The Conversion Corral

[T Jones]

Another great makeover, Terry. It is a style Borsalino themselves don't do enough.

Thank you steur!

 

[T Jones]

That hat looks great, Terry. I’m having VS make me up one just like it. I need to get you a block and flange in my size!


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That'll definitely work buddy!

 

[Tukwila]

That'll definitely work buddy!

I'm always impressed with your conversions, Terry. This Borsalino looks grand.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

I finally finished this Borsalino and as I already said, I went with a black 3/8 thin ribbon with an OR / Strat type bow.

The specs on this one...
1. 5 3/4 open crown
2. The crown is creased to my preferred Teardrop that is 4 3/4 at the pinch with a rake sloping to 4 inches to the back.
3. The snap brim is 3 inches wide.
4. It's been reblocked from its original size 7 to a 7 1/4 to fit me.

I'll have more in the WHAYWT thread and also in the Borsalino Brotherhood thread.

I tried to get some pictures of the front but the color is hard to photograph under certain light...

Great work Terry, as always.
Are there any pics of the insides anywhere?
B

 

[T Jones]

Great work Terry, as always.
Are there any pics of the insides anywhere?
B

Thank you Bowen. There's nothing to see on the inside, actually. Everyone of these Borsas I have came to me without the liners. All that's on the inside is a black sweat that has Borsalino stamped on it. I tried contacting the Borsa factory to see if they had liners for these hats but they didn't reply to my email. From what I understand the black Borsas that I have were made for Orthodox Jews so I don't know if they came with much more on the inside than just the Black sweat.

 

[T Jones]

I'm always impressed with your conversions, Terry. This Borsalino looks grand.

Thank you Tuk!

 

[bond]

And the “on the head visuals “ for this last hat .
Kind of glad I gave this pecan color another shot.

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[Steve1857]

And the “on the head visuals “ for this last hat .
Kind of glad I gave this pecan color another shot.
View attachment 179455 View attachment 179456 View attachment 179457


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That looks a real beauty.

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[J Williams]

So I attempted my first conversion today and I'm pretty happy with a first attempt. I picked up a beat up 4X black resistol for $20 at a local thrift store with the intention of playing around with it. Of course in my haste forgot to take a before photo but it's essentially this hat.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RESISTOL-4...599244?hash=item365246b3cc:g:S90AAOSwFpddTFqJ

I whipped up a crappy 2 3/4 rounding jig (worked great actually) Thorougly wet the brim and crown. Ironed the brim flat and worked out the old crown crease. Trimmed the brim down and put in a new bash. The hat has a bit of a bell shaped curl where the crown meets the brim that I wasn't able to crisp up but I think I'm going to put a bit of a wider ribbon on it.

I was originally going to put a cattlemans on it but it has a pretty tall crown so it looked a little pointy for my liking. Really happy with this teardrop shape. The brim still needs a bit of work and I think I will make a quick 1/2" jig to put a better curl on it but I'm pretty happy overall. Let me know what you think and if anyone has any tips I'm all ears.

View attachment 180324

 

[Cornshucker77]

So I attempted my first conversion today and I'm pretty happy with a first attempt. I picked up a beat up 4X black resistol for $20 at a local thrift store with the intention of playing around with it. Of course in my haste forgot to take a before photo but it's essentially this hat.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RESISTOL-4...599244?hash=item365246b3cc:g:S90AAOSwFpddTFqJ

I whipped up a crappy 2 3/4 rounding jig (worked great actually) Thorougly wet the brim and crown. Ironed the brim flat and worked out the old crown crease. Trimmed the brim down and put in a new bash. The hat has a bit of a bell shaped curl where the crown meets the brim that I wasn't able to crisp up but I think I'm going to put a bit of a wider ribbon on it.

I was originally going to put a cattlemans on it but it has a pretty tall crown so it looked a little pointy for my liking. Really happy with this teardrop shape. The brim still needs a bit of work and I think I will make a quick 1/2" jig to put a better curl on it but I'm pretty happy overall. Let me know what you think and if anyone has any tips I'm all ears.

View attachment 180324

Nice job!

 

[T Jones]

Getting ready to put this Beaver Brand 10X Quality Western back together. I started on it some weeks ago and I'm just now getting back to it. I blocked this up from a size 7 to a 7 1/4 to fit me. I lost some brim width in the size up but I was able to use my handy dandy Phoenix Hat Company Rounding Jack and my equally handy dandy Rockwater band block to trim the brim width to an even 3 1/2 inches. I plan to keep this one a Western, something similar to James Garner's 'Maverick' hat, except with a few of my own touches....

Off the block now and ready to go back together...

