How to prevent leather shrinkage of helmets

FRONTENAC

FRONTENAC

Active member
Hello all,

For the presentation of my helmets, I use this type of acrylic display. How can I prevent the leather of an helmet from shrinking by having this type of display stand?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

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Hi,
I don't think you can prevent the leather from shrinking, although you probably slow down the process by keeping the helmet in an environment with stable temperature and humidity.
I strongly recommend not to treat the leather with any products, I have seen the results of that after many years when the leather has shrunk, darkened, warped and become hard.
Regards,
Lars
 
Lars is right leather helmets need to be kept in the house not in the attic.
Shrinking is all too common.
Your stand is good for preventing the dreaded shrunken dome.
But it will not prevent shrinkage of the circumference of your helmet
If you want to use your stand you could trace the inside of your helmet on some plywood and cut that then cut out the middle of it to create a donut like ring to slide over your stand.
Before you slip your ring into your helmet cover it with cloth so it does not stick to inside liner.

You can use a hat stretcher to stretch your helmet or if it is miss shaped but do not leave the hatch stretcher in your helmet without blocking it up so it does not rest on the visors.
This will weaken the threads of the visors then you have a whole other problem.
 
Lars13 said:
Hi,
I don't think you can prevent the leather from shrinking, although you probably slow down the process by keeping the helmet in an environment with stable temperature and humidity.
I strongly recommend not to treat the leather with any products, I have seen the results of that after many years when the leather has shrunk, darkened, warped and become hard.
Regards,
Lars
Click to expand...
Hi,

Indeed, as you say, we cannot prevent leather from shrinking. We can only slow down the process by taking some precautions.

Except for cleaning the dust off my headgears, I don't touch anything.

Regards,

Richard
 
pickelhauben said:
Lars is right leather helmets need to be kept in the house not in the attic.
Shrinking is all too common.
Your stand is good for preventing the dreaded shrunken dome.
But it will not prevent shrinkage of the circumference of your helmet
If you want to use your stand you could trace the inside of your helmet on some plywood and cut that then cut out the middle of it to create a donut like ring to slide over your stand.
Before you slip your ring into your helmet cover it with cloth so it does not stick to inside liner.

You can use a hat stretcher to stretch your helmet or if it is miss shaped but do not leave the hatch stretcher in your helmet without blocking it up so it does not rest on the visors.
This will weaken the threads of the visors then you have a whole other problem.
Click to expand...
Hi,

Your suggestion to trace the inside of my helmet on some plywood and cut that then cut out the middle of it to create a donut like ring to slide over my stand is a very good idea. Can I cover the ring with acid-free tissue paper instead of a cloth?
 
Shrinking is the result when the leather loses its moisture. To prevent this, the humidity in the place where the leather is stored must be constantly around 50%. Humidifiers and hygrometers will help with this. Furthermore, antiques should not be placed in direct sunlight or should at least be protected with UV-protective glass. Finally, leather helmets should be filled with an ageing-resistant, chlorine-free, acid-free and CFC-free foam to support the leather a little so that the hard edges of the stand don't leave any marks on the leather.
If you keep this in mind, the antique items will survive for a very long time.
 
Sandmann said:
Shrinking is the result when the leather loses its moisture. To prevent this, the humidity in the place where the leather is stored must be constantly around 50%. Humidifiers and hygrometers will help with this. Furthermore, antiques should not be placed in direct sunlight or should at least be protected with UV-protective glass. Finally, leather helmets should be filled with an ageing-resistant, chlorine-free, acid-free and CFC-free foam to support the leather a little so that the hard edges of the stand don't leave any marks on the leather.
If you keep this in mind, the antique items will survive for a very long time.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot for your comment.

I already apply all your recommendations except the aging-resistant, chlorine-free, acid-free and CFC-free foam to support the leather. Can you tell me where I can buy this online?
 
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