Loree's Folly ! :)

b.loree

b.loree

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My latest acquisition bought at auction last week.
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Some of you may have seen this...sold by a small CN auction house a couple of hours drive from me. IG items seldom come up for sale/bid in my area so despite condition, I bid.
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The neusilber fittings show a lot of wear. Fortunately the piece is ink stamped 5 G R.....5th Garde Regt zu Fuss formed in 1897 and based at Spandeau.
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All fittings will be cleaned up. Fortunately, I have everything that is missing except for the visor trim.
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Liner is present and complete surprisingly. The helmet shell has the classic "collapsed football" shape which speaks of "complete neglect".
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Grime and patches of missing plating.
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A small size...53/54cm. Stitching on both visors is firm, original hex nut present. We shall see how this turns out. This was not cheap and I must confess to a little "buyer's remorse".
 
Thanks James but thanks to Steve McFarland, I have the correct complete spike and base (twist off). He sold it to me years ago. :) By the way, the antique hat stretcher shown is the smallest size that I have ever seen for sale. I grabbed it on Ebay out of Calif.
 
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b.loree said:
My latest acquisition bought at auction last week.
View attachment 76195
Some of you may have seen this...sold by a small CN auction house a couple of hours drive from me. IG items seldom come up for sale/bid in my area so despite condition, I bid.
View attachment 76196
The neusilber fittings show a lot of wear. Fortunately the piece is ink stamped 5 G R.....5th Garde Regt zu Fuss formed in 1897 and based at Spandeau.
View attachment 76197
All fittings will be cleaned up. Fortunately, I have everything that is missing except for the visor trim.
View attachment 76198
Liner is present and complete surprisingly. The helmet shell has the classic "collapsed football" shape which speaks of "complete neglect".
View attachment 76199
Grime and patches of missing plating.
View attachment 76200
A small size...53/54cm. Stitching on both visors is firm, original hex nut present. We shall see how this turns out. This was not cheap and I must confess to a little "buyer's remorse".
Click to expand...
Right up your alley Brian - I am sure at the end you will be happy with your decision. And what else are you going to do with all your spare time..........
 
Yes, Brian, If anyone can restore a pickelhaube it is you. I look forward to viewing your progress with this one.👍🏻
Best regards
John
 
Now that I see the pictures Michael I remember your helmet, it was a bit of a challenge. 😊. I would appreciate you checking for nickel visor trim as well as any of the other members. Obviously, that will be the hardest piece to find. I have a complete spike and even a wappen if needed though. I think we all know that patience is called for here and I will keep posting photos as this project continues. 👍
 
It's a miserable "rainy day" here so I got out my sonic cleaner :
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Loree's Folly 5th Garde zu Fuss wappen cleaned. One hundred years of "crud" removed! Look at the before photos above. Any small pink areas showing are where the nickel plate has worn off. This colouration will be removed by hand with a some "Never Dull".
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The original spike base and pins removed before cleaning.
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After cleaning....again the copper metal underneath the nickel plate turns pink with the chemical reaction/sonic cleaning. This removes easily.
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A very handy tool for reaching into a helmet and prying up the spike base pins. Now, I know some collectors like to leave their helmets "as found" which is their choice. I do not usually clean fittings unless as in this case they look terrible and are covered in crud! In the case of this wappen, I thought most of the plating was gone but fortunately, it is in great condition. The other reason for cleaning is that my replacement spike is much cleaner than the original fittings and would look weird when mounted to the shell. The "shine" on these fittings will also dull down in a month.
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The replacement spike for Loree's Folly 5th GzF helmet.
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The correct spike for 5th GzF! It also turns out that I have a piece of visor trim that looks like it will fit this helmet. However, I am probably going to have to remove the visor and straighten it before fitting on the new piece of original trim. I do need the 2 small trim pins though! Help! :)
 
Continuing on with this post on Loree's Folly and having publicly THANKED James for directing me to the auction where I succumbed to "collector fever!" :oops: All fittings must be cleaned to the same patina which leads us to dealing with the helmet spine.....
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The before photo showing 100+ years of grime and abuse!
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After 12 min. in the sonic cleaner.
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The pink residue from the cleaning has been removed with my dremel tool, felt disc and jewellers rouge. At this point many are probably thinking...Loree is going to straighten out the kinks in that spine?? Not so my friends, Loree could do that BUT then the spine would not fit the shell! The shell has shrunk over the years which has produced these kinks so if we want a decent fit in 2026, we have to leave it as is unfortunately. :( This shrinkage has also caused a problem with the wappen, it no longer fits snugly up against the shell!😐 At the moment I have the shell bagged with a hat stretcher inside it and undergoing hydration. I am going to slowly tighten the stretcher and hopefully expand the shell. my other hope is that the front visor will soften up and I can straighten it out for the piece of trim that I have. Loree's Folly continues and... oh thanks again James! :D
 
Brian, I found a front trim in my spare box if you need it
 

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Thank you very much for the offer. I will definitely keep this in mind. I have a piece that I think will fit but if it does not I will contact you LH. :) (y)
 
Looking at the back spine, before reading your description, I was thinking how fun it would be to tap those kinks out. I have just the stake for it. ;)

Ron
 
Yes Ron.....in my younger days, I straightened one out and learned the lesson! Regarding the visor pins everyone...I contacted Amy last week and she has sent 2 pins for me in the mail. Thanks to all who offered help.
 
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