M18 Stahlhelm - The Sequel

Lost Skeleton

Lost Skeleton

Well-known member
There is not too much I can add to the outstanding sister thread started by James. However, I purchased this recently and wanted to share a few pictures. The shell is Eisenhüttenwerk Thale fabrication (ET 64) and the strap is embossed "Julius Jansen Strassburg 1918" (life after Pickelhauben). The liner is complete with "pillows." The only flaw is the absence of the rear liner band split brad.

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Chas.
 
Hi Brian, Hi James:

Thanks. I too had been searching for one of these for ages. Photographing the M18 Stahlhelm inspired me to go mad with the camera for the first time in ages. Time to go off topic and examine the rest of the family tree.

Camouflage M16: Q 66 (Firma F. W. Quist)

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Feldgrau M17: Si 66 (Eisenhüttenwerk Schlesien). Opinions welcome on the chinstrap.

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Close-up of the factory paint. Note the texture and "bronze" flecks.

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Finally, the circa 1927 Irish pretender made by Vickers.

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Chas.
 
Hi Paul:

It's great hearing from you again. Speaking of pictures, I would very much like to see more of your JzP avatar helmet when time permits.

Chas. :D
 
The M18 and the camo are absolute killer. Don't know anything about Irish helmets, but it looks great to me.

I take it you're not sure about the Si helmet's chinstrap? It may be the pictures, but the paint and the liner pads on that helmet look strange to me as well. The pads look too small, and the paint... I don't know what to think. Does the helmet look good to you overall?
 
Hello Hans:

The M17 has no liner pads, which partially accounts for the undersized appearance of the leather panels. Another factor may be the large size of the helmet itself. As for the paint, for some reason the exterior of the shell photographs much darker than is the actual case. The close-up paint "swatch" I provided is an extreme macro, equivalent to 7X magnification. I'm inclined to regard the paint as original, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn the helmet bears a residual coat of some substance running the gamut from cosmoline to vaseline.

Yes, that strap...the rough leather has been dyed to match the paint; the hardware is markedly crude and appears never to have been painted or parkerized. It's certainly nobody's idea of a paradigm.

I'd say the helmet is an acceptable gap filler until a better one comes my way.

Chas.
 
I used the term liner pads as you use leather panels. Maybe you thought I was refering to the horsehair filled cushions. Its not just the narrowness of the liner pads that bother me; they look oddly misshapen as well in terms of flaring inward sharply (from where they are attached to the liner band leading toward the fingers).
Perhaps the pictures don't do the helmet justice. You seem happy with it.

I've added a picture of a Si66 interior. The leather pads are without the horsehair filled cushions.
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Hello Hans:

I understood your observations regarding the liner pads/panels as you intended, and they are points well taken. When I have a moment, I'll take a few measurements, and more comprehensive photos front and back.

From a purely practical standpoint, I'd rather wear your Si66 than mine.

The helmet was an eBay purchase from the UK. The pads appear to be both used and old (but by whom and when).

I'll try to have the pix available for your review ASAP.

Chas.
 
I finally had a moment to examine the pads more closely. The pads measure 13 cm across at the liner band and 12 cm where they become the fingers. By way of a comparison, the pads on my M18 measure 15 cm at the liner band with no evidence of a taper.

To my surprise, the pads were stuffed with low density black felt approximately 5 mm in thickness.

To photograph the back of one of the pads, I undid the knot in the liner adjustment cord. The knot was a sheet bend.

Chas.

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My earlier suspicions of the paint were wrong; the interior paint in the last picture seems to look absolutely fine.

Your helmet's liner pads, especially the shot of the reverse, reminds me very much of M17 liners that appeared on Manions Auction House in the mid to late 90s, which were initially sold as individual M17 liners and later appeared in helmets. These were also made of leather resembling the Chrome tanned sheepskin pads introduced by the Germans sometime in 1917. As far as I can recall, all of them had cushion pouches made of the same course cloth as on your example. Due to inexperience and bad judgement, I had the opportunity to examine 2 of these liners in person. The reverse of the leather pads and the cushion pouches were stained brown and were filth encrusted in a clumsy attempt to simulate age. Both liners had artificial felt pads inside the pouches instead of cushions. The only difference between these Manions purchase liner pads and yours lay in the fact that the Manion's pads were more accurate in their dimensions.

A wide range of cloth was used in the construction of the cushion pouches including Hessian cloth, especially in the later stages of the war. The chrome tanned sheepskin often survives in remarkably good condition compared to the earlier vegetable tanned leather.
What concerns me about your liner pads is the combination of their narrowness, wrong shape and what looks to me very much like simulated age and wear.

Liner pad reverse in an M18.
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Having said all that, the fact remains that the other helmets in your collection are gems, and the M18 complete with chinstrap and liner is an especially fine example of a hard to find helmet.

Many helmet collectors consider Britain (as well as Germany, etc.) a bit of a minefield when it comes to German helmets, and I find this especially true with Ebay, where quite a lot of altered or messed with helmets are floating around. Some collectors say this is due to the apparently small amount of German helmets (WW1 and WW2) brought back by veterans compared to the vast numbers brought back by U.S. and Canadian soldiers. This isn't always the case however, and two of my best helmets were bought from a British collector on Ebay a few years back.
 
Stahlhelm said:
Due to inexperience and bad judgement, I had the opportunity to examine 2 of these liners in person.
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Hello Hans:

We've all been there, and some of us more than once. The issues you raised regarding the caveat emptor nature of Manions and some UK/German vendors have been much discussed here. It is entirely likely the M17 has crossed the pond more than a few times in its history.

Fortunately, being bamboozled by that liner was none too devastating on the pocket book. Thank you for the thoughtful and thorough analysis.

Chas.
 
Oi Chas,
Estou doente ainda, não fiquei completamente bom...Mas tudo ficará melhor, com a ajuda de Deus!
Abração,
Otto :D
 
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