The Conversion Corral

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Just a quick conversion / Ribbon swap really and a light cleaning . Client wanted this one to have contrast with felt color and an upgrade from the cheesy petersham that was original to the hat.
View attachment 150303 View attachment 150304


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Hey Bond:
I’m curious what it is about Petersham ribbon that makes it cheesy. I believe you upgraded a Flagship from Petersham awhile back. Is it a quality thing?? Looks??
I’d appreciate your input on this.
Thanks. Bowen

 

[bond]

Hi Bowen, Petersham ribbon is not something one sees too often on vintage hats and every time I have seen them or swapped out that petersham I always felt better for that . I see a good vintage quality grosgrain as offering a superior style or finish as far as aesthetics goes but again this is only my opinion and I don’t mean to be disrespectful to the petersham crowd who may think otherwise.
That flagship was a good example of swapping out the Petersham for the grosgrain because the felt on the flagship was suited for styling into a nicer looking fedora with a wider grosgrain.
Happy New Year!


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[AbbaDatDeHat]

Hey Scott...okay i got ya. Thanks. I just thought it might be a quallity or durability issue. I can see your point. As a novice, i only recall seeing it on some Flagships so i appreciate your long experience in all you do with hats. Doubt anyone was dis’d.
By the way...your barnyard BMW is the absolute stellar find. Love it. How’s it coming? Any posts of your work on it anywhere?
Happy New Year to you and your’s as well.
Bowen

 

[bond]

Thanks Bowen. Yes the BMW motorcycle has become my new mistress of sorts. I’ve collected a good cache of vintage pieces to fit it out and now is up to my mechanic and his fabricator to make it reality. I hope to get a video of the work if scheduling allows.
Cheers



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[Woodtroll]

I tried to take some pictures today of a conversion I just finished up; the lighting was too poor inside for a black hat, and all the snow and ice outside made it tough to get good pictures...

I needed a black hat for the occasional funeral, etc., but I don't wear one often enough that I wanted to sink the money into a custom. So when a friend gave me a beat-up, dirty Resistol 4x in my 7-3/4 size that had seen better days, I thought I would give it a try. The hat was really dirty and dusty, and had some wear on the edges of the sort-of cattleman crease, and had a couple of "break" lines in the felt of the brim from where it had been folded or creased harshly when dry. I wish I had taken "before" pictures, but suffice it to say that this hat was in bad enough shape that I didn't mind mutilating, I mean, converting it.

I wanted the brim just a little narrower than my normal wide brims so I chose 2-7/8", got a modest 4-3/4" tall crown with teardrop crease out of the crown I had to work with, and found a piece of vintage dark navy ribbon for just a little color. (I shamelessly stole the color scheme from @TJones; thanks Terry!)









The bow work didn't turn out quite as neat as I would have liked, and the wide hatband ribbon still has a few wrinkles where I tried to iron the "swirl" into it that I will have to try again to steam out, but overall it's okay for a hat I won't wear often. The flange had to be steamed and formed by hand over repetitive sessions as I don't own a flange block, but this felt was surprisingly malleable and easy to work with for a western-weight felt.

This is still all a learning experience for me, so I really appreciate everyone that posts here and elsewhere on the board with all of the good pictures and information about how to "do it yourself".

Take care,
Regan

 

[humanshoes]

I tried to take some pictures today of a conversion I just finished up; the lighting was too poor inside for a black hat, and all the snow and ice outside made it tough to get good pictures...

I needed a black hat for the occasional funeral, etc., but I don't wear one often enough that I wanted to sink the money into a custom. So when a friend gave me a beat-up, dirty Resistol 4x in my 7-3/4 size that had seen better days, I thought I would give it a try. The hat was really dirty and dusty, and had some wear on the edges of the sort-of cattleman crease, and had a couple of "break" lines in the felt of the brim from where it had been folded or creased harshly when dry. I wish I had taken "before" pictures, but suffice it to say that this hat was in bad enough shape that I didn't mind mutilating, I mean, converting it.

I wanted the brim just a little narrower than my normal wide brims so I chose 2-7/8", got a modest 4-3/4" tall crown with teardrop crease out of the crown I had to work with, and found a piece of vintage dark navy ribbon for just a little color. (I shamelessly stole the color scheme from @TJones; thanks Terry!)









The bow work didn't turn out quite as neat as I would have liked, and the wide hatband ribbon still has a few wrinkles where I tried to iron the "swirl" into it that I will have to try again to steam out, but overall it's okay for a hat I won't wear often. The flange had to be steamed and formed by hand over repetitive sessions as I don't own a flange block, but this felt was surprisingly malleable and easy to work with for a western-weight felt.

