Factory Fresh Fittings

[b.loree]

I am taking an M95 Prussian OR's helmet to sell at the upcoming SOS in Feb. It is in very good condition, tight visors and clearly marked to JR 97. The only difficulty is that the liner is completely gone. It occured me that because the liner is gone and that the fittings have never been taken off or messed with some pictures of these untouched fittings might help beginner collectors when looking at buying a helmet. One hundred years later these are still factory fresh.

Ok let's look at the picture and draw some conclusions. First, the tin spike support disc...there are no scratches in the black paint. There are some rusted areas where paint has flaked off but no scratches around the arms of the spike base brads. This means, that they have never been pried up and taken off. Second, there are no scratches on the brass and the brad arms fit tightly to the disc. I have taken hundreds of these spike base brads off in my restorations. However, I have never been able to get them back into this original position, where the arms of the prongs fit tight to the disc. Obviously, in the factory a press with a special "bit" was used to spread these prongs apart and force them down on the disc.

Here is an inside shot of the M91 post......6 brass prongs have to be bent back onto the tin disc and shell in order to secure the post. Once more, no scratches in the 100+ years of patina. This too is factory fresh.

Sometimes, minor mistakes occurred in the manufacturing process.

 

[aicusv]

Thank you

 

[gunner cooper]

Handy tip, thanks.

 

[edwin]

Thanks!

Regards,

Edwin

 

[joerookery]

=D> =D>

 

[911car]

Great lesson, Professor!
Not tempted to replace the liner?... How is the outside?

 

[SkipperJohn]

:bravo: :bravo: :bravo:

John

 

[b.loree]

Thanks guys I just thought it was one of those. “Teachable Moments “. so I went for it. I guess you can take the old man out of the classroom but once a teacher, always a teacher. Bruno the entire helmet is in great shape and clearly marked. I may break down and install a new original liner but this would involve taking off both visors which are tight and have no problems. Ideally, the posts should come off too which would spoil the unscratched fittings. You can stitch a new repro liner in with posts in place because the leather is new and can take the punishment but 100 year old leather could easily tear.

 

[Peter_Suciu]

Very nice example and truly a teachable moment.

I'd leave it is and not even try to put in a replaced liner. You have an untouched helmet that does serve to show what factory installed hardware SHOULD look like. In addition, consider that guns, ordnance and even vehicles get cut in half to show the inner workings so why not accept this as being done for you with this helmet. No reason to put in a liner.

While I do like liners to be intact in helmets as something with literally hundreds of helmets I have say how often do we REALLY look inside?

 

[b.loree]

A good comment Peter, thank you. There is also a lot of time and work involved in putting a liner back in. I have the correct leather to make a repro and have done so in the past but I think you are right, it shows very well from the outside. Here are some pics:

The chin strap is an old repro which initially fooled me into thinking it was original...it is dyed on both sides, so no. :thumbsdown:

 

[aicusv]

It is a good looking helmet, too bad about the lining.

 

[Jaap Verduijn]

Brian, I agree with others - I'd leave the helmet as is. Everything is so perfectly original that a replica liner would kind of "feel awkward". Besides, if you use it for teaching and showing what the original hardare should look like, the lacking liner is an advantage!

Use your truly amazing restoration skills on other pojects. I think of you as kind of a surgeon: setting broken legs, putting back a lost finger, enlarging the odd boob. But when the surgeon teaches, he uses a skeleton to show what bones (should) look like - without putting flesh on it first (grin)!

 

[b.loree]

Well Jaap...I have been called "The Haube Whisperer" previously and now "Surgeon"....I think I can handle that I just get these pieces sent to me and I try to figure out a way to make them better.

 

[Jaap Verduijn]

:bravo:

 

[joerookery]

Well Jaap...I have been called "The Haube Whisperer" previously and now "Surgeon"....

I have heard other names when referring to you… Nice earring though...

 

[b.loree]

Thanks Joe . On a more serious point, I just discovered a faint ink stamp in the shell...Julius Jansen Strasbourg 1915. So we now know the manufacturer and the year of manufacture.

 

[argonne]

Brian,

Without any doubt, all the fittings are still fixed on this helmet as they were in the year 1915.
But I am thinking that the outside of them (especially the emblem, the spike base and the rear trim) have been some time polished with some aggressiv bad stuff like Miror (French) or Sidol (German). One can clearly see the rest of it (white residues) and because the original gilding of the emblem has disappear.

Such polishing stuff is doing great for the next few days after polishing, parts are shining as the sun does, but then, you have to do that again and again because the metal oxidation has been accelerated by the aggressives microparticles in the polishing stuff....

Wappen which have never been polished are looking like that:

Or like that, only old "natural" patina with dirt and dust, the original gilding keeping on shining partially through them:

Philippe

 

[b.loree]

Thanks for the comments and pictures Philippe, I totally agree with you. The white residue which can be seen on those fittings as you point out confirms that they have been polished.