M15 Helmets

colin111008

colin111008

Member
Hello, did they ever make M15 helmets with brass fittings? I think of the M15 helmet made out of silver or whatever gray metal that was with a removable spike, but did they make any helmets with gold fittings or brass fittings with removable spikes?
 
colin111008 said:
Hello, did they ever make M15 helmets with brass fittings? I think of the M15 helmet made out of silver or whatever gray metal that was with a removable spike, but did they make any helmets with gold fittings or brass fittings with removable spikes?
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They did, but those were for officers, these have a removable spike, a screw off version, and the fittings were mostly in zinc/alloy, coated with brass plating, although you can also find them with brass fittings. EM M15's were always with grey steel fittings, and the spike with the usual bayonet type fitting, to remove them.
 
Reason I ask is because there is a Pickelhaube for sale on Bay state militaria and it has a removable spike with brass looking plates. Could just be the yellow coloring you were talking about
 
Which one is it? If its G-2421, thats a usual EM M15, with maybe gold paint, but most likely smokers staining ( a lot of it). If its G-2350, thats a rather misshapen officer helmet, which had a paint job added. The spike on that one, is removable for a haarbusch. But I see no spike for it there on their site though.
 
It’s not the misshapen one 😂
I might think about getting the EM with gold paint but then again I am also waiting cuz ya never know what comes up for these helmets. Could be a better one popping up on another site
 
I agree, better ones might show up. The price isn't that high though.
What's also good, is to ask first before buying here on the forum. When I started collecting, I thought I was on a roll, but then, when I became a member here, I found out quite soon I didn't do good in buying the helmets I was so happy with. They were bogus..
Oh well, live and learn, and learn I did here on the forum.
 
Here is something else common I see that is worth discussing. Sometimes I see a helmet come up where the person says all parts are original yet here’s an example for a M15. The spike might be a different shade of gray from the wappen or spike base or the wappen might be a different shade of gray from the spike but might be the same shade as the spike base.
I also see this in pre war models.
I mean most helmets that should have all original parts should be the same shade of X color. I mean I guess they could buy a replacement original part and label it as original, or it could be a reproduction part. I just never know maybe the wappen or spike or whatever could be a reproduction set apart from the other original parts. But yeah, that helmet on bay state has been up for a while. The parts of that one seem all the same shade of gold
 
In all my years of collecting, I have never seen a reproduction M15 fitting, I have seen brass reproduction parts. One should also note that the Indian Repros which are all over EBay do not delve into M15’s. Regarding M15 colours….most often, the spike top is missing but these do come up for sale. However, most likely the patina of the replacement won’t match the rest of the fittings you just have to accept that and live with it. The other occasional problem is this new original spike won’t lock down on your fitting, one size does not always fit all! As to M15 fitting colours…. I have seen grey, silver, feldgrau and khaki brown . You will also find wappen which lack sharp details as the stamping dies wore out during the war.
 
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Alright so that gives me more confidence in buying M15s. Yes I have seen Indian reproductions all over eBay infact I have one but I bought it knowing it was a reproduction. But yeah there is a higher chance with pre war models and the different shading of the parts. Makes me raise an eyebrow
 
Yeah I don’t know I just saw it pop up I was curious what you thought of the condition of it and stuff. Probably not buying it your defiantly right the price is pretty up there for an incomplete helmet
 
I actually have 2 more questions about M15 pickelhauben
Did they ever have rounded spikes? Most M15 spikes I see are pointy, did some maybe have dull or rounded points?
Did they still make M15 pickelhauben out of leather past 1916 like for example did they make leather pickelhauben m1915 in 1918?
 
No rounded M15 spikes, they are all like the one you tagged above. There are M15 artillery helmets with ball tops just like the prewar brass examples. The answer to your last question is no, I have never seen an M15 dated to 1918 but as said before someone here could come up with an exception.
 
There is a helmet on eBay that I saw that was dated 1918 and the spike looks rounded. I’ll take your word on this one to wait. I posted the helmet on this forum a while ago under a thread called 2 eBay helmets. Not saying it’s fake but with what you said it probably is. I’ll wait for a different one to pop up, but the date is stamped onto the helmet dome similar to other original ones I’ve seen
 
Actually, here are some pictures of the listing. Two of them are pictures the guy privately sent me after requesting for better images.
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To me, it looks like there is another makersmark underneath the 1918 one.
Maybe this is from the maker who made this helmet before, and it was reissued later on. Just like many earlier/older helmets got reissued during the day's of WW1.
 
Alright then, let’s see what other people say. Just the thing that worries me is the rounded spike and the 1918 stamp
 
Hi Colin,
Looks like "1913" to me, fits with the black leather liner; would have had silver/brass fittings initially, converted to field grey at some point in time (either during the war or afterwards).
The spike looks ok to me, not the first I have seen that is not super "pointy" :)
Regards,
Lars
 
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