Recent content by Drewwerks

Hi Guys It took a little longer than expected to finish this one but here it is. Stitching the neck guard back on took plenty of patience and sticking plasters but it's not going to go anywhere for a while. When the guard was off I also took the opportunity to fix a split in the leather liner. I...

Thanks once again to Brian and everyone else that has helped me on this journey. Finding the rear spine has been a challenge to say the least. But I can now say that this Pickelhaube is now finished and the hunt is on for the next project. Regards Drew

Thanks Brian for your great advice. I have just bought that Dorcas thread on Ebay.co.uk so will use that on this helmet. I am cleaning out the stitch holes following your tutorials, but there is a lot of nasty glue which is making the job difficult. I'm going to try and soften the old glue with...

Hi Guys. It's been a busy couple of weeks with some really good luck and some not so good luck. Firstly thank you Brian for your visor tutorial, I was not looking forward to doing this BUT... When the visor trim and rear spine arrived (I bought them from the same French guy I got the shell from)...

Hi this is starting to become a habit. My third project is in pretty good order with it's original steel grommets and no extra holes to fill. I have found a late steel wappen (thanks Freikorps1919) with the correct distance between loops (78mm). An original piece of steel visor trim has also...

Thanks guys and a big thank you Brian for your information and pictures. Here is the wappen in place, I have not bent the attachment prongs back yet as all the hardware will need to come off for a final rub down and polish. I have found an original brass rear spine with vent that is in pretty...

Hi I am looking for a Prussian OR's Field Grey plate with loops 78mm apart (measured on the curve, centre of grommet to centre of grommet). Any condition considered. Regards Drew United Kingdom

Thanks guys for the nice comments. Brian I am not sure what type of spine I should be looking for. Should it it have the ventilation slide and what should the attachment end look like (were it slides under the cruciform spike base)? Any reference pictures would be much appreciated. At last I...

And here is the finished helmet... Not perfect and not all original but I like it. The hunt is on for the next project... Cheers Drew

Another couple of weeks later, the finish is as close as I'm going to get. New eyelets fitted and finally found a spike. More updates to follow. Cheers Drew

OK fast forward a few weeks and many coats of shellac, rubbed down between coats. Can anyone identify the makers mark? More progress soon. Regards Drew

Thanks guys Here is an update with the holes plugged, all this damage is going to take quite a few coats of shellac to sort out. Cheers Drew

Hi Here is my next project a 1917 marked helmet with original (steel) M91 posts and brass visor trim. Just like my first project this has been used as a fireman helmet at some point in it's life. The hunt is on to find the correct steel fittings. Regards Drew

Hi Half way through filling in the new leather plugs and unwanted holes with shellack. Installed new M91 posts and some repro cockades. Just need to find the right length rear spine, Hessen plate and a strap. Regards Drew

Hi I have finally tracked down a Hessen spike with cruciform base. I think it looks original but would appreciate your opinions. It fits perfectly to the original holes and even lines up with the imprint in the leather. Now the hunt is on for an original helmet plate with screw posts 80mm apart...