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Messages
18,915
Location
Central California
Would it be easy to just iron myself flat? Thinking of browsing ebay to find some vintage Westerns with the brim length I want and then reshaping it to a flat brim (although I'm not sure if that would work well because the thinner dress hats are thinner and it may not be a nice strong flat brim and the ebay information these posters put up is so so limited)

Ironing a brim flat is very simple. Just don’t cook the felt with too much heat, use a spray bottle, and keep a press cloth between the iron and the felt. There are stiffeners you can add to the felt if you need to, but most westerns won’t need any help to keep shape with a three inch brim. Also, if the hat has a raw edge brim you can trim larger hat brims down. I’d don’t recommend you doing that to rare and/or true vintage hats, but most hats from the mid-1960’s to current are acceptable candidates. I have many fairly recent westerns that I’ve trimmed down. For most of them, the felt is hard and tough and can take some abuse, but it’s nothing like the vintage felt we all seek after.


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humanshoes

One Too Many
Messages
1,428
Location
Tennessee
Would it be easy to just iron myself flat? Thinking of browsing ebay to find some vintage Westerns with the brim length I want and then reshaping it to a flat brim (although I'm not sure if that would work well because the thinner dress hats are thinner and it may not be a nice strong flat brim and the ebay information these posters put up is so so limited)
Go for it JJ. Used westerns in your size should be plentiful and inexpensive. Fire up the steam iron and flatten the brims (use pressing cloth). Fire up the teapot and steam and reshape the crowns and/or brims. Rip off the old ribbons and add your own unique touch. When you get tired of one style, repeat the process. Be fearless. It's hard to screw one up beyond repair. If nothing else, you'll gain a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the mechanics of hat construction. Add the fact that it's great fun and you have a win-win scenario. Oh, I almost forgot, be sure to show us your new creations in the Conversion Corral thread.
 

JessieJames

One of the Regulars
Messages
280
Location
Canada
Go for it JJ. Used westerns in your size should be plentiful and inexpensive. Fire up the steam iron and flatten the brims (use pressing cloth). Fire up the teapot and steam and reshape the crowns and/or brims. Rip off the old ribbons and add your own unique touch. When you get tired of one style, repeat the process. Be fearless. It's hard to screw one up beyond repair. If nothing else, you'll gain a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the mechanics of hat construction. Add the fact that it's great fun and you have a win-win scenario. Oh, I almost forgot, be sure to show us your new creations in the Conversion Corral thread.

oh very cool there is a thread for this. Now I just need to find a good vintage (from my limited time here anything vintage Stetson, Dobbs, Marathon, Champs, Barclay and Lee) will be winning.

Looking for a nice light grey or grey toned silverbelly and a black 3" brim. If anyone sees one on ebay in size 6 7/8" lemme know! :) (wish there were more filters to search for hats on ebay)
 

AbbaDatDeHat

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,638
@JessieJames ... sometimes you just gotta flatten them out.

o_farrell_grey_07-png.127446


b8f6a3f03423a0d694c31507f8f3b74a.jpg
Amen to that Bob.
Some hats you just have to listen to their whispers.
B
 

AbbaDatDeHat

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,638
Go for it JJ. Used westerns in your size should be plentiful and inexpensive. Fire up the steam iron and flatten the brims (use pressing cloth). Fire up the teapot and steam and reshape the crowns and/or brims. Rip off the old ribbons and add your own unique touch. When you get tired of one style, repeat the process. Be fearless. It's hard to screw one up beyond repair. If nothing else, you'll gain a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the mechanics of hat construction. Add the fact that it's great fun and you have a win-win scenario. Oh, I almost forgot, be sure to show us your new creations in the Conversion Corral thread.
Very well said!
Make em yours!
B
 
Messages
11,130
Location
Alabama

JessieJames

One of the Regulars
Messages
280
Location
Canada
Looked through a few pages of westerns in your size and saw a couple that I think would make suitable candidates for what you're looking to do. I also found this Resistol Beaver 25. Dimensions weren't listed but it's in the OR clone range in that distinctive Resistol silverbelly. Decent price.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RESISTOL-W...812212?hash=item443ddf2c74:g:ec8AAOSwyW5c4Vdn

Oh thank you for that! Do you know what era is that from and if it's easily reshape-able? I'm not that familiar with the Resistol history

It says white gray but it looks more beige/sand (I've bought a hat before that said gray and it was completely a sand/beige). What is up with these wrongly identified colors/photos? Lighting on the photo is horrible
 
Last edited:

Cornshucker77

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,691
Location
Northeast Nebraska, USA
First: have you ever followed The Dead? Have you ever called Dr. Tim Leary a prophet? Have you ever hung out in The Haight tasting sounds and hearing colors? If no then please continue:

Fur felt can certainly appear differently in various light conditions. It also can appear to change color as the surroundings change. Aside from that, it might fade over years, but not over hours.




