Recent content by DPW

Regarding the inkstamp of the Bekleidungs-Depot III. Bayerisches Armeekorps, I was wondering exactly what the number 147 stood for, so I checked with the Bayerisches Armeemuseum, who told me that BD III stamps had a number code representing the item being stamped, and 147 was the code for...

Hi Robert, Well well, that's exactly the same, brass fittings, 1895 spike & base AND the vent cover, all on a Foot Artillary helmet! So it seems we have established as fact that Bayern did indeed not only use infantry style spikes without the cruciform base prior to the balltop but...

Hi, Just thought I'd put this on the forum as it's the oddest item I've ever come across, everything wrong yet everything right at the same time on this particular helmet! Bayern helmet (no doubt about that, brass Wappen is printed into the leather and ages of built-up dirt behind it), stamped...

Well done! A previously unknown Pickelhaube maker discovered! You can actually see the umlaut over the o. It just looks like an ink smudge untill you know what it is, then it's obvious. Funny how something can be quite invisible untill one knows what to look for and then it becomes clear as day...

I used a normal paint remover but just very lightly brushed on and wiped off at once, just on and off, then washed. The helmets wern't in great condition prior to being over-painted, but enough of the cammo remains to show the design and the colours, plus quite a lot of the factory paint is also...

yes, I suppose anything is possible. No sign of cover marks on the visor, though there arn't any on a few dozen other M15's I have either. I'll get a close-up photo.

Joe's list of maker's marks is brilliant, very helpful. There isn't anything like it anywhere else. However, I've gone through it, and other less extensive sites, and been unable to find anything like one I have. Can anybody help? I have an M15 Prussian infantry helmet, dated 1916, with a...

Er...'Yes'? I am just pointing out that even what seems to be a completly worthless, ruined helmet may still be worth looking at underneath. These two are very interesting 'battlefield relics' if you like, full of history if not beauty, and I think are worthy of a place among the other remnants...

Thanks Robert. I sent photos to Brian as well. As you can see, the brass and steel componants of the spike are obviously 'genuine' in themselves. I suppose one could say its just wartime use of whatever parts were to hand, or speculate on IR114's Royal guard status at the castle, though in...

I picked up 2 M16's recently, both post-war overpainted. One was done in bright 'Kelly green', the other in white. Why? Who knows. Anyway, I removed the paint and discovered under it numerous black lines with green and brown cammo paint still largely intact! One turned out to be a Quist, and the...

What's your e-mail? I'll send you a photo. D.

Hi, Can anyone help with this? I have a very nice Baden M15, stamped for IR114 (plus tag for the owner having done his training with the Replacement Bat. of IR111.). It has however a spike that is part brass, part steel, with an M95 spike on a steel M15 detatchable base. A metel fabricator has...

Does anyone have any information on DEPAHEG PATENT? I've a beautiful M91 Vulcanfiber Fieldartillery officer's helmet with cockades and private purchase chinscales that is stamped with their quadrigger logo, and I was wondering if anyone knows anything about that company. Always nice to have the...

I have not used a red filter photographically on helmets, but I'm sure it would enhance the stamps just as it does optically. The filters work that way when used to photograph an object through a telescope so they should do the same for a helmet.

Are you frustrated trying to read inkstamps? Well I have a tip that may be of help. I'm an astronomer and in astronomy we use various coloured filters to enhance detail on planets. I've discovered that red will greatly enhance inkstamps, often making impossible ones easy to see! I use an...