My Journey of attempting to transform an Akubra Cattleman into a Snowy River

[Pastorearp]

**Warning** Long post that may not be of interest to everyone.

I thought I would make this post about my experience with my Akubra cattleman.

Maybe it could be of use to someone else.

I realize that many in this group are very experienced hat wearing people and what I am going to share will be “old hat” to you
(Pun intended), but there might be some here who could benefit from what I am sharing.

So, I bought this Akubra Cattleman in sand color back in March of this year.

There were lots of things I liked about it right away. It’s a beautiful color, the bound edge brim and the brown leather band are really nice, and it’s an Akubra so it’s made with quality and made to stand up to all kinds of weather. All great things about the hat.

However, what I learned not long after buying the Cattleman, was that I prefer the shape, style, and fit of the Akubra Snowy River much better.

I already had one Snowy River and have purchased yet another since purchasing the cattleman.

The snowy river is just perfect for me. I love how the low crown sits on the top of my head, actually touching my head. I know that might be completely opposite of what most people like, but it really is great for me. It feels more secure to me and it makes the hat land perfectly where it needs to be on my forehead and above my ears. I also love the “style” of the Snowy River with its front pinch tear drop crown and its perfectly curled 3 1/4 out back brim. The only thing I change on my Snowy River hats is to give the crown a little tighter front pinch than it originally comes with. Anyway, as you can see I have decided that the Snowy River is just the perfect hat for me. At least for the western category.

I tried at first to just sell my Cattleman and use the money to buy another Snowy River but without success (my post about selling it is still up on this site in the classifieds but I don’t know how to remover it or I would).

So, this all being the case, I set out to see if I could turn my Cattleman into a Snowy River. After all, they have the same crown height and brim length.

What I learned along the way:

1. it seems to me (in my perception) that the Snowy River has a little thicker and stiffer felt than the Cattleman. While this didn’t stop me from proceeding with the transformation attempt, it did mean that the Cattleman will never “feel” exactly like the Snowy River.

2. I attempted to stem it myself and lower the crown and curve the brim but I just could not seem to get it as close as I knew it could be. So, I took both my Cattleman and my Snowy River in to my local Cavenders western store where they only sell Stetson and other cowboy hats, and asked them to shape the cattleman just like the Snowy River. The guy that steams hats for them was very kind and willing to help me and did a real good job. Much better than my attempts. He didn’t even charge me but he had a tip jar and I gave him a 10 dollar tip. A real bargain for how much he helped me out.

3. After I got home, though I was pleased with how the hat looked and how much it resembled a Snowy River, I realized the crown still did not rest on the top of my head like the snowy River does, which I really wanted it to do. I discovered it was because he steamed a “bump” on the tear drop crown presumably to give me some head clearance. So, I steamed that part of the tear drop, pushed down that bump, put the hat on my head making sure it was touching my head and resting on the top of my head like I prefer, and then while the hat was still in my head, formed it to rest perfectly on my head. So the hats sits on my head just like I wanted. Perfectly for me.

I am really happy with the results of this transformation!

Now, I know exactly what to do if I ever have another cattleman that I want to transform into a Snowy River. There are presently more colors available in the Cattleman than the Snowy River, so I may end up doing this again.

Anyway, sorry for the long post, and sorry to those who already know all these things but maybe this could be helpful to some one who wants to make a cattleman into a Snowy River and is not sure about how to go about it.

Blessings my hat friends!

 

[One Drop]

My first Akubra was a Bran Cattleman, I wore it well for about a year before finding a nice used Snowy River, the older model with a thin ribbon, that I much preferred.

I ended up giving it away to a friend as it ended up sitting unused as I had bought a few other hats in the interim that I preferred as well. I thunk it was the Bran colour that was the main reason that I got bored of it, it didn't really suit me and looked a bit drab on me.

Yours looks good on you, it's a good transformation, and good to know it can be done so easily.

 

[Frontporchcharlie]

I keep getting tempted to change a few things on my Akubra Cattleman and then I end up backing out. It's like I'm scared I'll run into an Australian and he'll ask my why I defiled a national symbol of rural Aussies. No worries. What you did looks good.

 

[One Drop]

I keep getting tempted to change a few things on my Akubra Cattleman and then I end up backing out. It's like I'm scared I'll run into an Australian and he'll ask my why I defiled a national symbol of rural Aussies. No worries. What you did looks good.

I don't think you have to worry, most of them in Oz are worn way beyond resembling a Cattleman or any particular hat by the time they get retired.