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Alan: Canadians sadly in my view, don't appreciate their military history. Sir Arthur Currie was one of the outstanding Allied generals of The Great War and yet if you were to do a "people in the street poll" I'd be surprised if 10% of the Canadians polled could tell you who he was. The...

I wasn't aware of the changed metallurgical composition of brass. I assume this is due to the imposition of ROHS (reduction of hazardous substances) legislation in the European marketplace? Probably also reduces it's bending characteristics. They've done the same thing with solder although...

Brian: Maybe I just got lucky with the first restoration I did, but I had good success removing shell dents by creating forming blocks from medium density rubberized foam that is somewhat rigid but also has some compression ability. Using double backed adhesive tape to secure the block to...

No issues with this one with the minor exception of the hex nut which is easily fixed, I'm with James re. that Baden officer's Kokarde. It's a beauty. I've seen that vertical line in spikes before but I'm puzzled as to how it was created during the fabrication process.

John: A very informative and useful thread. Thanks for sharing your research.

Back in the 90's I knew a very seasoned collector from the Montreal area who started collecting in the mid 60's. He had amazingly scarce helmets that he typically brought to shows stacked on top of each other in a shopping bag. He also mixed and matched parts with total abandon and thought...

Bryan: You did a good job considering what you had to work with! Better an incomplete, damaged liner than no liner at all.

What a lovely piece for your wife to find! A time capsule. I can see why she'd be thrilled to own it. It provides a fascinating glimpse into what must have been a glittering evening during the peak of the empire.

A good looking trio of helmets James. All in surprisingly good condition. Interesting that they marked them with a "C" using the French spelling as opposed to the "K" that was used by the Prussians. But as we know the Bavarians went out of their way to not be Prussianised.

Actually, if I knew of a way to "recreate" crazing in a controlled fashion I'd seriously consider it. I debated just doing the entire helmet to remove the crazing, but dismissed the idea as I think it creates a "obviously restored" look that detracts from the helmet's originality. That said...

Brian: I don't have any particular background in annealing other than understanding the theory. It was surprising easy to do. I used a small propane torch and heated the area until it was just starting to show a red colour. Then quenched in room temperature water. The brass is then easily...

True enough. I have on multiple occasions done considerable research concerning C.E.F. units for people who are polite when requesting the information , then once they have what they asked for don't even have the courtesy to say Thanks. This attitude has always been around, but it seems to...

Thanks for the positive comments gentlemen. Nice to read. I've showed this project to several non-collector types and I get polite comments but you can tell that in their heads they're thinking "Why. Who cares?". :rolleyes:

Well, here is the finished product. As mentioned earlier, I used the Oldenburg Wappen and NCO Kokarden from my “contrived” M95 Oldenburg Artillery helmet and used the parts to complete this M91 Artillery helmet as worn by an NCO of the 2nd and 3rd Batteries of the 62nd East Frisian Artillery...

The view out our front window.

Sandy: What a great result! Both the portrait and the frame! I'm sure the money you paid will become insignificant compared to the pleasure you'll derive from having it in your collection.

That's a great reference piece! Thanks for sharing it.

Thanks for your comments gentlemen. Good to hear some positive reactions. Brian: You're right it's a tedious process, but it's satisfying knnowing that you've been able to give a new lease on life to a helmet that was pretty much a write off.

In case you thought I’d given up on the Pickelhaube restoration project, I haven’t; it’s just been a long process. The lacquer has now been restored through the tedious process of applying a layer then waiting 24 hours for it to harden before sanding it with 600 grit sandpaper and water. I’ve...

My wife and I will be in Portugal for a couple of months this winter. A trip to this museum will be on the agenda when we do a day trip to Lisboa.