You’re a good person we need people like you I see so many people online chopping up old guns helmets coins it makes me sick that they don’t appreciate the history
..uh, yes..same thing with people chopping up old cars & trucks, lowering them, putting in modern engines and interiors, following current "fads" like "slammed", fake "patina", large diameter wheels, etc...should be restored to reflect what they were like when they were newly built...just like all these other historical items...
I got three german helmets . One form WWI and two from WWII and i thought i was a bit eccentric BUT this guy is really out there . Got a parrot which i used to have when i was kid BUT snakes are a different matter. Gets bitten by it but he still feeds it ! Fuck snakes i hate them. No problems with parrots or helmets but he needs to let go off the interfearing snake !!
An excellent upload, one of the best I have ever seen. The speed, editing and presentation, very professional as is your camera work (good close ups and focussing). Loved all the information regarding the helmet and all its parts. Would NEVER have known all the ins and outs reference to number stamping etc. Adding in the snake info too, great. Being an animal lover (and breeder/owner of chipmunks) myself, I was almost as interested in your beast as your helmet :-) What a beautiful animal you have there. One thing though. You know all the little tricks of the trade as is obvious watching your restoration work. Is there no way to treat the (new) leather, steam, water, an oil perhaps that would soften the leather strap so its more natural and supple? Would hang more nicely and feel better too. Was leaving it like that a deliberate choice of yours, and out of curiosity only, may I ask why? Again, just interested as it involves animals. How long was the time between the bite and you showing hand when healed? Respectfully....kind regards. Francis. U.K.
How do you know it was the sellers name? I’ve seen a lot of helmets that were ‘personalised’ by the veterans who picked them up during the war. You will see names, places and dates scraped, scratched and painted on the helmet... eg PVT Smith, Juno beach, 6 June 1944....
This is honestly one of the best videos out there. Good knowledge, good restauration and funny. Size 68 is not rare though. It is wanted. Size 70 is rare.
Really enjoyable video, loved seeing each step in the restoration. Particularly liked seeing the preparation and applying of that excellent decal. Now I understand how a real WW2 decal lasts so long.
I liked your video as I am a bit of a WW II history buff. I liked your research for the helmet. great historical information. If you plan to make some more similar videos, I have a few comments. 1. paint the inside first to prevent scuffing the paint on the outside. 2. Instead of using the word "right" for placement, use instead "proper" or "correct" to avoid lateral confusion for some of the viewers who may attempt the resto process. And lastly, wet the leather prior to placing the chinstrap as it will be more supple and pliant for placing the pins. Consider either mink oil or some leather/shoemaking friendly substance and then placing the pins will be easier and it will also condition the leather for longer wear. Overall, a great video! keep it up. Thank you for the video and good luck on future projects. I will look forward to seeing more.
Awesome job on that! I have original M35 and M40 shells that I’m thinking of restoring, what grit of sand paper did you use and what did you use to fill the pitting areas before you painted?
Having just restored two early WWII McCord M1 helmets (with no markings), I can understand your satisfaction when completed. I usually get the shells bead blasted to remove all of the paint and rust. And the have a clean shell to work with. A question for you? Could an M35 helmet still have been in use at the end of WWII? I hope that the snake bite heals quickly.
Yes. Especially lat war if a M35 re surfaced in the helmets to be given to troops, it would have. Another way if just someone having been issued the helmet early war and still having it all they qay till the end.
@@corbinkanneman1653 Yeah I happen to own a original KPOT Though I replaced the original liner but still have it and switched to a passive replaceable foam liner like in the modern ACH. And I have some US BDU's which resemble the 1936 Tunic with the number of buttons and the type of pockets though not in cotton. Only difference is the pants have cargo pockets. I do own a original US army helmet used from the 1920's through before 1943 that ended up as a Civil defense helmet.
@@corbinkanneman1653 The only correlation between the two helmets is the similar methods used to create the proportions. There was no "influence", simply a coincidence in appearance.
I love your vids man, you do a great job and you show that history means something i been watching your videos for a while now! Keep up the amazing work. Watching this video keeps people interested!
People call me weird for liking ww2 because when I was in year one I started collecting and now I’m in year five Btw if your Americans it might be grade
Whats interesting a couple years ago I rescued a early WWII US Army helmet(The type that looks like the helmets from the 1941 movie Wake Island) from a scrap pile that the government repurposed into Civil Defense helmet from the Cold War still has the original liner and original leather headband.
when putting on my decal it went on slightly off. I was glad when I heard you say the decals were not all the time straight, it made me feel better about the job I did. Thanks! historically correct
We moved into the house I now own in 1987. It was built in 1913. I found a German device hidden in the basement. It was a compass plate in a container filled with oil. The container was mounted on two gimbals. It turns out it was used in the navigation system used in WWII German bombers.
Yes a new vid. Beautiful m42 helmet. I recently bought a m40 made in Finland with original paint and a original ss frostbite salve and 303 bullets. As always. Great vid.
Cool dude! I had a red tail boa years ago, & he was a bad boy! Oh yeah, your M42 turned out bad ass too! I really enjoy your videos, & I have a relic M35 shell coming to me from Slovenia as I speak. Thanks again
alone the battle with the chinstrap made the video great. love the snake, and great job on the restoration with the background story. you just gained another subscriber. :)))
I really enjoyed this, thanks! Could you please describe the different paints and colors that you used - and that were used in the originals? What were the original names of the paints and what are the names of the paint colors today. Thanks again HS!