This is still all a learning experience for me, so I really appreciate everyone that posts here and elsewhere on the board with all of the good pictures and information about how to "do it yourself".

Take care,
Regan

Nice go on that one Regan!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I tried to take some pictures today of a conversion I just finished up; the lighting was too poor inside for a black hat, and all the snow and ice outside made it tough to get good pictures...

I needed a black hat for the occasional funeral, etc., but I don't wear one often enough that I wanted to sink the money into a custom. So when a friend gave me a beat-up, dirty Resistol 4x in my 7-3/4 size that had seen better days, I thought I would give it a try. The hat was really dirty and dusty, and had some wear on the edges of the sort-of cattleman crease, and had a couple of "break" lines in the felt of the brim from where it had been folded or creased harshly when dry. I wish I had taken "before" pictures, but suffice it to say that this hat was in bad enough shape that I didn't mind mutilating, I mean, converting it.

I wanted the brim just a little narrower than my normal wide brims so I chose 2-7/8", got a modest 4-3/4" tall crown with teardrop crease out of the crown I had to work with, and found a piece of vintage dark navy ribbon for just a little color. (I shamelessly stole the color scheme from @TJones; thanks Terry!)









The bow work didn't turn out quite as neat as I would have liked, and the wide hatband ribbon still has a few wrinkles where I tried to iron the "swirl" into it that I will have to try again to steam out, but overall it's okay for a hat I won't wear often. The flange had to be steamed and formed by hand over repetitive sessions as I don't own a flange block, but this felt was surprisingly malleable and easy to work with for a western-weight felt.

This is still all a learning experience for me, so I really appreciate everyone that posts here and elsewhere on the board with all of the good pictures and information about how to "do it yourself".

Take care,
Regan

Great job on this conversion, Regan! I’ve yet to complete a ribbon/bow that I liked, and yours looks pretty darn good to me. Nice.


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[Woodtroll]

Nice go on that one Regan!

Thank you, Rick, I appreciate that. I enjoy learning and tinkering, trying to be as self-sufficient as I can, but I sure am glad there are true craftsmen like you out there who can take a vision for a hat and bring it to life.

Great job on this conversion, Regan! I’ve yet to complete a ribbon/bow that I liked, and yours looks pretty darn good to me. Nice.

Thank you, Brent! It's not too bad, but the shadows are hiding the imperfections. I tried to get some good pictures, but a clearer photo would have made my lack of skill obvious.

Y'all take care!
Regan

 

[RJR]

I tried to take some pictures today of a conversion I just finished up; the lighting was too poor inside for a black hat, and all the snow and ice outside made it tough to get good pictures...

I needed a black hat for the occasional funeral, etc., but I don't wear one often enough that I wanted to sink the money into a custom. So when a friend gave me a beat-up, dirty Resistol 4x in my 7-3/4 size that had seen better days, I thought I would give it a try. The hat was really dirty and dusty, and had some wear on the edges of the sort-of cattleman crease, and had a couple of "break" lines in the felt of the brim from where it had been folded or creased harshly when dry. I wish I had taken "before" pictures, but suffice it to say that this hat was in bad enough shape that I didn't mind mutilating, I mean, converting it.

I wanted the brim just a little narrower than my normal wide brims so I chose 2-7/8", got a modest 4-3/4" tall crown with teardrop crease out of the crown I had to work with, and found a piece of vintage dark navy ribbon for just a little color. (I shamelessly stole the color scheme from @TJones; thanks Terry!)









The bow work didn't turn out quite as neat as I would have liked, and the wide hatband ribbon still has a few wrinkles where I tried to iron the "swirl" into it that I will have to try again to steam out, but overall it's okay for a hat I won't wear often. The flange had to be steamed and formed by hand over repetitive sessions as I don't own a flange block, but this felt was surprisingly malleable and easy to work with for a western-weight felt.

This is still all a learning experience for me, so I really appreciate everyone that posts here and elsewhere on the board with all of the good pictures and information about how to "do it yourself".

Take care,
Regan

Your conversion looks good to me.

 

[Desert dog]

I tried to take some pictures today of a conversion I just finished up; the lighting was too poor inside for a black hat, and all the snow and ice outside made it tough to get good pictures...

I needed a black hat for the occasional funeral, etc., but I don't wear one often enough that I wanted to sink the money into a custom. So when a friend gave me a beat-up, dirty Resistol 4x in my 7-3/4 size that had seen better days, I thought I would give it a try. The hat was really dirty and dusty, and had some wear on the edges of the sort-of cattleman crease, and had a couple of "break" lines in the felt of the brim from where it had been folded or creased harshly when dry. I wish I had taken "before" pictures, but suffice it to say that this hat was in bad enough shape that I didn't mind mutilating, I mean, converting it.

