Pickelhaube Reshaping??

MG34NZ

MG34NZ

Active member
Any advice on reshaping a leather haube body?
I just picked up a M1915 that has been squashed and twisted out of shape,I have bent the rear spine back into shape,the visors need a a bit of restitching,the helmet plate has the orb and leg broken off,the body has a small tear by one chin strap lug so it has suffered some what over the years.Its currently pushed onto a milliners block.
Can the body be reshaped with steam? or is their some other magic trick??

Any advice much appreciated

Andrew
 
If you use steam, you will gain a valuable and costly lesson on how to shrink the helmet instantly into a solid lump of useless shrivelled up leather.
 
Definitely no steam on leather. Steam can be used carefully on felt helmets only. I emphasize carefully because its a good opportunity to burn your hands. If you want to just fix the top of a leather helmet that has caved in.....remove the spike and support disc. Wet a wash cloth with water put it in the inside of the shell and leave it there for 10 minutes or until the leather becomes soft and pliable. Then block it back into place on a Styrofoam head form. Place a plastic bag over the head form before doing this as the foam can stick to the leather as it dries some times. You have to keep the top in the correct position until it dries. To do this, loop an elastic over one M91 side post and stretch it over to the post on the opposite side (under the base of the head). This provides enough pressure to keep the top blocked into the proper position until it dries.

When dealing with an officer helmet, you take the chin scales off and use pins inserted through the holes in the side of the shell to hold the shell down on the foam head form.

If you want to hydrate an entire leather helmet......line the inside of the shell with a plastic grocery bag. Place a ball of wet newspaper into this bag. Then place the shell in a larger plastic bag and seal it up. Let this sit for a day then check it out. Keep hydrating until the shell softens. DO NOT LEAVE THE SHELL IN THE BAG TOO LONG AS MOULD WILL DEVELOP,THE SHELL WILL COLLAPSE AND THE LACQUER FINISH WILL FLAKE OFF!! Believe me, I know of what I speak! Proceed with blocking.
 
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