On the block:

Off the block and got the brim trimmed. Also pictured is the Rounding Jack I got from Rick at the Phoenix Hat Company, and the band block that came with a hat block that Rockwater made for me.

 

[Steve1857]

Getting ready to put this Beaver Brand 10X Quality Western back together. I started on it some weeks ago and I'm just now getting back to it. I blocked this up from a size 7 to a 7 1/4 to fit me. I lost some brim width in the size up but I was able to use my handy dandy Phoenix Hat Company Rounding Jack and my equally handy dandy Rockwater band block to trim the brim width to an even 3 1/2 inches. I plan to keep this one a Western, something similar to James Garner's 'Maverick' hat, except with a few of my own touches....

Off the block now and ready to go back together...

On the block:

Off the block and got the brim trimmed. Also pictured is the Rounding Jack I got from Rick at the Phoenix Hat Company, and the band block that came with a hat block that Rockwater made for me.

You're the hat whisperer, Terry.

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[T Jones]

You're the hat whisperer, Terry.

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Ha! Sometimes I yell at 'em too!

 

[humanshoes]

Getting ready to put this Beaver Brand 10X Quality Western back together. I started on it some weeks ago and I'm just now getting back to it. I blocked this up from a size 7 to a 7 1/4 to fit me. I lost some brim width in the size up but I was able to use my handy dandy Phoenix Hat Company Rounding Jack and my equally handy dandy Rockwater band block to trim the brim width to an even 3 1/2 inches. I plan to keep this one a Western, something similar to James Garner's 'Maverick' hat, except with a few of my own touches....

Off the block now and ready to go back together...

On the block:

Off the block and got the brim trimmed. Also pictured is the Rounding Jack I got from Rick at the Phoenix Hat Company, and the band block that came with a hat block that Rockwater made for me.

[/QUOTE]
Excellent work as usual Terry. Gotta love a good black western hat.

 

[T Jones]

Getting ready to put this Beaver Brand 10X Quality Western back together. I started on it some weeks ago and I'm just now getting back to it. I blocked this up from a size 7 to a 7 1/4 to fit me. I lost some brim width in the size up but I was able to use my handy dandy Phoenix Hat Company Rounding Jack and my equally handy dandy Rockwater band block to trim the brim width to an even 3 1/2 inches. I plan to keep this one a Western, something similar to James Garner's 'Maverick' hat, except with a few of my own touches....

Off the block now and ready to go back together...

On the block:

Off the block and got the brim trimmed. Also pictured is the Rounding Jack I got from Rick at the Phoenix Hat Company, and the band block that came with a hat block that Rockwater made for me.

Excellent work as usual Terry. Gotta love a good black western hat.

Thank you Rick! Definitely agree with you buddy. No Western hat collection would be complete without a black hat or two...

BTW, I really like that rounding jack! Works perfect everytime![/QUOTE]

 

[humanshoes]

Thank you Rick! Definitely agree with you buddy. No Western hat collection would be complete without a black hat or two...

BTW, I really like that rounding jack! Works perfect everytime!

[/QUOTE]
I'm glad the rounding jack is working out for you Terry.

 

[T Jones]

Getting close to finishing this 10X Beaver Brand Western. I've got the new sweat sewn in and I'm going to put a thin brim binding on it. The ribbon for the brim binding is cut and folded and is sewn in place with temporary basting stitches that will be removed once it's permanently sewn in place with matching black thread.

I'll have more on this Western when it's finished. In a way, I kinda wish that I would've trimmed the brim down to 3 1/4. Oh well....

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Getting close to finishing this 10X Beaver Brand Western. I've got the new sweat sewn in and I'm going to put a thin brim binding on it. The ribbon for the brim binding is cut and folded and is sewn in place with temporary basting stitches that will be removed once it's permanently sewn in place with matching black thread.

I'll have more on this Western when it's finished. In a way, I kinda wish that I would've trimmed the brim down to 3 1/4. Oh well....

It looks nice, Terry. I like the brim width, but 3 1/4 would also have been nice. Are you using your sewing machine to see on the binding?


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[T Jones]

It looks nice, Terry. I like the brim width, but 3 1/4 would also have been nice. Are you using your sewing machine to see on the binding?


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Thank you buddy. I'll be sewing this one by hand but it'll be the last one I sew by hand. After this one I'll be sewing on the Singer.

 

[T Jones]

I'm in the home stretch on my Maverick inspired T.V. Western hat. I finally finished sewing on the binding and shaping the brim. The crown is also creased and I set the hat aside to dry overnight. Tomorrow I'll sew on a matching black thin ribbon. I'm still undecided on whether I want to use a 4 ligne or a 6 ligne ribbon....here's what I have so far

No more hand sewing brim bindings. This is my last one. I'll be using a sewing machine for those from now on