The Conversion Corral

[humanshoes]

I have a handful of these reconfigured westerns in my lineup as well DH and enjoy them for all the reasons you mentioned.

 

[T Jones]

Resistol 3X that I quickly modified to a wide brim “fedora.” No work of art, but for me it’s a much easier hat to wear than the western it started it’s life as.

It arrived poorly packaged:

And it was one dusty SOB:

My conversions aren’t really about converting a western into a fedora as much as it is about making them hybrids. A 3.25” brim, tall crown, and a fedora crease give me a rugged hat that isn’t “cowboy.” I like western hats, but I’m more comfortable in fedoras and these in between hats. As a bonus, they are stout all-weather hats that shrug off abuse. The larger brims also provide better sun protection than fedoras. Just another way of seeing things.
Brent


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I really like the 6 ply ribbon on that. You don't find those anymore. Keep plugging away at it.

 

[T Jones]

Trying to get another one finished. I kept this Resistol, Western. It's been taken apart, reblocked and resized. New sweat sewn in and I have the brim reshaped. I'm just not sure what to do with the crown. I have it loosely dry creased into my preferred Montana Pinch but I haven't really committed to it. Not sure on ribbon choice yet, either. Gotta give it a little more thought...

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I really like the 6 ply ribbon on that. You don't find those anymore. Keep plugging away at it.

Thanks Terry. The quality of your work makes me uncomfortable posting in this thread. You do some outstanding conversions.

I thought I would attempt to follow you, but I’m leaving the high-end stuff to others and my conversions are just repurposed westerns. I enjoy wearing them as outdoorsy hats. I’m much happier with my fedora/city hats coming from those who actually know what they’re doing.


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[T Jones]

Thanks Terry. The quality of your work makes me uncomfortable posting in this thread. You do some outstanding conversions.

I thought I would attempt to follow you, but I’m leaving the high-end stuff to others and my conversions are just repurposed westerns. I enjoy wearing them as outdoorsy hats. I’m much happier with my fedora/city hats coming from those who actually know what they’re doing.


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Thanks buddy. I appreciate that. The thing with conversions, have in mind what you're wanting to accomplish. Be patient and take your time with it, especially with the details....and don't give up. Stay with it.

 

[T Jones]

@deadlyhandsome , just to add, don't feel uncomfortable posting your work in this thread. Nobody doing conversions started out creating the perfect hat. What I did when I first started was to keep one old hat aside that I wasn't too fond of to experiment on.

 

[humanshoes]

I completely agree with T Jones on this one DH. I enjoy looking at conversion pics and I think you should post yours with impunity. I think it's safe to say that no hatter knew what they were doing when they started doing it. Much of my self-education as a hatter came from the deconstruction and conversion of western hats. I am not ashamed of the fact that my early conversions were less than stellar and I still wear them like I stole them.

 

[T Jones]

Great looking conversions humanshoes. I wish I could say the same for the one I just finished. This one started out as a 7 1/8 Stagecoach with a nice crown height and a wide 4 inch brim. The hat was way too small for me, though. I took it apart and sized it up to a 7 1/4. Even though the crown was lowered I still lost brim width which has me bummed out over this conversion. As far as the brim width to crown height proportion it's actually spot on. The brim shape and the crown crease are nice enough to suit me but it's just not a big enough Western hat to satisfy me. If I'm going to wear a Western I want a wider brim and a little taller crown. This one came up short in the size up. I'm thinking about redoing this hat and fedoratizing it. I don't think it looks right on me. I'm pretty bummed out over it. Gotta go bigger for a Western...

 

[RJR]

Great looking conversions humanshoes. I wish I could say the same for the one I just finished. This one started out as a 7 1/8 Stagecoach with a nice crown height and a wide 4 inch brim. The hat was way too small for me, though. I took it apart and sized it up to a 7 1/4. Even though the crown was lowered I still lost brim width which has me bummed out over this conversion. As far as the brim width to crown height proportion it's actually spot on. The brim shape and the crown crease are nice enough to suit me but it's just not a big enough Western hat to satisfy me. If I'm going to wear a Western I want a wider brim and a little taller crown. This one came up short in the size up. I'm thinking about redoing this hat and fedoratizing it. I don't think it looks right on me. I'm pretty bummed out over it. Gotta go bigger for a Western...

