L.G. 100 Officer Restitch

b.loree

b.loree

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My next project is a Saxe Leib Garde officer helmet which needs both visors restitched. I won't bother to post the usual "progress photos" as you have all seen these previously. Some "before" shots of this beautiful rare helmet:
IMG_3988.jpeg
Excellent condition!
IMG_3989.jpeg
The Saxe officer kokarde is classic and we also see the Saxon version of the Prussian "squared visor"....rounded at the corner and no sharp angle to the trim. The neusilber fittings are excellent! The front visor looks great but it is totally free from the shell as all the stitches have disintegrated. However, what is that little white patch peaking out from the corner of the rear visor?? :unsure:
IMG_3990.jpeg
The finish on this piece is excellent but we can see the slight pebbling which 100+ years of exposure has caused. The glue on the rear visor tip has also given way! It turns out, that both visors have been glued on. 😐 However, we are going to sort that out!
IMG_3991.jpeg
The Saxe version of the Reich kokarde is very cool.
IMG_3992.jpeg
The condition of the interior matches the rest of the helmet!
 
b.loree said:
My next project is a Saxe Leib Garde officer helmet which needs both visors restitched. I won't bother to post the usual "progress photos" as you have all seen these previously. Some "before" shots of this beautiful rare helmet:
View attachment 62009
Excellent condition!
View attachment 62010
The Saxe officer kokarde is classic and we also see the Saxon version of the Prussian "squared visor"....rounded at the corner and no sharp angle to the trim. The neusilber fittings are excellent! The front visor looks great but it is totally free from the shell as all the stitches have disintegrated. However, what is that little white patch peaking out from the corner of the rear visor?? :unsure:
View attachment 62011
The finish on this piece is excellent but we can see the slight pebbling which 100+ years of exposure has caused. The glue on the rear visor tip has also given way! It turns out, that both visors have been glued on. 😐 However, we are going to sort that out!
View attachment 62012
The Saxe version of the Reich kokarde is very cool.
View attachment 62013
The condition of the interior matches the rest of the helmet!
Click to expand...
Thank you for showing. A very nice helmet! I like it a lot.

Could it be this one?

Best wishes,

GardeUlan
 

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I do not know where the helmet was purchased. I am just assigned the job of fixing the visor stitching.
 
Both visors removed and each shows glue residue along the stitch line.
IMG_4020.jpeg
Scales removed and liner pulled out to access the stitch line. It is always stressful deal with the officer silk liners, they are only tack stitched along the sweatband and this thread is over 100 years old. Additionally, my hand has to go in and out of this small space well over 300 times!
IMG_4018.jpeg
The tack stitches are easily seen, as well as glue along the shell. This glue makes it harder to clean out the stitch holes because in many case it has filled them in/covered them. :(
 
Last edited:
b.loree said:
Both visors removed and each shows glue residue along the stitch line.
View attachment 62204
Scales removed and liner pulled out to access the stitch line. It is always stressful deal with the officer silk liners, they are only tack stitched along the sweatband and this thread is over 100 years old. Additionally, my hand has to go in and out of this small space well over 300 times!
View attachment 62205
The tack stitches are easily seen, as well as glue along the shell. This glue makes it harder to clean out the stitch holes because in many case it has filled them in/covered them. :(
Click to expand...
Someone "gummed up the works "along the way.
Steve
 
Brian,

I know exactly what you mean with the silk liner being in the way. I think the next officer visor re-stitch I do, I will remove the silk so that I do not stress the leather sweatband so much and I can have a better view of what I am doing. I think even with having to re-tack the silk it will be easier in the long run. Oh and by the way, this is a really nice helmet! Five stars to the owner.

Ron
 
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Yes Ron, silk removal would be ideal but I can't really choose that option on some other collector's helmet . :) Second, you are correct, this is a rare helmet in excellent condition. So today, was quite sunny here which provides excellent conditions for stitching outside.
IMG_4032.jpeg
The crisp spine lines in the lacquer provide excellent reference points for pinning. I can not stress enough....do not proceed with stitching until you are certain that all holes are lined up!! If you do not, you will be in a "world of hurt"! Last.... obviously, the end of the silk will have to be restitched to the sweatband. 😐
IMG_4031.jpeg
Hint: Look for anomalies in the stitch line! Hans und Franz were generally quite good at machine stitching but occasionally they or their machine would make a slight deviation. Here we see just one stitch hole out of 150+ which is higher than all the rest. If the spine lines had not been so helpful, we could have used that one little hole to line things up properly. The hole in the shell will have that deviation and all we have to do is stick our first pin in there and count left and right from that point pinning the visor as we go. :)(y) If we count carefully and double check that things are lined up we should have an easy stitch here. I finished the first pass this afternoon I will take a photo of that and post tomorrow. TBC
 
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