The Conversion Corral

[bowlerman]

+1! Awesome work! It looks great.

 

[MikePotts]

Gentlemen, thank you all. I am humbled and honoured.

 

[scooter]

Yessir, MP, that is a fine looking job. Kudos for the tea idea, very innovative!

 

[B.J. Hedberg]

Not too much of a conversion, but I just didn’t like the size of the brim on my new Campdraft.

First I cut off the thin ribbon, and then marked ½” off all around with a pencil and my flexible fabric tape measure by simply holding the metal end of it flush against the edge of the brim and my thumb. I tried to use some kind of fabric marking pencil first, but it didn’t work. Next I took a new pair of scissors I purchased, snipped it down to the line, and then sanded the edge and the pencil marks off. The brim definitely isn’t perfect, and I could sand more, but it looks good enough for me. I was shooting for a 2 3/8” brim, but ended up between that and 2 ¼”. I prefer it to the 2 ½” brims I’ve had in the past.

Next up I took the ribbon off my Nostalgia, but it was too small (shrank?) to fit around the hat, so instead I used a slightly smaller one from my old Biltmore. So far my sewing job is holding up. I only stuck the needle through the sweatband once!

Tried shaping it with steam, but it just doesn’t cut it, so I’m going to pick up a spray bottle hopefully later today and mist it with distilled water to get the crown and brim just right. Very pleased with how it turned out. I actually ordered a Beaver Brand western hat to work on a few weeks back, but thought I’d try my hand at this one while waiting.

 

[monbla256]

Not too much of a conversion, but I just didn’t like the size of the brim on my new Campdraft.

"...not to much of a conversion, ... " ? It's NO LONGER a CD What was it about the CD that you liked that made you buy it since you've changed it completely ? You have done a nice job for sure making a NEW 1930's Fedora for sure just curious

 

[MikePotts]

Good Job B.J! .........careful though, it can become addictive, my first one was free


MP

 

[BR Gordon]

B.J., It may not be much of a conversion, but you've got a completely different hat.

 

[B.J. Hedberg]

Thanks gentlemen. It almost seems as if you can enjoy a hat more when you’ve worked on it yourself. I hope my next one works out as well. If it does, I think I’ll try and pick up a cowboy hat and go to town, all the conversion's everybody’s posted here look great and have been a real inspiration to try something big.

​

"...not to much of a conversion, ... " ? It's NO LONGER a CD What was it about the CD that you liked that made you buy it since you've changed it completely ? You have done a nice job for sure making a NEW 1930's Fedora for sure just curious

That’s why I didn’t post it over in the Campdraft thread!

I’m not much of a thin ribbon guy, but it sure looked great on everybody else so I figured I’d give it a shot, but when I tried it on I just wasn’t happy with the look. Face is too narrow or something. Wish I didn’t have to remove that bound edge though, I really liked that feature.

 

[randooch]

Beautiful outcome, B.J. I like it better than the original for sure. Maybe Akubra should take notice . . .

 

[hatophile]

Looks good, BJ, how about a head shot?

 

[B.J. Hedberg]

Thanks again all. Here’s a very poor photo. I’ve added a little more “swoop” to the brim since.

 

[RBH]

That looks fantastic!
I do wish you had a shot with the thin ribbon still on it.
Very nice job!

 

[gtdean48]

That looks fantastic!
I do wish you had a shot with the thin ribbon still on it.
Very nice job!

Hate to see a good CD go away but you can't argue that the crown is that good vintage style. Something Stetson needs to move with!!!!

 

[EggHead]

BJ, looks very nice. I was thinking of replacing thin ribbon myself (got same CD with 2 1/2 brim). When I was in the fabrics store trying out various colors, black looked too stark, then I found this dark brown/green ribbon 1.5". The color fit perfectly with the beige hue of the silverbelly. Is your ribbon a true black one?

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Every time I wear my Campdraft deluxe. I have someone ask where to pick one up. Nice change up on one thou I would have to buy another one right away so as to have a normal CD.

