The Conversion Corral

[Redfokker]

My New Hat Project... (X - Posted from my Facebook)

I found a vintage, mint condition Resistol Stagecoach on eBay in my size for $50! Still in the box! These hats are highly coveted in the Hat Conversion community for turning into classic fedoras. (Don't worry, kids. I kept that little stagecoach hat pin. I know they're rare.) The first pic is the eBay listing. The next three is how I received it.

I then carefully took off the pin and the leather cordage hat band and measured off a half inch on the 3.5 inch brim. I trimmed that off and still found it too wide for my taste and so I took it down another quarter inch to its final width of 2 3/4".

I then soaked the entire hat in piping hot water and began to shape it. I've never had an Indiana Jones hat and so I thought I would try that style of bash. But I didn't want to go "full potato" on the Jones bash. So I put in the signature dents on the front of the crown but kept my usual diamond crease on the top. The trimmed brim received a nice sanded finished to round out the edge and then I gave it a nice, swoopy curve all around.

I then stole the ribbon off of an old Akubra Squatter that didn't ever fit me to my taste and stitched that on, bow and all, to the hat. The last four pics are the finished lid.

The crown is 5" high.
The brim is 2 3/4 all the way around.
I call this hat the "Tanis" after the dig in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
View attachment 78103 View attachment 78104 View attachment 78105 View attachment 78106 View attachment 78107 View attachment 78108 View attachment 78109 View attachment 78110 View attachment 78111 View attachment 78112

Erik

Nice job! Great crease.

 

[Redwoodjedi]

Nice job! Great crease.

Thank you!

 

[Joao Encarnado]

I found a vintage, mint condition Resistol Stagecoach on eBay in my size for $50! Still in the box! These hats are highly coveted in the Hat Conversion community for turning into classic fedoras. (Don't worry, kids. I kept that little stagecoach hat pin. I know they're rare.) The first pic is the eBay listing.

Does it have the paper tag behind the sweatband?

 

[Redwoodjedi]

Does it have the paper tag behind the sweatband?

Yes Sir. It sure does. I claim ignorance as to the significance of the question. Please explain. =)

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Can you take a picture and post here?
I just want a "proof" of model number and model name.

 

[Redwoodjedi]

Can you take a picture and post here?
I just want a "proof" of model number and model name.

Does this work, Joao?

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Does this work, Joao? View attachment 78139 View attachment 78140

Hm, no.
This is the paper tag I was talking about:

But thanks anyway.

 

[T Jones]

A gift from Bob Hufford. A 6 7/8 moth eaten old Stagecoach is about to get new life. In spite of the moth bites and its condition I believe I can revive this old beater and make a fairly decent looking hat out of it. It arrived yesterday and I already have it stripped down and on a 23 1/8 (7 1/4) straight sided block, up three sizes from the original. The open crown is going to be 5 3/4 tall. What used to be the front and the back of the hat are now going to be the sides to make the mothing more inconspicuous, (small bites, though). Other bites are on the underside of the brim, so, most will be hidden. I have just enough brim to give me one at 2 5/8 wide. I'm not going to be able to reuse the original thin ribbon it's going to be too short. So, ribbon choice is yet to be determined.

Thanks again, Bob. I'm pretty confident that I can do something with this...

 

[BobHufford]

Thanks again, Bob. I'm pretty confident that I can do something with this...

You are more than welcome Terry. I'm sure you can make it a decent hat again as well.

 

[John Cronyn]

WOW! This cannot be your first rodeo ( pun ) intended. You'd have to use good shears and steady hand . What do you use to smooth the little bumps and nicks out. Are you a haymaker?


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[John Cronyn]

That was supposed to be hatmaker. The ribbon did you make that yourself, nice!


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[Redwoodjedi]

My latest hat project!

So I found this severely moth eaten 4X Cowboy Hat on eBay for $30. No small wonder as some of the moth nibbles go clean through. Most would overlook this hat right there. Not me. I like a hat with a story. This is made by Renegade Hat Co. out of Texas. Never heard of them. It can't be too old as the tag on this never been worn hat was attached with a nylon tag holder. I'd guess 1980's at the oldest.

