Restored Officers Pickelhaube

Tenente

Tenente

Member
Ok, This may upset some of you guys, but I restored a basket case I bought four Years ago. This was an officers pickelhaube with only the top cruseform mount with no spike and the rear rail. After a slow slog, I found most of the pieces I needed to restore it. It was badly cracked and misshapen. It did have the liner in it, But I believe it was replaced at some point. I used a Steam iron and a hat former to get the shape back, then I used a mixture of Schlack and black powdered Artists pigment. Here's the result. All I need is a Silver officers Prussian Wappen.
 

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I must agree with Louis....you have restored a fake/copy helmet but that is ok, you have done a nice job and learned some skills. These skills can be used to restore a real Imperial German officer helmet. I used artist black powdered paint to dye shellac when I started restorations but I now use black aniline liquid dye...try that. As to why this helmet is a reproduction....chin scale rosettes, kokarden, liner etc are all incorrect and not originals.
 
b.loree said:
I must agree with Louis....you have restored a fake/copy helmet but that is ok, you have done a nice job and learned some skills. These skills can be used to restore a real Imperial German officer helmet. I used artist black powdered paint to dye shellac when I started restorations but I now use black aniline liquid dye...try that. As to why this helmet is a reproduction....chin scale rosettes, kokarden, liner etc are all incorrect and not originals.
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I appreciate the compliment on my work, The resto formula was one I learned from the 1990's. I'll try yours out on the next one I do. I know the rosettes are repro as is the kokarden I put those on as a stop gap until I can ret a real set, and I know the liner was done at some point. Not sure if it's a British fake from the 70's. I've seen those, and worn one, They just don't fit right, and they're kinda weird. But, Either way, it's a wearable piece and not one that I'd be heart broken over if anything were to happen to it.
 
Louis said:
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news bt I belive that that is a British copy from the 1970s. However, I could be wrong and the other forum members may think differently.
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I had a friend of mine confirm this is not a British fake, But says it's a fake. When I bought this shell I thought it was an original with a bad replaced liner. It only had a cruciform base and the rear rail. It was also misshapen from being stored in an attic, or something like that. All that being said< How can I tell a fake, old weathered, shell from an original? Just so I don't make this mistake again.
 
Well I’m not saying it’s not a good job, it a great job in fact, I’m just conjecturing that you may have restored a fake helmet. And that your hunt to complete the helmet may be in vain.
 
Louis said:
Well I’m not saying it’s not a good job, it a great job in fact, I’m just conjecturing that you may have restored a fake helmet. And that your hunt to complete the helmet may be in vain.
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No, No, I understand that. I appreciate your input and thank you for the compliment. When I bought it it was crushed and had that bad liner in it. All of the Hard ware and accoutrements I had to hunt down individually. The rosettes and cockades are fake, they were a gift so I could get all these pieces mounted, instead of just laying around, getting lost.
 
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