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I've been wanting to attend the SOS for a while now! But I'll need a good chunk of cash before I can make that trip a reality haha

Right, there is a lot of unexploded ordinance in the ground and people could get seriously hurt. I know a while back a bunch of metal detectors were arrested for trying to search the Verdun battlefield, and some guys in England were arrested for illegally excavating and selling medieval relics...

This is true. National Parks and Historic Battlefields. When guys want Gettysburg related artifacts, they usually get permission to metal detect on private land surrounding the battlefield.

That is so cool! Were you able to keep it? I know civil war metal detectors here in the US are usually able to keep their finds.

What’s the problem with Ciney? I’m in the US so I’m not too familiar with the collecting scene in Europe. Is it just crowded? No good items for the Imperial German collector?

Well, as they say, good things come with patience! I think you've seen it before, but I have an M15 that I'm working on, and it has a patch of dried up and hardened shellac that needs to be covered. If you have the time, I'd like to PM you with some photos of the helmet and get some advice from...

ah, I see! Thank you for the explanation!

Looks great! Stupid question, but for reapplying shellac, do you sand the old spot first before applying new shellac?

Sweet! I still really want a Filzhelm but I'm too impatient to save for one haha

No problem! I found a video of someone using ballistol on some French swords for you:

Thanks, Alan! She knows a little bit about the different types of items from my ramblings, but she’s not particularly well versed in authenticating, so I made a guide of some common items for her to look for (Iron Cross 2nd Class, Imperial belt buckles, Prussian M15 pickelhauben, etc). I also...

Thanks, Hayden! I didn’t realize Mr. Kraska updated the WWI German section.

For sure, it’s at $237 right now 😬

thanks! I'll take a look!

Hello everyone! I'm looking for some Prussian M15 Pickelhauben in less-than-ideal condition so I can practice my restoration skills. Does anyone here know where I can find some?

How about ballistol? People use it to remove rust from antique sword blades.

Thank you, Peter and Hayden!

Thanks, Steve! I’m really happy with how it looks and feels so far. There are a handful of small fractures on the shell that I can feel when handling it, but I think they should be fine… for now at least!

I know this isn’t Imperial German, but I really wanted to share this, so here it is. I recently received this salty 1st model troppenhelm from a trade. This is what the shell looked like when I received it: As you can see, there was a giant breach in the cork shell, and all the crumbled shards...

I like collecting WWII German stuff, specifically Deutsches Afrika Korps items, but I hate how Third Reich collecting dominates the German militaria field. Imperial German collecting definitely deserves more attention.