So... the dimensions of this hat were 5.5 " Open Crown with a 4" brim. I trimmed the brim down to 2.75" and sanded the edge to give a rounded finish. I then took the champagne colored thin ribbon off and stitched on brand new chocolate colored 7/8" grosgrain ribbon and bow created by yours truly. Seeing as how this hat has never been creased before, I then fired up the tea kettle and put the steam to it. The moth damage and light staining as well as the tall untapered crown, inspired a light Indiana Jones bash (center dent/pinch) which I thought fit its personality.

I present to you

The Pale Raider
Crown: 5" front. 4.25" back
Brim: 2.75"
Size: 6 7/8 US - 55 Eur

Thanks for lookin'!

Erik

 

[RJR]

My latest hat project!

So I found this severely moth eaten 4X Cowboy Hat on eBay for $30. No small wonder as some of the moth nibbles go clean through. Most would overlook this hat right there. Not me. I like a hat with a story. This is made by Renegade Hat Co. out of Texas. Never heard of them. It can't be too old as the tag on this never been worn hat was attached with a nylon tag holder. I'd guess 1980's at the oldest.

So... the dimensions of this hat were 5.5 " Open Crown with a 4" brim. I trimmed the brim down to 2.75" and sanded the edge to give a rounded finish. I then took the champagne colored thin ribbon off and stitched on brand new chocolate colored 7/8" grosgrain ribbon and bow created by yours truly. Seeing as how this hat has never been creased before, I then fired up the tea kettle and put the steam to it. The moth damage and light staining as well as the tall untapered crown, inspired a light Indiana Jones bash (center dent/pinch) which I thought fit its personality.

I present to you

The Pale Raider
Crown: 5" front. 4.25" back
Brim: 2.75"
Size: 6 7/8 US - 55 Eur
View attachment 78642 View attachment 78644 View attachment 78646 View attachment 78651 View attachment 78650 View attachment 78652 View attachment 78641 View attachment 78649 View attachment 78643 View attachment 78645

Thanks for lookin'!

Erik

Nice.

 

[Redfokker]

My latest hat project!

So I found this severely moth eaten 4X Cowboy Hat on eBay for $30. No small wonder as some of the moth nibbles go clean through. Most would overlook this hat right there. Not me. I like a hat with a story. This is made by Renegade Hat Co. out of Texas. Never heard of them. It can't be too old as the tag on this never been worn hat was attached with a nylon tag holder. I'd guess 1980's at the oldest.

So... the dimensions of this hat were 5.5 " Open Crown with a 4" brim. I trimmed the brim down to 2.75" and sanded the edge to give a rounded finish. I then took the champagne colored thin ribbon off and stitched on brand new chocolate colored 7/8" grosgrain ribbon and bow created by yours truly. Seeing as how this hat has never been creased before, I then fired up the tea kettle and put the steam to it. The moth damage and light staining as well as the tall untapered crown, inspired a light Indiana Jones bash (center dent/pinch) which I thought fit its personality.

I present to you

The Pale Raider
Crown: 5" front. 4.25" back
Brim: 2.75"
Size: 6 7/8 US - 55 Eur
View attachment 78642 View attachment 78644 View attachment 78646 View attachment 78651 View attachment 78650 View attachment 78652 View attachment 78641 View attachment 78649 View attachment 78643 View attachment 78645

Thanks for lookin'!

Erik

A new life for a weathered hat. Looks super now, like the color.

 

[T Jones]

This was a moth bitten and faded out 6 7/8 Tan Resistol Stagecoach that Bob Hufford gave to me. I wanted to see what I could do with it. I was able to reblock it and size it up three sizes to a 71/4. The result was a nice tall and straight crown with a 2 5/8 brim flanged on a 2 3/4 brim flange. What was originally the sides of the hat are now the front and back so I could make the mothing less conspicuous. I sewed in a new sweat and put the original 6 7/8 liner back in. Aside from some mothing and fading issues this hat came out pretty decent and the mothing doesn't seem that obvious. It now has new life as a fedora and should last a good many years. I creased the crown to a teardrop, 4 7/8 at the pinch with a rake sloping to 4 1/4 at the back. I robbed another hat that I don't wear too often of its mid ribbon and put it on this one.

