Cowboy hat, turned fedora

[Fedora]

A member here sent me a pure beaver western hat he stole off of ebay. The body was huge as it was a 7 3/4, but came with a really tall crown. I stripped the hat down, removed some stiffener, reblocked it on a 51 block, cut the brim down, etc. It looks nothing like what I received, and I wish I had a pic of the before. Fedora

 

[johnnycanuck]

Good Job. Look’s great. It is a shame you did not get a before picture. Dare I inquire how much coin for such a conversion?
Johnny

 

[M_Jones]

Very nice Mr. Delk!:eusa_clap Thanks for posting that Steve. I have always wondered about doing that since I see good western hats going for next to nothing on ebay. I guess you answered my question. Is this a real pain to do or is it not too bad?

Regards,
Hollis

By the way, hi everyone. I am new here. Long time lurker but not much of a poster.

 

[Lorne]

Dear Fedora...

Ok, now you've got my full and undivided attention...

How much to do that job, and can you do it on a Stetson Charlie Horse?


Lorne

 

[Magus]

Ok, now you've got my full and undivided attention...

How much to do that job, and can you do it on a Stetson Charlie Horse?


Lorne

Ya know...everytime I see a Charlie Horse I think..."hmmm...that would make a good fedora!"

 

[Fedora]

Is this a real pain to do or is it not too bad?

Yeah, it can be, but that just involves getting some of the stiffener out. Once that is out, it is just like a refurbish, except you have to cut the brims narrower.

The main key in doing this, is to find a good felt western hat to start with. I would stay with the blends, but better is pure beaver, and the older the better as felt took a nose dive later on, as we know. (talking factory hats here as the small custom hatters always had access to better felt) The gentlemen who sent me this hat, got it from ebay-and cheap. A steal, as it was pure beaver and made by hand by a custom western hatter. I think it was fairly old, but well kept. It looked to be 7 inches tall when I got it, a real horse of a hat.

The thing is, it does not matter what the hat started out as. Good western felt is not the thick stuff you normally associate with cowboy hats. I have seen some med weight western hats, quite a few in fact, but most were older hats. Fedora

 

[Feraud]

I really like how deep the bash is on that crown! How do I convince my wife I need a new hat? My Adventurebilt arrived just last week.:eusa_doh: I need to p.m. Fedora for details..

 

[jml90]

So when are you going to sell it to me?

 

[J. M. Stovall]

I was watching a 40's western on TCM this morning and several of the cowboy hats had a bash like that.

 

[Fedora]

really like how deep the bash is on that crown!

Yeah, took me awhile to figure out non Indy fedoras. That hat was blocked on a 6 inch tall block, a proper American fedora block. The hat is creased down to 4 3/4 on the sides. So, quite a bit of crown inside that top crease, but that is the key to getting the Maltese Falcon look. This block shape also creates the Croc Dundee hat as well. Strange, but makes sense, as the tall pointy dome blocks were designed for these various types of creases. I always wondered what these blocks were intended for. :eusa_doh:
Fedora

 

[spiridon]

Most excellent! I second the applause in regards to the deep bash.....I love that look!:eusa_clap

 

[Prairie Shade]

Attention on Deck

Hey Guys!!!! Felt is felt, good felt is good felt. With a little razor work, steam, blocks and voila!!!!! A Fedora!!! Good job!! Everybody, buy cowboy hats so I can replenish my Stetson Open Road hats. I have worn so many and thrown them out I need another one. I have been looking for a so called cowboy hat to cut down and now I guess you guys will be on that one also!!! Oh well, free enterprise is open to all.

 

[Radioflyer]

I'm going to reblock and convert my old Akubra Snowy River. How much did you cut the brim down? To 3 inches? 2.5?

rf

 

[Dalexs]

Hmmm, time to start shopping for cowboy hats!

Nice work my friend.:eusa_clap

 

[Raindog]

Good to see other people getting onto this conversion trail (my avatar is a converted Stetson Ranger).
It really is a pretty easy job. The brim cut is the only part you need to think about a bit, as you want to take it easy on the trimming (a little goes a long way). Then just sand the edge of your cut brim to smooth it into a rounded profile. Voila! Fedora!
This might open up the way for more people to get into the fedora style without searching for ages for a good one.


Jeff.

 

[Fedora]

How much did you cut the brim down? To 3 inches? 2.5?

First, thanks guys. On the brim, this one is 2 3/4. I figured a size 7 3/4 head might need just a bit more brim, even going witht he pseudo Bogey look. Fedora

 

[fedoralover]

That really turned out great fedora, Speaking of the different types of blocks, I just bought a fedora from Goodwill and the only crown shape that looked good on it is one similar to yours. My regular center dent just wouldn't look right on it. I have had to change my view on different styles in crown shapes.

fedoralover

 

[Kim Steiner]

So, please, Fedora, tell us how you got the stiffener out. I've always wondered about what makes those cowboy hats so stiff.

 

[mthatter]

erased by mt

 

[Fedora]

I just wanted to bring this up to the top once more for Ray, the gentleman for whom I converted his ebay hat. His sister Susan just emailed me that Ray had passed away this morning, his heart just gave out. She noted that he had enjoyed this site, along with the hat I have made him. Just wanted to pass this on and say, we will miss him. Regards, Fedora