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LOL
 
Messages
11,130
Location
Alabama
Oh thank you for that! Do you know what era is that from and if it's easily reshape-able? I'm not that familiar with the Resistol history

With the crappy interior shots it's hard to say but what I see of the liner it appears similar to mine from the mid 50's-early 60's. These hats can shaped but w/o that one in hand it's impossible to say how stiff it may be or what sort of shadowing may result from changing the crease. All it takes is some steam.

Also, I ran across this one that might bee a candidate for your western project. Pilgrim is the brand name used by Sears when they sold hats.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-1950s-...379069?hash=item2f312b38bd:g:ELsAAOSwep5c5z6o
 
Last edited:

JessieJames

One of the Regulars
Messages
280
Location
Canada
With the crappy interior shots it's hard to say but what I see of the liner it appears similar to mine from the mid 50's-early 60's. These hats can shaped but w/o that one in hand it's impossible to say how stiff it may be or what sort of shadowing may result from changing the crease. All it takes is some steam and some.

Also, I ran across this one that might bee a candidate for your western project. Pilgrim is the brand name used by Sears when they sold hats.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-1950s-...379069?hash=item2f312b38bd:g:ELsAAOSwep5c5z6o
Sears sold hats? Thank you for sharing.

Yes those shots are horrendous I actually don't even think the color was properly identified, didn't look white/gray looked sand/beige. How are you finding these hats I didn't see any of these in my search.

I typed a combination of: vintage 6 7/8 hat, vintage 6 7/8 hat fur felt, western, fedora. I did not try VTG though
 

Bill Hughes

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,122
Location
North Texas
Sears sold hats? Thank you for sharing.

Yes those shots are horrendous I actually don't even think the color was properly identified, didn't look white/gray looked sand/beige. How are you finding these hats I didn't see any of these in my search.

I typed a combination of: vintage 6 7/8 hat, vintage 6 7/8 hat fur felt, western, fedora. I did not try VTG though

Here are three of the stores and the brand they sold. I’m sure there are others.
  • Brent was the Montgomery Ward brand.
  • Marathon was the J.C. Penny brand.
  • Pilgrim was the Sears-Roebuck brand.
 

JessieJames

One of the Regulars
Messages
280
Location
Canada
Here are three of the stores and the brand they sold. I’m sure there are others.
  • Brent was the Montgomery Ward brand.
  • Marathon was the J.C. Penny brand.
  • Pilgrim was the Sears-Roebuck brand.
That's so interesting. The importance and fanciness of those stores are lost these days, I never saw Sears as anything premium or spectacular and now they're gone. They actually carry some interesting history. I think Sears had its hay day with the phone catalogs which was revolutionary at the time. But then I guess they never really evolved past that. Like how Blockbuster couldn't survive.
 
Messages
10,342
Location
vancouver, canada
oh very cool there is a thread for this. Now I just need to find a good vintage (from my limited time here anything vintage Stetson, Dobbs, Marathon, Champs, Barclay and Lee) will be winning.

Looking for a nice light grey or grey toned silverbelly and a black 3" brim. If anyone sees one on ebay in size 6 7/8" lemme know! :) (wish there were more filters to search for hats on ebay)
Just a note, look for something cheap not necessarily a keeper vintage. Learn and make mistakes on hats that you won't mind tossing away if you screw it up. I have picked up many hats in your size for under $40 for my wife. Other westerns in my size 7 3/8 for $25....some converted to really good fedoras. Start cheap and have fun with it.
 
Messages
19,096
Location
Funkytown, USA
That's so interesting. The importance and fanciness of those stores are lost these days, I never saw Sears as anything premium or spectacular and now they're gone. They actually carry some interesting history. I think Sears had its hay day with the phone catalogs which was revolutionary at the time. But then I guess they never really evolved past that. Like how Blockbuster couldn't survive.
Maybe not premium or spectacular, but they sold everything to everybody. And a lot more men wore hats, so there were a number of store brands, usually made by a major manufacturer (like Lee making Penney's Marathons).

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