You're being pretty tough on this one,TJ.I think it looks good and the proportions seem right on.

 

[T Jones]

You're being pretty tough on this one,TJ.I think it looks good and the proportions seem right on.

Thank you, Bob. You're probably right. It's just that when I get something in my mind the way I want it and if it doesn't turn out exactly the way I planned I get frustrated. I'm probably being too picky. It's all in the proper proportion as far as that goes. It's just that I lost some brim width when I sized it up and I wanted wider. I'll leave it as is for the next couple days and see if it grows on me. At least it fits now and it's comfortable to wear, and I got the crease and brim curl where I wanted.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

@deadlyhandsome , just to add, don't feel uncomfortable posting your work in this thread. Nobody doing conversions started out creating the perfect hat. What I did when I first started was to keep one old hat aside that I wasn't too fond of to experiment on.

Thanks Terry. I appreciate the encouragement. I do have a lot of fun and I enjoy wearing them so I’ll keep going and hopefully continue to get a little better.

Thanks again, Brent


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[deadlyhandsome]

I completely agree with T Jones on this one DH. I enjoy looking at conversion pics and I think you should post yours with impunity. I think it's safe to say that no hatter knew what they were doing when they started doing it. Much of my self-education as a hatter came from the deconstruction and conversion of western hats. I am not ashamed of the fact that my early conversions were less than stellar and I still wear them like I stole them. View attachment 116505 View attachment 116506 View attachment 116507

The Lounge is a wonderful place and I really like how positive everyone is. I do hope and expect that my conversions will improve, but I also enjoy them as they are. I find myself grabbing one of my conversions more often than not when I’m not needing a dress hat. I also know myself well enough to realize that I’m not ever going to be a perfectionist so I’m fine leaving the fine customs to the real experts.

Brent


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[scottyrocks]

My wife got tired of listening to me complaining about sewing in this sweat so she just took over.

That worked out quite nicely.

Good woman ya got there.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Good woman ya got there.

No argument here! I don’t know how I got so lucky.

 

[scottyrocks]

Great looking conversions humanshoes. I wish I could say the same for the one I just finished. This one started out as a 7 1/8 Stagecoach with a nice crown height and a wide 4 inch brim. The hat was way too small for me, though. I took it apart and sized it up to a 7 1/4. Even though the crown was lowered I still lost brim width which has me bummed out over this conversion. As far as the brim width to crown height proportion it's actually spot on. The brim shape and the crown crease are nice enough to suit me but it's just not a big enough Western hat to satisfy me. If I'm going to wear a Western I want a wider brim and a little taller crown. This one came up short in the size up. I'm thinking about redoing this hat and fedoratizing it. I don't think it looks right on me. I'm pretty bummed out over it. Gotta go bigger for a Western...

I think this one looks great on you. Of course, if it was a size bigger I'd say the opposite and offer to take it off your hands.

 

[T Jones]

I think this one great on you. Of course, if it was a size bigger I'd say the opposite and offer to take it off your hands.

Ha! Thank you, Scotty!

 

[Redshoes51]

I like this... kinda has that "Charley Waite" look going on...

~shoes~

 

[scottyrocks]

I like this... kinda has that "Charley Waite" look going on...

~shoes~

Look up little earlier in this thread for another one like this.

 

[T Jones]

I like this... kinda has that "Charley Waite" look going on...

~shoes~

Thank you, Redshoes. I liked the Charlie Waite hat so much that it has become my favorite crease for a Western but with a fuller looking brim curl. I did a Silverbelly 3X Resistol with that same crease a few pages back.

 

[T Jones]

Look up little earlier in this thread for another one like this.

Was it a Silverbelly Resistol?