I recently bought the pieces of an 1870/1 Pickelhaube, most of the parts were there so I thought this would make a good restoration project.
The helmet was marked with regimental markings and dates as follows:
R 84 1870 1881
R 84 (embossed)
I B 4C II
The other interesting thing about the helmet was that it has 1887 side posts and two original cockades
Sadly the chin strap was not with the helmet.
The only other missing part of the helmet was its liner.
I wanted to restore the helmet as sympathetically and as carefully as possible, so I carefully cleaned
The skull, peak and rear visor as the were all grubby and had obviously been stored in a shed or outbuilding for many years.
As you can see from the photos the skull of the helmet was in bad shape with a hole in one side where
The leather reinforced area is for the cockade and chin strap, there was also a split above this area.
I first started by mending the rear visor as it was in two parts which I glued and then filled the gap with
A epoxy resin used by taxidermists and then carefully painted in the repaired area to match the original colour.
The Skull of the helmet was badly out of shape and Thanks to advice from Brian Loree I was able to re-hydrate the leather over a period of about three weeks and gradually with a hat stretcher and careful padding the skull went back into a much better shape.
The next job was to re sew the peak and rear peek, which after cleaning the old sewing holes and lining
Everything up was not to bad a job, I used waxed cotton which was great and used the original sewing technique which I carefully worked out from studying my other helmets sewing.
I decided not to make a new liner or try to replace it with an old one as I thought putting in a new hand made liner was a step too far and trying to find an old one that would fit the helmet would be near impossible
The most difficult job was to repair the hole but after the helmet was re hydrated the split rejoined and was carefully glued, I had to keep the helmet strapped up so that everything lined up.
I then made a copy of the missing leather reinforced part for the lugs. And sewed it to match, I the cut another piece of leather to fill the hole on the inside of the helmet, it was very tricky to cut it to exactly the right shape and I made a paper template first to make sure I got the best fit.
I had to use a small amount of epoxy filler to finish it off and then painted inside and out to match the helmet.
As I mentioned the chin strap was not with the helmet, but as luck had it I managed to get half a 1887
Chinstrap on eBay, I am presently working on a brass and leather copy for the other side of the helmet
Just to finish it off.
The everything came together and a helmet that might have been disregarded has been given a new lease of life, I know that this kind of restoration can be controversial but I think it would be a great shame if a little piece of history like this were lost, I would welcome your thoughts.
Stu Das158er
The helmet was marked with regimental markings and dates as follows:
R 84 1870 1881
R 84 (embossed)
I B 4C II
The other interesting thing about the helmet was that it has 1887 side posts and two original cockades
Sadly the chin strap was not with the helmet.
The only other missing part of the helmet was its liner.
I wanted to restore the helmet as sympathetically and as carefully as possible, so I carefully cleaned
The skull, peak and rear visor as the were all grubby and had obviously been stored in a shed or outbuilding for many years.
As you can see from the photos the skull of the helmet was in bad shape with a hole in one side where
The leather reinforced area is for the cockade and chin strap, there was also a split above this area.
I first started by mending the rear visor as it was in two parts which I glued and then filled the gap with
A epoxy resin used by taxidermists and then carefully painted in the repaired area to match the original colour.
The Skull of the helmet was badly out of shape and Thanks to advice from Brian Loree I was able to re-hydrate the leather over a period of about three weeks and gradually with a hat stretcher and careful padding the skull went back into a much better shape.
The next job was to re sew the peak and rear peek, which after cleaning the old sewing holes and lining
Everything up was not to bad a job, I used waxed cotton which was great and used the original sewing technique which I carefully worked out from studying my other helmets sewing.
I decided not to make a new liner or try to replace it with an old one as I thought putting in a new hand made liner was a step too far and trying to find an old one that would fit the helmet would be near impossible
The most difficult job was to repair the hole but after the helmet was re hydrated the split rejoined and was carefully glued, I had to keep the helmet strapped up so that everything lined up.
I then made a copy of the missing leather reinforced part for the lugs. And sewed it to match, I the cut another piece of leather to fill the hole on the inside of the helmet, it was very tricky to cut it to exactly the right shape and I made a paper template first to make sure I got the best fit.
I had to use a small amount of epoxy filler to finish it off and then painted inside and out to match the helmet.
As I mentioned the chin strap was not with the helmet, but as luck had it I managed to get half a 1887
Chinstrap on eBay, I am presently working on a brass and leather copy for the other side of the helmet
Just to finish it off.
The everything came together and a helmet that might have been disregarded has been given a new lease of life, I know that this kind of restoration can be controversial but I think it would be a great shame if a little piece of history like this were lost, I would welcome your thoughts.
Stu Das158er
