Stetson Austral Question

[ManofKent]

I like those flat crowns

 

[gtdean48]

Thank you for that. I'm guessing one would simply wet the crown thoroughly with distilled water and scrunch it down over the form? I guess the only pitfall would be making sure you got the appropriate form with the proper crown height.

Yep, Doc. That is pretty much it. I have a straight sided dome shaper that I use to take to open crown so I can crease again = http://www.hatshapers.com/Product Pages/Straight_Sided_Dome.htm
The key is get one that is tall enough to reach the top of the crown & get the sweatband over the base. I wear a 24"/61cm so I went for the 23 1/2 size.

 

[Doc Glockster]

Mine, for reference.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

That's cool. Some photos I've seen appear to show a slightly higher crown. I wonder if the specs changed over time or if different people look that different in the hat.

The last thing I want is the "Hoss Cartwright" look--LOL.

 

[bowlerman]

I wouldn't worry about that with this hat! Open crown is only 4 1/2", and the brim on mine is 3 1/2.

 

[Doc Glockster]

I wouldn't worry about that with this hat! Open crown is only 4 1/2", and the brim on mine is 3 1/2.

How stiff is the brim? I like a brim as stiff as a 2x4. Am I going to have to drench it in Kahl's hat stiffener?

I recently treated an old Resistol hat that started out with a floppy brim. Now I'm confident I can slice bread with it.

 

[bowlerman]

Actually rather stiff, though not inflexible like a derby or some modern westerns i've seen.

 

[Doc Glockster]

Interesting. I wonder if I should do that. I wear a 7 1/4 and it fits tightly (which I like) because I keep my hair cut really short. I wonder if I should go up to 7 3/8?

They say a hat tends to shrink if you get it sweaty in the summer, and I'll certainly do that.

EDITED TO ADD: Well, I went ahead and ordered the 7 3/8. The vendor I used is quoting 4-6 week delivery so I'll try to remember to update this thread when I get it.

Typo: I actually ordered the 7 1/4 and I got it yesterday.

The hat is tight, but not painful. It sits high enough on my head that I was actually able to wet the crown and give it a slight telescope-type bash. I also decided to steam the brim and shape it to look more like the hat in my avatar.

I couldn't stomach the ribbon either, so I substituted the leather band from an old Stetson Revenger I used to have. Suffice it to say the hat resembles the hat in my avatar now except the Austral has a bound brim.

The bad news? I'm not real impressed. The brim is paper thin and that's a pet peeve of mine. I've owned (and still own) Stetson hats where the brim was almost 3/16" thick and would resist any abuse just about. The Austral's brim is just stiff enough to hold shape (and I had to add some hat stiffener after steaming and bending it). Just that little bending made the brim unacceptably floppy.

It's not the first hat I've seen like this. Even a couple of later Stetson Revengers I used to own and gave away had really thin brims compared to older ones.

Doesn't anyone make a hat with a thick brim anymore?

Anyway, I won't be buying any more Stetsons if they're going to make the brims this thin. That kind of brim just screams "costume" hat and not a rugged piece of headgear you can wear with pride.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[jlee562]

Hmm, that's an interesting criticism. With fedoras, I think many of us think that modern felts are too thick. When I look at say, John Wayne's battered diamond creased hat (the "Rio Bravo" one, among many other films), I think modern felts are just too thick to get that crease.

 

[Doc Glockster]

Hmm, that's an interesting criticism. With fedoras, I think many of us think that modern felts are too thick. When I look at say, John Wayne's battered diamond creased hat (the "Rio Bravo" one, among many other films), I think modern felts are just too thick to get that crease.

I know it's a matter of taste. If you look at John Wayne's hat in "The Searchers" you can see the wind blowing that brim around pretty good, like there was little to no stiffness in that hat.

I just know my hats get dinged up pretty good. I want a brim that stays stiff and shaped even after getting soaking wet or banged up at the ranch.

 

[jlee562]

I know it's a matter of taste. If you look at John Wayne's hat in "The Searchers" you can see the wind blowing that brim around pretty good, like there was little to no stiffness in that hat.

I just know my hats get dinged up pretty good. I want a brim that stays stiff and shaped even after getting soaking wet or banged up at the ranch.

It's funny, I first saw that film whilst in film school, before I got into serious hat wearing. So when I watched it back a few months ago, now having all this knowledge about hats, I was a little amazed that his hat was flopping around like that!

Good luck with the Austral though, if it does got some head time, be sure to check back in and let us know how it holds up. That Buffalo felt is definitely a new variable.

 

[milliedog]

Doc- I am new to hats in general, but have you tried Akubra? I can speak from first hand experience on the raw edged Stockman and Snowy River models and they both have thick and stiff brims. I think the key to getting a thick and stiff brim in the Akubra line is to stay with the raw edge models. The ones with finished edges tend to be thinner, like Coober Pedy and Cattleman.

 

[gtdean48]

... I want a brim that stays stiff and shaped even after getting soaking wet or banged up at the ranch.

