The Conversion Corral

[RJR]

Nice job!

 

[DOGMAN]

It was cool seeing the hat go through the changes.Great work.

 

[Joshbru3]

Thanks everybody, I really appreciate it.

Dogman, I have another conversion on the block as we speak that reminds me of your Resistol Panda. Its actually exactly like the Panda except its Stetsons version.

 

[bowlerman]

Holy cow, Josh! Excellent work. Looks great. I've always liked the way you achieve such good side dents, too. Like the ones mid conversion before you trimmed the brim.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

 

[splintercellsz]

Wow!!!!!

 

[Joao Encarnado]

I must have sanded off half its felt and weight.

I don't get this... why get a western weight felt, sand it to get a... lightweight felt. Isn't it the same to get a dress hat felt without the hard work (and "killing of a western)?
It's... almost the same someone did some time ago, got a longhair felt hat and... sand it to turn it a... normal felt.
It is a great job never the less.

 

[Joshbru3]

I don't get this... why get a western weight felt, sand it to get a... lightweight felt. Isn't it the same to get a dress hat felt without the hard work (and "killing of a western)?
It's... almost the same someone did some time ago, got a longhair felt hat and... sand it to turn it a... normal felt.
It is a great job never the less.

Here's my take on this.....

Not all western felts are created equal. That being said, let me explain. I have owned/own western felt hats from the pre-1940 period, 1950- 1960 period, and 1960 to current period. Western felts were not always the heavy/meaty felt bodies that they are today. In the pre 1940 period, and especially pre 1930 period, many western felt hats were only slightly heavier and thicker than a regular dress weight hat. (not including western velours/longhairs) They were nowhere near the thickness and stiffness as todays westerns. They also had far less shellac than modern day western hats. Like every felt hat, vintage felt (pre-1960) was felted much more densly and far less shellac was used. To be honest, when talking about felt quality, NOT DURABILITY, for the most part many large factory (Stetson, Resistol, Stevens, etc) western hats made after about 1970 felt wise were absolute garbage. The felt was felted loosely, pouncing was not good, dye color saturation was horrible, and the materials used for sweatbands and ribbons went downhill.

That being said, the reason I pounced over half the weight off the hat body wasn't because I wanted to. It was because I had to. There was WAY too much shellac in the hat body and that caused spidering every time the hat was creased. Spidering is caused by too much shellac in a hat body and improper impregnation of the shellac. Also, the felt was ridiculously thick....WAY too thick. Western hats do not need to be that thick to be durable. The reason modern hat companys load westerns with a ton of shellac and make the felt so thick is because they do not process the bodies nearly enough as they used to. (I was told that by a manager from Winchester felts) By making a looser felted hat body, the hat would shrink and not block properly. So they make the felt super thick and load it with shellac to basically make up for the shortcomings of the modern hat bodies.

Every 1970's, 1980's, 1990's Stetson, Resistol, Bailey, Stevens, and Beaver Brand 3x, 5x, 10x, etc that I have owned has for the most part been pretty crumby by comparison to pre-1940 westerns. I can fully understand why someone would pounce down a thick and stiff western body to yield a softer, lighter, and more pliable hat body. it actually makes perfect sense. Trust me, the hat is still just as durable. I also re-ironed the hat body on the hat block several times during the restoration which made the body denser as well.

It is NOT the same thing as sanding a longhair. Sanding a longhair is pointless because the longhair hat bodies are usually made with longer hairs to begin with, so sanding it will never yield a super smooth finish. Sanding a thick western felt body makes sense because a smooth finish western hat body will yield a thinner, smooth, and more moldable felt body.

 

[DOGMAN]

Thanks everybody, I really appreciate it.

Dogman, I have another conversion on the block as we speak that reminds me of your Resistol Panda. Its actually exactly like the Panda except its Stetsons version.

I'll be waiting to see that one Josh.I should have mine finished soon.

 

[T Jones]

Here's a 70's/80's Resistol 3X conversion that I just finished. I have converted it a couple of times, but I am finally satisfied with the final product.

I wanted to give it a 1900's western dress hat look with a thin ribbon. I blocked it with a Graeco block which is straighter than any block I have ever seen. I would venture to say its even straighter than a Columbia block. Pounced that thick western felt WAY down to a lighter dress weight. (that eliminated any felt spidering as well) I sanded the inside of the crown and added a leather sweatband which I had done some work to. Lastly, I added an old school thin ribbon which I used from original 40's/50's ribbon stock that I bought.

I'd love to get hold of a block like that. Really straight sided. That's a nice looking crown.

 

[RJR]

Nice job on this conversion.

 

[Flick]

A couple of Conversions (refurbs) by Mike at Northwest hats

So I asked Mike (what seems like a long time ago) to refurbish a couple of my hats. At first he didn't want to do it, stating that he was very busy, and offered to direct me to a couple of his friend hatters, but I persisted, and he agreed to do my hats, stating that it may take some time as he was very busy.

Fast forward a considerable length of time I receive a couple of hats that went in as worn but complete, and mainly unblemished felts. The first was a vintage Stetson 3X:

From:

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To:

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Measurements: brim 2 1/2", crown 5 1/4.

The second hat went in as a Akubra Imperial Felt that I had worn for years, was intact and complete but had some old sweat stains. It was a work hat for me, but the felt was still in excellent shape, so it went from:

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To this:

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Measurements: Brim 2 3/4, Crown 5 1/2.

Excellent workmanship on both hats. And even better, well worth every penny I spent.

Thank you Mike.


Hmmm, not sure why the pics won't show. This is from another post here:


http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?66155-Northwest-Hats-Eugene-Ore&p=1861887#post1861887

 

[1mach1]

Congrats, Flick. I love them! Mike is currently working on a Resistol conversion for me. He said he should be finished by next week.

 

[DOGMAN]

He did a nice job on both the hats.I think the Akubra is my favorite.

 

[Flick]

I'm sure you'll love your Resistol Conversion, Harv.

And the Akubra is my fav as well. The Stetson is really sweet as well, but the 1st gen Indians Jones clone tall crown, tight pinch, medium wide brim Akubra really fits the bill...

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Nice, apart of another western... "lost".

 

[Flick]

Check this one out, Joao.







Just found this one a few days ago. A custom Lone Star Hat. It has a 3 1/4 inch curled brim and a 5 1/2 inch crown. This ones a keeper.

 

[1mach1]

That one is very nice, Flick!

 

[Flick]

Thanks, Harv. That one is staying Western.

 

[DesertDan]

Beautiful hats all around gentlemen!

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Nice one Flick!