Some of the mothing is visible from the top angles.

On the head

 

[Windsock8e]

This was a moth bitten and faded out 6 7/8 Tan Resistol Stagecoach that Bob Hufford gave to me. I wanted to see what I could do with it. I was able to reblock it and size it up three sizes to a 71/4. The result was a nice tall and straight crown with a 2 5/8 brim flanged on a 2 3/4 brim flange. What was originally the sides of the hat are now the front and back so I could make the mothing less conspicuous. I sewed in a new sweat and put the original 6 7/8 liner back in. Aside from some mothing and fading issues this hat came out pretty decent and the mothing doesn't seem that obvious. It now has new life as a fedora and should last a good many years. I creased the crown to a teardrop, 4 7/8 at the pinch with a rake sloping to 4 1/4 at the back. I robbed another hat that I don't wear too often of its mid ribbon and put it on this one.

Some of the mothing is visible from the top angles.

On the head

That's a great conversion!

I was hoping to work on a decrepit Borsalino but was missing some tools. Whilst on holiday, a decou rounding jack, pusher downer, puller downer and foot tollicker came up on the UK eBay. I tried to throw a bid and could not get it to go through due to almost no network connection. All of that went for about $170 and is probably worth $400+ new... still feeling cut up about it... a lot of money but a good investment .

Anyways, enough moaning by me, as usual, you have done a beautiful and inspiring job!


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[RJR]

This was a moth bitten and faded out 6 7/8 Tan Resistol Stagecoach that Bob Hufford gave to me. I wanted to see what I could do with it. I was able to reblock it and size it up three sizes to a 71/4. The result was a nice tall and straight crown with a 2 5/8 brim flanged on a 2 3/4 brim flange. What was originally the sides of the hat are now the front and back so I could make the mothing less conspicuous. I sewed in a new sweat and put the original 6 7/8 liner back in. Aside from some mothing and fading issues this hat came out pretty decent and the mothing doesn't seem that obvious. It now has new life as a fedora and should last a good many years. I creased the crown to a teardrop, 4 7/8 at the pinch with a rake sloping to 4 1/4 at the back. I robbed another hat that I don't wear too often of its mid ribbon and put it on this one.

Some of the mothing is visible from the top angles.

On the head

Nice save,TJ,I like that ribbon.

 

[Redfokker]

This was a moth bitten and faded out 6 7/8 Tan Resistol Stagecoach that Bob Hufford gave to me. I wanted to see what I could do with it. I was able to reblock it and size it up three sizes to a 71/4. The result was a nice tall and straight crown with a 2 5/8 brim flanged on a 2 3/4 brim flange. What was originally the sides of the hat are now the front and back so I could make the mothing less conspicuous. I sewed in a new sweat and put the original 6 7/8 liner back in. Aside from some mothing and fading issues this hat came out pretty decent and the mothing doesn't seem that obvious. It now has new life as a fedora and should last a good many years. I creased the crown to a teardrop, 4 7/8 at the pinch with a rake sloping to 4 1/4 at the back. I robbed another hat that I don't wear too often of its mid ribbon and put it on this one.

Some of the mothing is visible from the top angles.

On the head

Another one hit out of the park! Love the classic lines, straight crown, fantastic color. Nice TJ!

 

[T Jones]

That's a great conversion!

I was hoping to work on a decrepit Borsalino but was missing some tools. Whilst on holiday, a decou rounding jack, pusher downer, puller downer and foot tollicker came up on the UK eBay. I tried to throw a bid and could not get it to go through due to almost no network connection. All of that went for about $170 and is probably worth $400+ new... still feeling cut up about it... a lot of money but a good investment .

Anyways, enough moaning by me, as usual, you have done a beautiful and inspiring job!


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Thank you buddy. My biggest hold back is also the lack of tools and the funds to buy them. I could definitely use more stuff.

 

[T Jones]

Another one hit out of the park! Love the classic lines, straight crown, fantastic color. Nice TJ!

Thanks Red. Despite some of the moth bites it actually came out pretty nice.