The Conversion Corral

[job]

Thank you Hats2,
I was a bit nervous about messing around with this hat. I had never pulled out a liner before. It turned out to be simple. It was lightly glued on. A few places on the leather hat band were sewn on. I snipped those loose. I used LOTS of steam and LOTS of felt stiffener to mold the thick felt like I wanted it. Brim up in the back would not take because I had stretched it from a 60 to a 61. When I put on the hat the brim would get wonky as my head went in. It's normal shape was already down in the front and back so I stayed with that. I guess it was easy for me to experiment with this hat since I would not wear it thinking about Willy Wonka.

 

[bond]

Nice work on the hat, looks great,one would never know what it was in its past state.

 

[HatsEnough]

OK, opinions...

I am thinking of relaxing this brim curl and taking this 40s era Stetson St. Regis to a regular fedora.

It looks rather soft and floppy already. I have not gotten it yet, but I will wait to be sure until I get it. Still, I'd like opinions.

Should I do it?

Or should I leave it alone?

 

[job]

I have been thinking of having Parker make me a fedora/homburg. A fedora with a flat brim but with the curled edges. Not up on the sides like a homburg. More western-ish than british. That hat looks like a great one for something like that. Extra pics when you get it would be great.

 

[fmw]

It looks like that one has enough brim work as a fedora. My homburg only has a 2" brim. Yours looks more like 2 1/4. But that may be due to a wide angle lens.

 

[randooch]

OK, opinions...

I am thinking of relaxing this brim curl and taking this 40s era Stetson St. Regis to a regular fedora.

It looks rather soft and floppy already. I have not gotten it yet, but I will wait to be sure until I get it. Still, I'd like opinions.

Should I do it?

Or should I leave it alone?

I agree with Lefty. It seems that even if you force the brim flat, the stitching would get wonky. If the felt within the brim stitched area could be controlled it might turn out okay, but it can't. I foresee terrible trouble, as someone once sang.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

OK, opinions...

I am thinking of relaxing this brim curl and taking this 40s era Stetson St. Regis to a regular fedora.

It looks rather soft and floppy already. I have not gotten it yet, but I will wait to be sure until I get it. Still, I'd like opinions.

Should I do it?

Or should I leave it alone?

It would be nice if you could, as that hat is a fantastic color. Myself, I am not hat educated enough to attempt anything like that. What happens if you get it in the mix and it turns out not so good? Maybe someone "Pro" would have to do it? Nice looking hat no matter what you decide. Oh had to add, is there enough brim for you if you cut off the edge on the brim and had it done over getting rid of the pencil roll that way?

 

[HatsEnough]

... is there enough brim for you if you cut off the edge on the brim and had it done over getting rid of the pencil roll that way?

Don't know. Haven't gotten it yet. Maybe. Looks like a pretty wide brim for a homburg.

But, considering it is a 40s era vita-felt, I may just leave it as is. The vita-felts from that period seem farther and fewer between. Maybe just for history sake I'll leave it?

 

[thespoiler]

Spoiler, (or anyone)would you mind posting before and after pics of the berg conversion?
I would also like to see how the crown turned out.
Thanks

Bond,

As requested, here are two of my homburg conversions. The black one is a Bond Co hat and the brown is a Stetson St.Regis......On the black I left the brim binding on and steamed,wet, ironed the brim until I got it shaped as you see....Came out fine. On the St. Regis I used a razor blade, cut the stitches, and removed the brim binding. It was much easier to shape the brim but,as I said in a previous post, the brim is flimsy, not that that is bad....I have older hats with flimsy brims as part of the hat. I got the thread holes invisible by steaming and brushing...Anyway, I like them both and they are my most go-to daily hats. By their nature homburgs were high quality hats and they fit well and feel good on my head......I have 3 more to convert.

Hope this helps.

 

[bond]

Good timing! I just took off the brim binding on my Borso nutria Hberg and steamed the brim so the curl is gone, but my issue now is that the rake or front of the hat is rather strait up and down and doesn't go back like a normal fedora.
Do I need to send out to have reblocked to get a proper rake in it?
Can someone make a recommendation?

