I went with a stock piece, mostly due to scheduling issues preventing me from being able to wait for a custom at this time.

I have a large thin area, and kind of a big head. Is it possible to use the stock unit more or less "as-is" after removing the excess lace? With all of the hair on a stock, it is hard to tell for sure, but it doesn't look like the shape of my thinned area is dramatically different than stock unit itself. My thin area is basically your standard horseshoe shape.

Even though it is thin, I still have enough hair where making a template has proven difficult. My plan was... go with a stock, then make a template after the thin area is shaved down.

I think I'm psyching myself out now. After looking through the forum it seems like everyone who has used a stock cut the lace to make it work. I'd be pretty worried to cut the lace base itself. So I'm wondering if anyone has used the stock without cutting it down.

Thanks in advance.