Things have been quite busy "haubewise" here. So, we have another member's helmet that needs some TLC. I want to thank all customers for their trusting me with their treasures. In this case, a very cool M15 tschapka in as new condition, never issued....probably a bond prize helmet. As many know, the weakness in the tschapka design is that front visor with it's chic fold over and hidden stitch line. It truly represents a design where style over came practicality. In order to "fold" the visor down into position the material has to be very thin. In this case, as usual we have a thin piece of visor sandwiched between black cloth and thin finished leather. The cloth and finished outer layer is what is stitched to the shell and holds it in place. Some photos:
The 100+ year old thread has not rotted, I actually had to cut it in order to get the visor off. The problem is that this thread has pulled through the thin cloth and leather fold piece.
A clear photo showing how the leather liner is tack/running stitched to the front of the shell.....like new!! That section of missing finish will be filled in.
Not so nice here on the visor though! The black cloth inner visor lining and thin finished leather fold can be clearly seen. There were 5 stitches, all of which have pulled through the fold layers. The only way to fix this is to cut some thin leather patches, and glue them in so we have something to stitch to.
The 100+ year old thread has not rotted, I actually had to cut it in order to get the visor off. The problem is that this thread has pulled through the thin cloth and leather fold piece.
A clear photo showing how the leather liner is tack/running stitched to the front of the shell.....like new!! That section of missing finish will be filled in.
Not so nice here on the visor though! The black cloth inner visor lining and thin finished leather fold can be clearly seen. There were 5 stitches, all of which have pulled through the fold layers. The only way to fix this is to cut some thin leather patches, and glue them in so we have something to stitch to.