Quite a Repro

A

Anonymous

Guest
No attempt to deceive. It looks pretty darn good.

http://cgi.ebay.de/Helmadler-fuer-Pickelhaube-Anhalt-Dessau-Bernburg_W0QQitemZ6232205044QQcategoryZ34649QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Chas.
 
Hi Chas. Yeah, I thought so too. I'm waiting for pictures of the reverse of this and dis-assembled to come through. I emailed him and he says it's definately a repro. To me, apart from the slight lack of detail on the coat of arms and a somewhat bland overall appearance, it looks original, at least from the picture supplied. What am I missing here?
 
You can see, or maybe I should say "feel" it is a copy; a good one though. But details are not very crisp and both the white and yellow parts do not have the exact aspect and color of a period plate. I admit it is more of a gut feeling but for me there is no doubt...
 
I do believe it is electroformed. I shudder to think how good it would look on a helmet.

The electroformed reproductions below are produced by Der Kammerbulle:

http://www.kammerbulle.de.vu/

IR93.jpg




Chas.
 
OK...other than the lack of discolouration and pristine condition, how do you tell the difference between these repros and an authentic wappen?? Brian
 
Hi Brian,
A stamped plate will have varing thickness due to stretching of the sheet between the dies, this variation of thickness will be at points where relief is greatest, electro formed has none of the stretched areas, and any difference in thickness will be random. The forming process adds molecules to negative, and it should have a different resonance, much like the differance between cast and extruded (rolled) metals.
Gus
 
I think that this is the same dealer that we questioned on the old Forum. I e-mailed him asking how collectors could tell the difference between his plates and an original. I posted his response unfortunately we have lost that reply. If my memory serves me he said that it was the newness of the solder on the bolts and the thread size of those bolts that distinguished his new plate from an original. His thread size would be standard metric and much finer than the original. Bill
 
Yes Bill, he did say that any plate with standard metric studs would be a reproduction.
Ghus
 
Gustaf said:
Hi Brian,
A stamped plate will have varing thickness due to stretching of the sheet between the dies, this variation of thickness will be at points where relief is greatest, electro formed has none of the stretched areas, and any difference in thickness will be random. The forming process adds molecules to negative, and it should have a different resonance, much like the differance between cast and extruded (rolled) metals.
Gus
Click to expand...

Well stated.
Brad
 
epsomgreen said:
I do believe it is electroformed. I shudder to think how good it would look on a helmet.
Click to expand...
The German-made electroforms are very expensive--- as much or even more than original items in many cases. The officer items' plated finishes are impressive, though.
Less-expensive electroformed plates are coming out of Poland now, but the
finish typically isn't as nice as the Kammerbulle products. The Polish parts
often have a simple pair of stiff wires for attaching to the helmet body.
Regards,
Brad
 
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