There has already been a post in the Pickelhaube Discussion section about identifying the original owner of this helmet so you can refer to that. Here are the "before pics" of the helmet as I took it out of the box after shipment. The helme is in pretty good shape and complete but as usual there are some common problems. Both visors need to be restitched as does the cloth liner. Unfortunately, for some crazy reason someone in the past has painted the cloth "red", why anyone would ever do this, I have no clue. This was done awhile ago because there is no scent to the paint. Originally as you will see, the liner was the typical beige ribbed silk that we find in many of our helmets. Please excuse the photos, as it is winter time here and I did not want to expose either myself or the helmet for too long a time outside in the cold. Thus, instead of "posing it", as I usually do, I just held the spike and shifted the helmet around for each shot. Let's take a look:
The spike shows some old solder repairs around the top of the neck but it is a true general's spike top and it locks down nicely when screwed down. The General's spike always screws down flush with the spike neck as shown.
The painted liner.....WHY????. It looked secure when I first looked but when I tried to lift it and the sweat band out of the shell to access the inside, the
entire cloth came off the sweatband. It had been crudely restitched using black thread and only 3 stitches per side....amateur!
Unlike many, this liner has no tears. The sweat band shows wear but it is not torn either. Obviously, rust red was not the original colour!
The spike shows some old solder repairs around the top of the neck but it is a true general's spike top and it locks down nicely when screwed down. The General's spike always screws down flush with the spike neck as shown.
The painted liner.....WHY????. It looked secure when I first looked but when I tried to lift it and the sweat band out of the shell to access the inside, the
entire cloth came off the sweatband. It had been crudely restitched using black thread and only 3 stitches per side....amateur!
Unlike many, this liner has no tears. The sweat band shows wear but it is not torn either. Obviously, rust red was not the original colour!