 

[bond]

Very nice job on the Hberg s , they look great!

 

[thespoiler]

Good timing! I just took off the brim binding on my Borso nutria Hberg and steamed the brim so the curl is gone, but my issue now is that the rake or front of the hat is rather strait up and down and doesn't go back like a normal fedora.
Do I need to send out to have reblocked to get a proper rake in it?
Can someone make a recommendation?

Bond,

I always thought that that was one of the plus's of converting a homburg....if I understand you, one does get a rather vertical crown in the front as viewed from the side...I guess I am one that likes that 30's look.....Also, if you notice, the crown on a homburg is a little wider than a comparable homburg, which I like as well. ...all in all, in my opinion it looks pretty good...


suppose it could be reblocked to any degree of rake desired.

 

[bond]

Bond,

I always thought that that was one of the plus's of converting a homburg....if I understand you, one does get a rather vertical crown in the front as viewed from the side...I guess I am one that likes that 30's look.....Also, if you notice, the crown on a homburg is a little wider than a comparable homburg, which I like as well. ...all in all, in my opinion it looks pretty good...


suppose it could be reblocked to any degree of rake desired.

Yeah, now that I have played around with the crown I have it looking like a classic
Trionfo or the como . It's ok just not my style, lots of hat , perfect for a larger person I think or taller.
Anyway it was fun to experiment with this but I think that i leave well enough alone and let the pros like you take all of the credit on the conversions here.

 

[Phineas Lamour]

I bought a homburg a year ago and I don't like the way it looks on me. I have considered converting it but I am afraid to destroy it. Think I might just sell it instead.

 

[bond]

I will post pics of the Hberg that I took the brim binding off of. After ironing out the curl and brushing it out it doesn't look half bad. It definitely Is a tall mans hat with the crown measuring 5 1/4 at center, and the brim at 2 5/8. The felt on this nutria is awesome as is the color which are the reasons I picked this one up.
It is now officially for sale. PM if interested.
Will post pics later today

 

[bond]

I think the conversion thing is definitely for those with vision and a knowing of outcome, on the otherhand you don't know until you try something after all it's like gambling you have a 50/50 chance that it will either work out or it won't . How much are you willing to risk is the question. With my Borso that I took the binding off of it still looks great but that's because of the felt is really pliable and can be bashed to still look good, although the only thing it could use now is some shaping in the brim.
I can still make a profit on selling it beyond what I paid for this hat so I am not disappointed .

 

[Prokofiev]

I picked up an old Stetson today at a Church sale, with the intention of converting it. I believe I am capable of doing so, except for the leather liner. It is very worn, and looks pretty bad. How would I go about replacing it? I apologize if this has been answered already in this thread, but I still have a lot more to read in here.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Don't know. Haven't gotten it yet. Maybe. Looks like a pretty wide brim for a homburg.

But, considering it is a 40s era vita-felt, I may just leave it as is. The vita-felts from that period seem farther and fewer between. Maybe just for history sake I'll leave it?

One thing about the hat, the color. To me, with that color, you can get away with wearing it with almost anything.

 

[thespoiler]

I picked up an old Stetson today at a Church sale, with the intention of converting it. I believe I am capable of doing so, except for the leather liner. It is very worn, and looks pretty bad. How would I go about replacing it? I apologize if this has been answered already in this thread, but I still have a lot more to read in here.

I hope you do a conversion.....they can come out great...with your hat you could (1) replace the sweatband yourself ( takes practice, patience, and skill), (2) send the hat out to a professional to replace the sweatband ( expensive ) (3) use this hat as a first try, see how it comes out and look for a better hat after you have a little experience. .....I followed the third course...I tore the sweat on my first hat......let us know how the conversion goes !!

 

[bond]

Pics of Borsalino HBerg that I took the brim binding off of and steamed the brim flat.(the ribbon was very soiled and in rough condition)
Lighter color photo is the Before pic and its true color ,its called "coffee".The darker Pic is the after ,without brim binding. As it is now its very similar to the sizing of a Como,with a taller full crown and a 2 5/8 brim.
This is a hat for a taller person who can handle the look.