10th Pioneer Battalion Reserve Officer Restoration

b.loree

b.loree

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Staff member
While at the SOS I met up with 2 members Steve and Matt who dropped off 2 officer helmets for restoration. These are the before pics of the rare 10th Pioneer. Remember, there are only 1,000 men in a German Battalion so there were far fewer officers and therefore, their helmets.


Steve wants all fittings cleaned so everything except the front visor trim will be removed..

As per regulation, all fittings are neusilber to match the tunic buttons except for the chin scales and stars.

The piece has extensive crazing and one small area of missing finish which I will fix.


The spike is quite tall, a "fashion spike" as I like to call them.

Obviously, the shell has shrunk, the spike base is also depressed slightly into the top of the shell. I may be able to fix the shell but I know that I can level the top.


Fantastic crisp details on the wappen.

The silk liner will be stitched back in. Originally, when talking to Steve I thought this was a write off but I think my wife Caron can tack stitch this back in correctly. I used to do these but she does the job faster and just as well. :)
 
Brian ;
Please get a shot of the front of the helmet
after you take the front plate off .
I want to see the impressions
I don't think that I ever took the plate off .
I had it for years " as is "
I think I wrote down the year that I bought it .
Long before I knew you .
If you re-locate my little spider
please take care of him .
He is a long way from home .

Steve
 
i will take that pic for you Steve. I will be taking the fittings off on Monday and will do it then. I have not seen Spidey, I think he vacated the box somewhere between Fla and the Canadian border. :)
 
There is an enlarged hole that I see
That plate seems to have been on there
for a long time
I can figure it this way
He was an "active " officer in P B 10
when he became a reserve officer
he needed a new front plate
He could not just put a reserve cross on the former plate
so this is a case where I accept this
I bought this years ago
Maybe I can find the tag that states what I paid back then
It looked correct to me back then.
Steve
 
Not to worry Steve, as a restorer of these officer helmets and speaking directly about "private purchase" the enlargement of a wappen hole is not a big deal. The main thing on this piece is the rest of the fittings, especially the front visor trim. That trim is original to this helmet, it is solid as a rock and so is the spine. Yes, there has been shrinkage and the leather is dry but all fittings are there and proper for PB 10. I am going to be taking it apart, I do not expect any surprises. When I do take things apart for restoration.......I will find out if "tricks" have been played. On the other Matt helmet (Garde) for instance, he had not noticed the thin leather strip glued on the inside of the shell. Both these restorations are going to be cool projects ! :)
 
Brian ;
I bought this P B 10 reserve officers helmet
in 1979 .37 years ago can't believe it has been that long ago .
Confusion as to what I paid for it
I have 2 figures on my note card .
$200 and $ 300
Anyway I think the front plate alone is worth
more than that today .
I will get you a photo of my active offices helmet
for P B 10 .
Steve
 
Yes Steve....I'd give you $300 for that wappen :D no problem! Anyway, as promised, I took the helme apart yesterday and took some pics. Here is the wappen in question, and a beautiful one it is:

Note the stunningly crisp details. All of this would have been carved out by hand in the original die.

The reverse, is very interesting when we see how the bandeau was soldered on.....a split prong soldered on to each end through holes in the eagle etc.


There are multiple holes in the front of the shell but again in my opinion, I do not believe that this means that the piece was "put together" in modern times.
The wappen comes with 2 original tin washers which go between the shell and the square brass nuts holding the wappen on to the shell. You can also see to the right in this picture, one of the chin scales has almost split in two, more on this later.

The top of the shell, showing finish crazing and the true colour of the original fittings. The spike has prevented tarnishing underneath it.

The spike assembly after having been removed.

The spike base is stamped...S.W.68, H.M. BERLIN. Perhaps Joe can track this down on our makers list. Note as well, the "V" cut out for the screw post soldered to the rear spine.

There are always surprises when dealing with 100yr old leather. The end scale is almost off this chin scale (same one as mentioned), this was not visible until the scale was removed. The same scale is almost split in half and needs to be completely rebuilt.




The cardboard backings on both kokarden have fused with the helmet finish. These will tear when taken off and new ones will have to be made.


An interior shot showing a thin strip of leather glued over the stitch line at the back of the helmet, most times, this is not done.
 
Brian ;
Great photos !
Many thanks
After all these years I am seeing things
about this helmet that I had never seen .
I never took it apart .
I had a " good feeling " about the helmet
when I bought it and I still do today.

I have not seen a makers name stamped
into the underside of a spike base
but then again , I almost never take a helmet apart .

I will be glad to get this old reserve officer
back to its glory
Thanks
Steve
 
Things are coming along quite nicely on Steve's PB 10 helme. The wappen and spike really look good now after cleaning and I have also succeeded in leveling off the top of the helme and more importantly I now have the rear spine back up against the back of the shell.. This involves wetting the leather shell on the inside. Water, no matter if it is distilled or not will leave stains on the inside of the helmet. However, in my opinion the benefits in reshaping things negates this. Some pictures:


The left side of the shell (shown) has pulled inward around the side reinforcement, as I write this I am in the process of pushing that area back out to it's proper position. The spine is back in position.


The wappen and spike as they are now after cleaning. The spine and front visor trim are going to be cleaned in situ as there is no real need to remove them. I can get them where I want them without risking broken prongs. After the reshaping the "refinish process" will begin.


A new use for South African vin rouge.....a haube restorer must look at a problem and devise a solution! :D Later I had to switch to a bottle of olive oil because we wanted to drink the vino! An empty bottle is no good for this job!
 
that is quite a bit of work you got there it is far from a beauty but none the less a rare one and it 's only that which matters considering what you can do when you get your hands on them

so don' t ](*,) but keep :D when you come to a bit of trouble on your path

jonas
 
I just checked one of the later Prussian Rang List
It shows there were about 15 reserve
officers in Pioneer Batl 10 at that time .
So not a lot of reserve officers in this unit
at a given time .

Steve
 
Bruno ;
12 at any one given time
That could change over the years
with different officers in and out
of the reserve as you know.

James LaB realized his is not a reserve
he emailed me and told me that

I have not seen Helmut's listing
but I will look
Thanks

Steve
 
"The cardboard backings on both kokarden have fused with the helmet finish. These will tear when taken off and new ones will have to be made."

Would heat from a blow dryer soften the shellac enough to pull the cardboard off the shell? :-k
 
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