Watch ebay for old Resistol Stagecoach models. Their brims are quite solid.


My other westerns come from hatters that use Winchester Hat Factory felt bodies. The most recent factory western I bought was a HatCo Stetson Carson. It has a stiff, substantial brim but not flat like you stated earlier. I got it thru Paris Hatters over the phone. I cut it down some.

 

[Doc Glockster]

I had an Akubra Angler. The brim on that was kind of soft.

 

[bowlerman]

Interesting. The brim on my Austral is easily a full 1/8", considerably thicker than most of my fedoras, and the felt is without a doubt more rugged and could take more of a beating. Many of my westerns are the same thickness (including my Resistol 3Xs and my Charles Carmack), although I do have a few thinner ones, and one from Montana Peaks Hats where the 1/8" brim has been rounded on the edge.
As for stiffness, it certainly isn't as stiff as a vintage derby, or an off the shelf modern western, but still stiffer than just about all my other hats. I hope you can get it to work for you!

 

[Doc Glockster]

After looking over the hat again I'll soften my "hate" toward the thin brim a little. It may very well be durable enough. I'm just used to and prefer a much thicker brim.

Right now I'm wearing an old Resistol "Clint Eastwood" style hat with thick brim. It's about 3/16" thick and stiff as a two-by-four.

Just look at my avatar and you can see about how thick the brim is on my old Stetson Revenger. You ain't gonna wreck that brim if it gets a ding or two.

I don't think all the hat stiffener in the world would get the Austral's brim to be that rigid. It's just too thin.

YMMV.

 

[Doc Glockster]

Converted Stetson Austral.

This answers the question as to whether the crown is too short to convert to a telescoped crown. I actually have two Australs. This one is a size larger (7 3/8) than I normally get (7 1/4). This allowed me "extra room" to wet the crown and tease it into a telescoped crown. It actually took me several minutes to knead and work the crown from the open shape into a telescope. The felt stretches and flexes pretty readily when you wet it enough, and I'm pleased with the results.

I removed the ribbon hat band and replaced it with one from an old Bailey hat because I thought that gave it more of a "southwest look". I removed the Bailey nameplate and filled the hole with a Union kepi button from my parts box. Note that the kepi button is the type with two prongs instead of the type that has to be sewn in. The hat band was not sewn together, so I used a metal "staple" to join the ends. I may replace it with a different hat band later. I also tried the hat with a hat band from an old Stetson Revenger. That combination looked good as well. My other Austral in 7 1/4 is bone stock except I wet the crown and gave it a concave bash instead of the convex one, and I replaced the ribbon hat band with a handmade engraved leather one. I may post pics of that one eventually.

I'm beginning to like the Austral as a good, all-around hat for old west conversions. I tried out my telescoped hat with curled brim sides as well, and wore it for a few days like that. All in all, I like the wide, flat brim the best.

I currently have yet a third Austral on order which I plan to leave just as it came from the factory.

The first image is of a Stetson Austral as it comes from the factory. The second and third images are of my conversion. People have remarked that my conversion now looks like a "Clint Eastwood" hat.

 

[Doc Glockster]

Stetson Austral Conversion, Part II.

I liked the way the other one turned out, so I decided to experiment with my other Austral. I had gotten tired of the flat brim banging into everything, so I decided to shape this one. I went with what I call "Sixties TV Show Cowboy Hat" for the curling. That's where the upturn in the brim is more prominent toward the front as it was in most TV westerns of Once Upon a Time. That has more to do with Hollywood than the Old West, but I think it looks cool.

This Austral lent itself to a simpler telescope bash, so I went with that. When all was said and done I noticed the hat's remarkable resemblance to a Stetson Revenger, so as a finishing touch I used a hat band that I salvaged from an old Revenger that had gotten damaged.

I used a full bottle of Kahl's hat stiffener to get the brim stiff as a board like I like it, and I was done.

 

[Full quill bill]

Stetson Austral Conversion, Part II.

I liked the way the other one turned out, so I decided to experiment with my other Austral. I had gotten tired of the flat brim banging into everything, so I decided to shape this one. I went with what I call "Sixties TV Show Cowboy Hat" for the curling. That's where the upturn in the brim is more prominent toward the front as it was in most TV westerns of Once Upon a Time. That has more to do with Hollywood than the Old West, but I think it looks cool.

This Austral lent itself to a simpler telescope bash, so I went with that. When all was said and done I noticed the hat's remarkable resemblance to a Stetson Revenger, so as a finishing touch I used a hat band that I salvaged from an old Revenger that had gotten damaged.

I used a full bottle of Kahl's hat stiffener to get the brim stiff as a board like I like it, and I was done.
View attachment 4887
View attachment 4888

Doc, how did you end up creasing your crown into a telescope? I'm getting an Austral soon and is like to atleast give it a flat crown.

 

[RJR]

Doc, how did you end up creasing your crown into a telescope? I'm getting an Austral soon and is like to atleast give it a flat crown.

That hat of Doc's ends up loo

king a lot like a Revenger as he suggests.I had two of mine converted a bit.