M1915 Tschapka on eBay

kaiserzeit

kaiserzeit

New member
Hello everyone,

Here's an interesting looking tschapka on eBay.fr:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6617011199

Is a round tongue liner possible?

I look forward to your comments.

Cheers,

Laurie
 
kaiserzeit said:
Hello everyone,

Here's an interesting looking tschapka on eBay.fr:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6617011199

Is a round tongue liner possible?

I look forward to your comments.

Cheers,

Laurie
Click to expand...

Hi.
I had a Model 1915 Tschapka with round tongues...I say "had" because the ends had rotted off most of them. They weren't the typical squared/grommet-ended ones.
Regards,
Brad
 
Hi Laurie,
It has been said that a round tongue liner will never be in a Tschapka, but I think this is evidence that the rule "Absolutes are always wrong, even this one" is correct. I would expect to see such a liner in a war time production helmet, the shape of the Corpus looks correct.
Gus
 
It looks nice. Then there's one of these again - 6617274350, which I last described, ironically as 'a beauty' but I think the irony got missed.
 
spikeymikey said:
It looks nice. Then there's one of these again - 6617274350, which I last described, ironically as 'a beauty' but I think the irony got missed.
Click to expand...
Hi Mikey, I didn't understand well your reply. You are talking that the 2 tschapka are from the same source?
Otto
 
Sorry Otto. No I did'nt mean from the same source as the one starting this thread, er.......it's about rounded tounges, and one is possibly good and the second one is not so good. This is confusing me now so forget I mentioned it.
 
Hello again,

Thank you for your replies. It looked good to me, I wonder if the liner is sort of a mid-war replacement.

Some things I did note:

- The shell looks like it has been re-furbished - very smooth finish.

- No ghosts/shadows behind the wappen, cockade or mortarboard base.

- The mortarboard base is 'floating' above the helmshell, it has probably been removed for the shell cleaning and was not re-seated properly.

I won't be bidding so tear at it everyone.

Cheers,

Laurie
 
Hi Laurie,
I was looking on the bidders. One of them is Max (Pickelmax), I think if he is bidding, no problem with the tschapka.
Otto
 
Comparing it to four 1915's in my office, I would make these observations...

The mortar board looks roughly fabricated and lacks the Rabatte mounting holes on the underside of each corner

The helmet lacks a round plate interior support as one finds in both the 1915 picks and Tsapkas.

The mortar board mount is not attached with domed split pins.

The liner presents a problem to me in its form. I have never seen a good Tsapka with rounded fingers. I do, however, accept Brad's take on this.
 
Thanks, George, for pitching in.

Your observations regarding the mortarboard are spot-on. It does not look like a spun piece, it is almost as if it has been roughly hammered out when we look at its underside.

As to the rabatte holes: I am wondering whether these might have become incidental later in the war? I suspect that circumstances would have made rabattes and parades less necessary.

I can say, categorically, that this mortarboard is definitely not one of my repros or a prototype from me. The only other repro I have seen was a spun piece, very similar to the mortarboards I have developed.

Cheers,

Laurie
 
Could the mortorboard be repaired ? There is at leat one hole in the lower of the board . You guy's are right the mortorboard looks hammered out ,as well as reshaped/sized . I am just asking as I am interested in this M15 Tsghapka .the side view of the shell has a good shape to it ,as most I see are straight and level ,this one has a curvature.
Is this helmet worth picking up ? with hopes of upgrading later?
 
Hello All:
A brief comment to be followed by some pics of an M15 tschapka that I have. I will take these later on tonight and post them. Regarding the liner, as a maker of liners and having been forced into the leather trade via this hobby. It is my humble opinion that the liner is correct. In the pictures , you can see that the liner has split along the rim of the shell. This is totally correct. This is what happens naturally over time. The rim of the shell makes a seam and seams cause stress in the leather. One hundred years of stress causes the liner to split along the rim of the shell. You can also see that the leather on the rounded fingers is flaking away. This is what leather does as it ages in a hostile environment. Dry conditions remove the natural oils that hold the leather fibres together. This causes cracks. and pieces of leather to flake away from the black dyed surface of the liner. There is no way to fake (reproduce) this. Remember that all leather is in fact tanned animal skin just like ours. It reacts to harsh conditions just like ours does in the winter. Here in Canada harsh winter conditions produce dry skin which flakes and cracks unless it is moisturized. This is what you are seeing on this liner. It is original.
Regarding the split brads...my pics will addresss this as well. All the best Brian
 
This Tschapka used to belong to me!!! I know every square inch of it. I was surprised to see it here. I had bought it when I did not know everything about these things. I will be happy to give any detail to whoever might be interested in buying it, including the reason why I sold it...
Bruno
 
OK here are some pics of my M15 Tschapka which I call Loree's folly. One of the problems of being a so called restoration guy is that sometimes you think that you can fix anything. Consequently, I bought this at the last MAX Show held in Pittsburgh. At the time I believed that I could find an original top and that I could fix the liner or make a new one.
Here are the pictures. What to look for: There has never bee an interior support disc on this helme. The M15 top fitting is held on by 4 small flat headed copper rivets not domed brads. Each of these has a tin washer on the inside. The edge of the liner was re enforced with pieces of bamboo. These have popped through because the liner has split along the edge. The lack of staining on the liner suggests to me that this helme has seen little wear. Notice how the fingers have torn and the leather is flaking away from the surface of the liner. The leather liner has lost all of its natural oils. This was probably a bond helme that got some rough use and lost its top. Brian
Collectionroompics052.jpg
Collectionroompics050.jpg


Collectionroompics049.jpg
 
The cost and the questionability of the Tschapka have made my mind up it is a pass.
Thanks for all the help and answers
Mark.G.
 
G'day All!

I have had a chance to learn a bit more about the subject tschapka. It was an okay buy at a low price but now, whoever bids on it must use careful judgment.

Here is what I learned:

- The eagle is original to the Tschapka and the shell is in a very good condition (not refurbished).
- The visor has been glued crudely to the shell.
- The mortarboard attachment is improperly affixed.
- The liner is in a poor condition and has been glued to the shell. It is almost certainly a later addition.
- The mortarboard is a copy.
- The Feldzeichen is also a recently added copy.

Now, go forth as an informed collector.

As the Desk Sergeant said: "Be careful out there!"

Cheers,

Laurie
 
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