I wanted the brim just a little narrower than my normal wide brims so I chose 2-7/8", got a modest 4-3/4" tall crown with teardrop crease out of the crown I had to work with, and found a piece of vintage dark navy ribbon for just a little color. (I shamelessly stole the color scheme from @TJones; thanks Terry!)









The bow work didn't turn out quite as neat as I would have liked, and the wide hatband ribbon still has a few wrinkles where I tried to iron the "swirl" into it that I will have to try again to steam out, but overall it's okay for a hat I won't wear often. The flange had to be steamed and formed by hand over repetitive sessions as I don't own a flange block, but this felt was surprisingly malleable and easy to work with for a western-weight felt.

This is still all a learning experience for me, so I really appreciate everyone that posts here and elsewhere on the board with all of the good pictures and information about how to "do it yourself".

Take care,
Regan

That looks great! Good work!

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[Woodtroll]

Your conversion looks good to me.

That looks great! Good work!

Thank you very much, gentlemen, I appreciate your compliments. It doesn't look too bad at a distance!

 

[Cornshucker77]

I tried to take some pictures today of a conversion I just finished up; the lighting was too poor inside for a black hat, and all the snow and ice outside made it tough to get good pictures...

I needed a black hat for the occasional funeral, etc., but I don't wear one often enough that I wanted to sink the money into a custom. So when a friend gave me a beat-up, dirty Resistol 4x in my 7-3/4 size that had seen better days, I thought I would give it a try. The hat was really dirty and dusty, and had some wear on the edges of the sort-of cattleman crease, and had a couple of "break" lines in the felt of the brim from where it had been folded or creased harshly when dry. I wish I had taken "before" pictures, but suffice it to say that this hat was in bad enough shape that I didn't mind mutilating, I mean, converting it.

I wanted the brim just a little narrower than my normal wide brims so I chose 2-7/8", got a modest 4-3/4" tall crown with teardrop crease out of the crown I had to work with, and found a piece of vintage dark navy ribbon for just a little color. (I shamelessly stole the color scheme from @TJones; thanks Terry!)









The bow work didn't turn out quite as neat as I would have liked, and the wide hatband ribbon still has a few wrinkles where I tried to iron the "swirl" into it that I will have to try again to steam out, but overall it's okay for a hat I won't wear often. The flange had to be steamed and formed by hand over repetitive sessions as I don't own a flange block, but this felt was surprisingly malleable and easy to work with for a western-weight felt.

This is still all a learning experience for me, so I really appreciate everyone that posts here and elsewhere on the board with all of the good pictures and information about how to "do it yourself".

Take care,
Regan

Nice job Regan. I like it.

 

[T Jones]

Getting ready to refurbish and size up this soiled and moth-bitten '60s era 3X Open Road. A fellow Lounger sent this one to me and I was really happy to get it. I converted a couple of Westerns into OR / Strat clones that I like a lot, and I also have an earlier '60s Royal Stetson clone of its own Open Road. This one will be my only 'actual' 3X Stetson Open Road so I want to do this one up nice, especially since I gravitate more toward the thin ribbons like Open Roads and Strats. This one is a roomy 7 1/8 that I'll be sizing up to a 7 1/4 to fit me. I'll still be able to reuse the original ribbon and bow work, and I believe that I can also clean up and reuse the original liner as well. I'd like to see if I can stretch out this sweat band and reuse it. If not, I'll have to put in a new one. I've already taken the hat apart and it's on the block...


As received:

Noticeable mothing on the hat:

Some of the embossing is worn off but the sweat itself is still in good shape and is reuseable. The only problem, though, is that it's a 7 1/8 and my hat size is a 7 1/4.

On the block and getting ready for a new life. It looks like I'll be able to retain the 2 3/4 brim width after the size up. I'll be changing out the original block shape for this straight sided dome. I've had good results using this block for OR and Strat clones that I converted. The combination of straight sides and a round top makes this block type excellent for those applications.

I'll have more when I'm finished.

 

[T Jones]

The OR's off the block and it's ready to be put back together. I'm not too thrilled with the crown height, though. When I reblocked it I left it at its original height. I have another later vintage OR that has the same lower crown and it creased out pretty good. I'll see when I put it back together. If not, I have other plans that will work out quite nicely. I also had to make up a new sweat for it, which I expected would be the case. I'll also reuse the original ribbon and bow work, plus the original liner and sweat band bow....

