. I would have to use some brim width. The original brim width only measured 3 inches WITH the curl, so I knew I needed to stretch the felt a bit. I must say, if you have never worked with an early 1900's felt body.......let me tell you the experience is truly AMAZING. The vintage felt is SO dense, light, and thin, that pulling it over a block was a pleasure. The brim ironed out perfectly, the brim break set without any trouble and most of all the re-block took without any problem. I used a rounding jack to trim the brim down to 2 5/8 inches which effectively took off the damaged area. The brim edge then received a proper sanding and smoothing with 4 different grits of sandpaper. I re-pounced the crown a little with 400 grit and then 600 grit. It had a very smooth finish before, but I wanted one that was even softer and it also allowed me to sand down any imperfections it acquired through the years. The brim didn't need to be pounced. I have worked with vintage felt before, but this turn of the century stuff is simply fantastic.


I also used a brand new high quality leather sweatband which I treated with mink oil and let age. It gave it a beautiful tan/golden color. I trimmed the edges and used a vintage reed tie to make a taped rear seam. I then used a vintage seam bow to finish off the sweatband. The ribbon came from a 70 year old bolt of 3/8 inch ribbon I bought last year. I have been waiting for a special project to use it. Luckily I still have about 7- 8 yards left of it. I copied the original ribbon design exactly and frayed the edges. Everything used on this hat is true vintage except for the sweatband itself.

Here's a couple BEFORE photos......














Here are some AFTER photos.....(I have photos of the hat being rebuilt on my camera which I will upload in a day or two, these are from my camera phone)

6 Inch Tall Crown (52 block)
2 5/8 inch raw edge brim
3/8 inches ribbon and bow

 

[Joshbru3]

Early 1900's Etchison Hat Co Rebuild/Conversion (PART 2)

 

[buler]

Well done, Josh!! I like that you rescued this one without changing to too much. Sticking with vintage material, except the sweat, is appreciated. Be proud to wear that lid!

B

 

[Lotsahats]

Josh, that's just magnificent! Way to give new life to a historic hat, and your work, done with reverence, really paid off. Congratulations!

A

 

[gtdean48]

SWEET thin ribbon Josh!

 

[Chepstow]

Great Job Josh, sharp result, love the fine bow work!

 

[Joshbru3]

Well done, Josh!! I like that you rescued this one without changing to too much. Sticking with vintage material, except the sweat, is appreciated. Be proud to wear that lid!

B

Josh, that's just magnificent! Way to give new life to a historic hat, and your work, done with reverence, really paid off. Congratulations!

A

SWEET thin ribbon Josh!

Thanks so much Bill, Aaron, Tom, and Manfred!!! I am really proud of this conversion. There is just something special about this early 1900's felt. It is SO black. Modern felts just can't achieve the level of "blackness." The shellac that was used in this hat body is really fantastic. Its just stiff enough to hold shape, but allows for re-creasing if desired. Also, the weight/thickness is light enough to wear in the spring/summer, but heavy enough to keep your head warm in the winter.

 

[mikespens]

Smashing and tasteful job Josh.

 

[DOGMAN]

Wow Josh, great job bringing a very early hat back to life.It sounds like it was really fun to work with that early felt. I like black hats,and I think this one looks great on you.

 

[RBH]

Very nice Josh!
Love the ribbon, but I am not a big fan of that brim shape.
Have you tried it with the brim down in front?

 

[Joshbru3]

Smashing and tasteful job Josh.

Wow Josh, great job bringing a very early hat back to life.It sounds like it was really fun to work with that early felt. I like black hats,and I think this one looks great on you.

Very nice Josh!
Love the ribbon, but I am not a big fan of that brim shape.
Have you tried it with the brim down in front?

Thanks, Gentlemen!!!

Rusty, I have tried the brim snapped in front. It looks ok, but it kinda takes away from the early 1900's look of the hat. Makes it look more like a Strat. I may snap it down though. Not sure yet.