Fall Harvest of Haubes Part 2, Saxon Garde Reiter Wartime Helmet

ww1czechlegion

ww1czechlegion

Well-known member
Hello,

I've had a very lucky "fall harvest" of pickelhaubes this year. I was recently able to find 3-helmets out of the woodwork that were still with families.

This second one is an M15 wartime enlisted Saxon Garde Reiter helmet. I also acquired the WW1 U.S. soldier's 5th Division Uniform, and information on him in order to get some service record paperwork.

The family was going to throw this helmet away, as well as their relative's WW1 U.S. uniform. They figured it wasn't worth anything and that no one would want these items. Thank goodness they didn't throw the items in the garbage!

The helmet shell is going to take some work and patience with the EvapoRust product. A mouse made a feast on the leather liner tongues.

Helmet shell is size 56 marked, 1916 dated, and if you can strain your eyes through the rust I can make out the "den" of Dresden, for what is probably a "G.H. Osang, Dresden" maker mark above the 1916 date, mostly covered in surface rust at the moment. No issue markings on the underside of the front visor trim that I can find at the moment.

Best Wishes,

Alan

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More photos

As Bruno showed us in a previous posting of his wartime Saxon Garde Reiter helmet, the spike is entirely unique on these Saxon helmets, in that they have the conventional twist off M15 mount on the neck of the spike. They also have the unique feature of the top part of the spike which is separately attached by a threaded screw post, which is something we don't see on Prussian wartime enlisted Kurassier helmets.

The side posts for the chinstrap attachment also feature a rounded instead of a "V" notch. I don't expect to ever find a proper chinstrap "on the loose" for this helmet. The missing large Saxon Kurassier Kokarde is probably impossible to find on the loose as well.

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Very nice find!
I am especially happy to see this helmet because it has the round fasteners aft of the M91 chinscale mounts.
I have a JzP with that type of fastener and, until now, I thought it was a repair.
Congratulations!

John :bravo: :bravo: :bravo:
 
Another wonderful find, Alan! Funny that there is almost no rust on the M91 posts. I wonder what I should do with it. Leave it in this condition? Just carefully clean superficial rust? Engaging into more thorough restoration would probably mean taking everything to bare metal, including pewter gray painted surfaces...
Tough decision.
 
by member 911car:
Another wonderful find, Alan! Funny that there is almost no rust on the M91 posts. I wonder what I should do with it. Leave it in this condition? Just carefully clean superficial rust? Engaging into more thorough restoration would probably mean taking everything to bare metal, including pewter gray painted surfaces...
Tough decision.
Click to expand...

Hi Bruno,

Thanks for your excellent insight, I appreciate it greatly! :thumb up:

This is so different than working on the old model 2nd Kurassier Officer you bought from me, since your helmet has brass trim, versus the pewter gray domed rivets, M95 side posts, front plate, etcetera. It's a tough decision indeed. I don't want to damage that pewter gray color finish on the trim work or wappen.

And I'd certainly like to remove that thick surface rust from the markings inside the dome of the helmet. I can just barely see the stamped letters "den" of "Dresden", located above the 1916 stamped date. It would be nice to get that rust off and reveal the "G.H. Osang, Dresden" maker mark. And at this current state, I can't tell if there are kammerstempel on the underside of the front visor trim near the right or left side of the trim, since there's rust covering those areas as well.

Best Wishes,

Alan
 
Yeowsers Alan!!! What a fantastic find! That is incredible! I stand in awe! Thank you for sharing it with us even though I am green with envy!

John
 
ww1czechlegion said:
More photos

As Bruno showed us in a previous posting of his wartime Saxon Garde Reiter helmet, the spike is entirely unique on these Saxon helmets, in that they have the conventional twist off M15 mount on the neck of the spike. They also have the unique feature of the top part of the spike which is separately attached by a threaded screw post, which is something we don't see on Prussian wartime enlisted Kurassier helmets.

The side posts for the chinstrap attachment also feature a rounded instead of a "V" notch. I don't expect to ever find a proper chinstrap "on the loose" for this helmet. The missing large Saxon Kurassier Kokarde is probably impossible to find on the loose as well.

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Click to expand...
That's a rare bird !
Steve
 
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