 

[B.J. Hedberg]

That looks fantastic!
I do wish you had a shot with the thin ribbon still on it.
Very nice job!

Thanks sir. I have to admit the first thing I did was start to take off the ribbon, and it should have been the last. The plus side is I laid it out on my now ribbon-less Nostalgia and like the informal contrasting look, so when I get some time I’ll be sewing it on and joining the brotherhood of the thin ribbon after all.

Hate to see a good CD go away but you can't argue that the crown is that good vintage style. Something Stetson needs to move with!!!!

It’s a great crown. It might just be me, but I like it far better than the Federation’s.

 

[B.J. Hedberg]

BJ, looks very nice. I was thinking of replacing thin ribbon myself (got same CD with 2 1/2 brim). When I was in the fabrics store trying out various colors, black looked too stark, then I found this dark brown/green ribbon 1.5". The color fit perfectly with the beige hue of the silverbelly. Is your ribbon a true black one?

I remember seeing your hat, that brim was very nice. The ribbon I used was true black. I was thinking it was off my Biltmore, but looking back I’m pretty sure it came off a black Stetson Ashland. A more complimentary color would look very nice.

 

[B.J. Hedberg]

Here’s the conversion I actually had planned on doing this month; a white Beaver Brand Classic Western Derby that I ordered through the fedorastore when it was on sale. 6.5” open crown, 2 3/8 brim, with a slight curl and a wide ribbon. I’ll add some observations about the hat in the Beaver Brand thread later, but here’s the conversion.

Out of the box (which was smaller than I had anticipated, I was worried for a minute).

Bought a handheld steamer, and I needed it because the crown was pretty stiff. (I ordered it less stiff from Beaver Brand, so I’d hate to see what it ordinarily would be). First off I put it under a t-shirt and beat the crown a bit. Then I steamed it up, put in a center crease and ended up with a deep diamond. I wanted the center to dome out slightly for looks and so that I could pull it way down on the head (wouldn’t want this one blowing off), and that was tough, I had to wet it with distilled water and steam it. Ended up turning it into a c-crown. But after drying overnight I was able to resteam it back into a diamond. Otherwise it shaped pretty well. I’m not that practiced on the open crowns, so I didn’t get the shape quite right in the beginning, so I’ve been fixing things and working to smooth out the rough creases since it’s still pretty stiff. I initially tried to put too sharp a pinch in the front, and it wouldn’t take, so I had to spend a bit of time resteaming and smoothing that out. I had wanted the “v” in the front to be lower, but I’d need to go with a different bash to get that. I may try to move the sides of the diamond back further on the hat, as I’ve taken to liking to a longer pinch.

1st Bash (multi-point c-crown)

I figured the brim would be relatively flat (discounting the side curl), but it actually bent down in the back. I kept steaming and wetting it over and over, bending it up between the fingers to try and get a slight curl to it. It wasn’t going well (looked worse and uneven), but after drying it now has an almost even slight curl around the entire back. I think I’ll keep working on it, and I might even try building a flange in the workshop, but after this morning it was wearable. If I feel really lucky, I might try and cut down the brim a bit too (looks good at 2 3/8, but 2 1/4 or 2 1/8 would probably look better). Of course I’ve already smudged it, why I got a white one to practice on is beyond me, but it’s working out pretty well so I hope to get another in a few months with a bit smaller brim in less fussy light color. I was worried it would be a heavy, uncomfortable hat like my Biltmore, but it’s actually very comfortable and not noticeably heavy at all. Here are some photos (not the best, there’s a big picture window on the other end of the room letting it too much light).

 

[zetwal]

Well done, BJ Hedberg.

I suspect that sales of white Beaver Brands may soon spike ...

 

[Joshbru3]

Well done, BJ Hedberg.

I suspect that sales of white Beaver Brands may soon spike ...

I'm going to be getting one real soon! Its the perfect canvas for those 20's/early 30's style hats that I love so much. With a 6 1/2 inch open crown, it leaves plenty of room for those wonderful deep creases. Again, BJ Hedberg, EXCELLENT job!!!