I would agree John regarding the spine. You also have the typical brass square nut on your spine whereas the typical kit helmet has an octagonal nut. Interesting that the leather liner was so thin that they decided to add metal grommets. We usually only see this on tschapka liners.

Great point.....I forgot smell!

Probably the most trusted in North America is Age of Kings based in Texas. They specialize in pickelhaubes and have a website displaying their wares.

Your main question is not that easy to answer......a reputable militaria dealer would be first and one which specializes in pickelhaubes is Age of Kings . They are based in Tx and have a website. Other sources would be militaria shows or EBay but you have to have knowledge and experience so as not t...

That is a very unusual piece of trench art , never seen one like that before.

Thanks for posting those pics John, I have never had a good look at a Wurtt kit helme before. Last question.....is the wappen held on by the typical soldered loops and wedges or does it have the tube and cane stick as my Prussian has?

That is a very cool piece, lots of work and quite a challenge to restore it. I look forward to seeing pictures as you work on it!

Welcome from Canada! You have chosen a great Historical forum name.

Yes, I totally agree with Matthew.....besides the M95 is prettier to the human eye. I also think that this factors into the officer's helmets as well, they look cooler with those chin scales and taller spikes!

Welcome Cid great to see you posting here. My opinion on the Kockarden are that they are originals which have been repainted. The white circles for sure as you can see a waviness to the paint... they should be crisp. The red colour on the Reichs kokarde looks off too but that could just be lighting ...

Last:

I just picked up these German pieces from a local antique fair. Some identification/information would be much appreciated, some are WW2 and post 1945. A dispatch rider case taken by a CN soldier from a captured German May 12, 1943 in North Africa. I need an identification of the original ink marking...

Thanks very much gentlemen!

The completed helmet: https://photos.smugmug.com/Completed-Restorations/i-mRXdMpG/0/5ec3fdb3/L/IMG_6287-L.jpg The top area which was crushed and broken originally, most of it came back into place after wetting and blocking. Cracks were then filled with finish to stabilize everything. https://photos....

Ok......purpose of this post?? I try and eliminate spam whenever I can or when it is brought to my attention. We have had an increase of spam posts lately. If you see something on the forum PM me or email me. Thanks in advance....B

My apologies gentlemen....sometimes life, just interferes with one's spikey hat pursuits!

Definitely a fake and has been through a washing machine......I will take it off your hands for a $100. I mean what are friends for??

Some pictures of Dragoner #2 helmets from Steve M: https://photos.smugmug.com/Dragoon-Helmets/i-ZMmJvNJ/0/302ef3b7/L/D%20R%202%20a-L.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Dragoon-Helmets/i-kjfm9wq/0/db312d73/L/D%20R%202%20b-L.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Dragoon-Helmets/i-g4Qgsw8/0/b1c50ee0/L/D%20R%202%2...

Restitch complete, spine brad resoldered and everything back in place. https://photos.smugmug.com/Before-Helmet-Restprations/i-zFpfxmc/0/c4bf9412/L/IMG_6284-L.jpg All fittings on this helmet had a "gold finish" applied to the brass. You can see the scratches in this finish and the bare brass showing...

I have applied to the Bucket to recover my account. Hopefully, they can do this and all pictures can be replaced.

Good suggestion Patrick, I will follow up on that.

Thanks Sandy glad you enjoy these posts although I don’t think many people would buy a Spikey Hat Restoration book. . The glue used is Tanner’s Bond Contact Cement. It is specifically made for leather.

The rear visor pinned in place, all stitch holes cleaned out, we are now ready for the restitch. The lines in the shell left by the rear spine provide an excellent guide as to getting the shell holes and visor holes lined up. Special care must always be used in this part of the process. If the holes...

John: Are the Kokarden ( V cut out) and liner similar? Do you have the felt skull cap in your example?

Most of my restoration work involves helmets from the good old USA but occasionally, I get one from a bit further away. As the title of the post suggests, this one is from Australia! This helmet has some unusual characteristics: it is dated 1917, has an M15 style un dyed liner and something I have n...

A question...does anyone have a kit helmet from another state other than Prussia? For example Baden or Wurttemberg?

Warm water with a bit of dish soap added is the best way to clean/wipe the inside of a helmet. You can use the same method on the outside of the shell as well. Black shoe polish is optional, it is up to you , the owner of the helmet. Some people like them shiny others do not. A replacement liner can...

Yet again, we have evidence of the value of this forum and its membership.

Welcome Mike, greetings from Canada!

My thanks to member Robert D for his recent donation to the forum!

I am posting here some pictures of 9th Dragoner helmets from the J. Turinetti collection. My thanks to Jim for the pictures of these beautiful examples and to Steve M. for his efforts in getting these posted. https://photos.smugmug.com/Dragoon-Helmets/i-KCrbVfn/0/1f402a9e/L/Compressed%20-%20Fig%205....

I have removed my golf cart post as it was over the top and off topic. I have PM'd Sandy and asked permission to delete his 2 posts.

Unfortunately, I closed out my Pbuket account months ago and thus no pics will be restored which is unfortunate.

Yes I just need it reported so that I can delete the spam. I believe it is the cyber world we live in.

Classic kit helmets....textbook examples! I bought mine from Randy T years ago in the same condition. Excellent James.

Very nice and in excellent condition James. I had one exactly like it years ago but had to sell it off.

Yes.......there is friendship and then there is collecting at the SOS. James is not going to be so spry rounding the tables in 2019, so I will have an advantage in treasure hunting! :) . Gus wears cowboy boots so he is not fast. Oh, and yea James, that really sucks.....ah...is that a Crocs cast you ...

One thing we have learned here is that these private purchase items were very expensive for even the average German middle class family to afford. If you were of nobility or upper M/C and had lots of money then you could buy new off the shelf. However, there was also just as today a "used" market ou...

Yes, no such thing as L/M exists anymore, long gone (1924) and replaced by pure realistic, good old fashioned dictatorship. As a Historian, I loved the recent pic of Putin riding bare chested on horseback. Look up a guy called Mussolini, I think he was Italian and you will see him in the same propag...

Excellent helmet as always! So good to have an owner name and history along with it. We have been baking in 30+C temps and high humidity here.

All the Russian Revolution did was replace one corrupt ruling elite with yet another at the cost of millions of Russian and other people’s lives. Unfortunately, the Russian people have never known anything but dictatorship in one form or another.

Excellent!! I have never seen such a "pair" from the same Regt before in all my collecting years. Fantastic!

Once again this forum proves it's worth!

Welcome Frank, great to have you join us. I like your uberzug very much, we have seen one example posted here previously which had an added stitch line (vertical)that made the circumference of the cover smaller so that it would fit a smaller size helmet. The cloth and hooks on your cover look origin...

Congratulations ......an excellent very rare piece.

I have an orchid collection of over 25 plants and I have played lead guitar in rock bands for 30+ years....still playing in bars to this day!

Welcome Claus! Greetings from Canada.

I am going to be posting pics in the restoration section shortly of a Prussian M95 dated 1917 with natural undyed liner. Fittings, are all brass but it has one brass grommet and one steel plus a black flat head split prong repair plug next to the brass grommet. A very unusual piece with no regimenta...

Thanks T....B

Excellent tschako , congratulations! That is a sweet piece that any collector would be proud to own.