New Liner in Prussian Guard Filzhelm

Peter B

Well-known member
So by chance I was talking to Brian and to make a long story short I decided to replace the rotted liner in my Prussian Guard Felt Pickelhaube with one of Brian's high quality replacements. Thank you to Brian for giving me the liner (and tons of advice) free of charge.

There may be different views on removing the old liner but I must say the final result is way nicer than the rotted one that was slowly deteriorating. I think some mice had a field day in an attic with it at one point.

I learned a lot from Brian. Tools and advice make all the difference. Using a Pin Vice Drill to remove the old thread and clean the thread holes made a huge difference, as did using T Pins to hold the liner in place initially.

The first round of stitching went really well and I got into a rhythm the further I went around the helmet. The second run was much more difficult and I ended up using a small straight pin, sticking it in from the outside and then using it as a guide to get the needle back out through the right hole.

Be very careful with your long thread as mine developed "loop knots" (not sure what else to call them) a couple of times. Once I was able to get it untied and another time I just had to tie off the thread at that point and start a new one. If I ever do this again I will be much more slow and deliberate to avoid this.

I also didn't think through the meeting of the two ends very well and had to undo some thread to get the ends placed correctly with the piece at the end going under the starting piece. I should have started sewing a little bit further down the starting end.

A daunting project but the reward was worth it. Here are some pictures.

Cheers.

Peter
 

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And a few more pictures.
 

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Hi Peter,
Notwithstanding the quality of the replacement liner offered by Brian, why did you change since the original one was still present, albeit battered?.. In my humble opinion, the helmet lost some of its "soul"... (I suppose you didn't trash the old one though!)
Or perhaps it will be worn for reenactment.
 
Yes I knew that a lot of people would have left it in.

It really was in very poor shape and pieces were falling off of it. Very dirty and crumbly. You can see it in a couple of the pictures.

I thought about it quite a bit before I did it and decided a high quality replacement was better for my display as the rest was in danger of falling out and would have eventually.

I knew as soon as I posted this the debate would begin..

Thanks for commenting.

Peter
 
Usually, I always keep my helmets they way they are when they arrive at my door, but indeed, it looks fine with its new liner. :)
 
Yes I knew that a lot of people would have left it in.

It really was in very poor shape and pieces were falling off of it. Very dirty and crumbly. You can see it in a couple of the pictures.

I thought about it quite a bit before I did it and decided a high quality replacement was better for my display as the rest was in danger of falling out and would have eventually.

I knew as soon as I posted this the debate would begin..

Thanks for commenting.

Peter
From my part there is no real debate, Peter. You did well and the new liner looks good. The rest is only a matter of personal feeling. Same dilemma here with a GKR helmet; all good and original but one fifth of the liner torn off and the remaining heavily greased. I hate it each time I hold the metal hat...
 
Looks nice! Whenever I replace an original part on a helmet, I keep the original items with it. This way, if I part with the helmet, the new owner can have the originals and perhaps understand logic of the replacement. Nobody has ever complained. But then, no matter what artifact I have from a helmet to a vehicle, I think of myself as a care taker and preservationist, rather than an owner, but that's just me.

:D Ron
 
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