Tools made by a couple of our own talented Loungers: Block and stand made by "Rockwater". Rounding Jack made by "humanshoes", (Rick). It doesn't get any better than this!

 

[Cornshucker77]

The OR's off the block and it's ready to be put back together. I'm not too thrilled with the crown height, though. When I reblocked it I left it at its original height. I have another later vintage OR that has the same lower crown and it creased out pretty good. I'll see when I put it back together. If not, I have other plans that will work out quite nicely. I also had to make up a new sweat for it, which I expected would be the case. I'll also reuse the original ribbon and bow work, plus the original liner and sweat band bow....

Tools made by a couple of our own talented Loungers: Block and stand made by "Rockwater". Rounding Jack made by "humanshoes", (Rick). It doesn't get any better than this!

Nice set of tools Terry. I was wondering how you deal with the moth nibbles.

 

[1967Cougar390]

I was kicking around ideas on a gray felt hat. I had been looking for something that could be a year round felt but I was reluctant to purchase a high end hat sight unseen. I decided to purchase a gray Silver Canyon outback style hat. It has a 3 inch brim which is larger than the 2 1/2” brims I usually wear. Overall I like it in the pictures except the feathers, those were the first thing to go.

Yesterday I received my hat. The color is a rich gray and I absolutely love it. The hand of the felt is very nice and lightweight.

I decided to change the crease to a diamond from it’s factory teardrop crease.

I converted it from an underwelt too a raw edge, cutting the brim too 2 3/8” from it’s original 3”. I’m really pleased with the way it turned out. The gray color, diamond crease and a tight front pinch really give me the look and feel of a classic fedora for only $49.

Steven

 

[Woodtroll]

I was kicking around ideas on a gray felt hat. I had been looking for something that could be a year round felt but I was reluctant to purchase a high end hat sight unseen. I decided to purchase a gray Silver Canyon outback style hat. It has a 3 inch brim which is larger than the 2 1/2” brims I usually wear. Overall I like it in the pictures except the feathers, those were the first thing to go.
View attachment 153448

Yesterday I received my hat. The color is a rich gray and I absolutely love it. The hand of the felt is very nice and lightweight.
View attachment 153449
View attachment 153450

I decided to change the crease to a diamond from it’s factory teardrop crease.
View attachment 153451

View attachment 153454

View attachment 153455

I converted it from an underwelt too a raw edge, cutting the brim too 2 3/8” from it’s original 3”. I’m really pleased with the way it turned out. The gray color, diamond crease and a tight front pinch really give me the look and feel of a classic fedora for only $49.

View attachment 153460

Steven

Well done! You should indeed be pleased - that’s a good-looking hat. And on the cheap too; my tightwad Scot ancestry approves!

 

[T Jones]

I finally finished sizing up and refurbishing this soiled and once moth bitten '60s era 3X Open Road. I reused as much as I could that was original to the hat, 3/8 ribbon and bow, sweat band bow,...and I even put the original 7 1/8 size tag back in it even though it's now a 7 1/4. I also put in a new sweat and another liner that is like the original that came out of it. The old liner had small holes all through it. I lost a little brim width with the reblocking and size up. The original brim width was 2 3/4 but now sports a 2 5/8 reflanged snap brim. It has a straight medium tall crown that is creased in my preferred tear drop crease. There's always satisfaction whenever an old classic can be saved and worn again. It turned out to be a nice hat that's comfortable to wear.

Here's a few 'Before and After' pics:

After:

On the head:

 

[1967Cougar390]

I finally finished sizing up and refurbishing this soiled and once moth bitten '60s era 3X Open Road. I reused as much as I could that was original to the hat, 3/8 ribbon and bow, sweat band bow,...and I even put the original 7 1/8 size tag back in it even though it's now a 7 1/4. I also put in a new sweat and another liner that is like the original that came out of it. The old liner had small holes all through it. I lost a little brim width with the reblocking and size up. The original brim width was 2 3/4 but now sports a 2 5/8 reflanged snap brim. It has a straight medium tall crown that is creased in my preferred tear drop crease. There's always satisfaction whenever old classic can be saved and worn again. It turned out to be a nice hat that's comfortable to wear.

Here's a few 'Before and After' pics:

After:

On the head:

Terry yet again your work is amazing. The conversion looks excellent. How did you get rid of the moth eaten areas? I can’t see a trace that they were ever there in your after pictures.

Steven

 

[T Jones]

Terry yet again your work is amazing. The conversion looks excellent. How did you get rid of the moth eaten areas? I can’t see a trace that they were ever there in your after pictures.

Steven

Thank you, Steven!