Good find, good buy, and good restoration,, I really appreciate WWII items restored to their actual war semblance,,, its a LOT of work, but worth it in the end,, and you have preserved history young man,,, a little help, next time with a hard leather, soak it in Murphy's Oil (very inexpensive) for a couple hours or dab it on the item and let it sit overnight, it will smell nice, flex easy, and will not discolor the leather either,,, it also prevents leather from cracking later on,,,, great restoration,,, Take Care Stay Safe,,,, E
Really very nice M42 helmet! I also got a M42 with original winter camouflage color, original liner and chinstrap for only 280€. I really enjoyed the video! Thanks a lot!
M42 helmets should have some light textures or aluminium powers in the paint finish. Very informative, fun restoration process. Great work , congrats! and thanks for sharing
awesome helmet Nik, yes thats strange about the size to, Fantastic info on the Helmet liner band too. hey be careful with your fingers man lol, stay safe we enjoyed your video THX
Good job on the restoration but just a heads up when you do a spray paint job you should do a dust coat that dries quick so the paint can bond well then it has less of a chance of scratching or chipping. Love your videos
@@TomParmenter I know but a lot of people will not know the Luftwaffe, then yet they could simply Google or TH-cam the meaning of it. Thank you still my friend.
Even though I am not a big fan of Jerry! Your work on restoring this helmet is very very good! I think I would feed the snake to a hungry wolf! That sucker is about as mean my neighbors Chihuaha....meaner than a snake!
Pleas restore a turtle or a pudding base original British helmet as I have one my self (also we go to a abandon shooting range metal detecting it’s not a trench but I still love it (: thank you for you vids I love history)
FINALLY he's back with another awesome video. Honestly I thought you stopped making videos but glad your back and staying healthy keep up the great work see you in the next video.
Nobody is gonna point out that this guy has been very hurt realy this guy is a leged i wish u a fine recoffery if this would happen to me i would be dead
Hey man, Just wanna let you know that you're helping me out greatly through this quarantine. I've been binge watching your videos for the last three days. You do what I've always dreamed of doing, so thank you for your eloquent documentation and preservation of this amazing history.
It makes me feel really happy knowing that I'm helping you! I'm trying my best to entertain, and I'm really glad to hear you like my content! Stay safe!
That helmet should have been left as it was, maybe just finnish removing the remaining post-war paint and that's it, could have sold it and get another shell which would also been a much better base to restore. Also most late war M42s didn't come with decals and this one didn't so adding one isn't part of restoration since it never had it on the first place
Early M42 had decals . Early ones are the ones with the maker mark and batch number in 2 different locations , the later ones without decals had maker and batch numbers stamp at rear of neck together . This one is later , I'm not a purist I like your helmet , make it the way you like it.
At least somebody knows what "restoring" means. This shell was not to be "restored" butt just to be cleaned. It is always better to leave everything as original as possible. Especially since this helmet still had a lot of "scars" and the pitting should not even be an issue. This helmet is now devaluated considerably. What you did is ok if you have a complete rusted relic with holes witch you can then complete with filler, butt not this one. You should indeed have only removed the post- war paint (although in some cases helmets are more valuable WITH the postwar paint then if it would have been removed). And spraypainting is not restoring, butt destroying. It looks like a reprodution helmet now. No character at all. And now you cannot tell if its a good replica, if the shell was complete or just a car-putty restored relic. Shame. Please stop restoring if you don't know what you are doing. And yes, after 1943, decals were not applied anymore.
Whet most people refuse to accept is that most German soldiers were not told about the concentration camps and were completely unaware until after the war. Also, this reminded me that I also have some old memorabilia from the United States, Germany, and the Chinese. I forgot how comfortable German helmets are.
they were drafted anyway, so they had no choice. plus, if they did find out and protested and refused orders (cowardice before the enemy), theyd be sent to those very camps, or get simple death. nothing the average grunt could do.
A very good job & informative regards manufacture. It made me smile as you met all the typical hazards & intricacies of German helmet restoration. Well done.
![MV วิถีชีวิตใต้ - ผา อัยย๊ะ [Official MV HD]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nODlkOUu9B0/mqdefault.jpg)
You’re a good person we need people like you I see so many people online chopping up old guns helmets coins it makes me sick that they don’t appreciate the history
Hate when people ruin history
@Jeesus the Sinkomies its called profit omg youre literally like 5
..uh, yes..same thing with people chopping up old cars & trucks, lowering them, putting in modern engines and interiors, following current "fads" like "slammed", fake "patina", large diameter wheels, etc...should be restored to reflect what they were like when they were newly built...just like all these other historical items...
dyer2cycle yep people rat rod old cars that are pretty restorable really sucks
@@maciejwisniewski2538 says the one with the attitude of a child
I wish History Secret is my history teacher 😂 😂
Death Trooper same
Same
He’d do better than a majority of the ones I’ve had
That would be a lot of fun! :)
History Secrets can you tell me when you will probably make another restoration video?
How did it go from helmet to snakebites😂🤣
No idea... 🤣
XD
well...that escalated quickly
@@History-Secrets Just lucky the snake never bit you on the Gerry helmet! 😜
I got three german helmets . One form WWI and two from WWII and i thought i was a bit eccentric BUT this guy is really out there . Got a parrot which i used to have when i was kid BUT snakes are a different matter. Gets bitten by it but he still feeds it ! Fuck snakes i hate them. No problems with parrots or helmets but he needs to let go off the interfearing snake !!
Nice I just got a m40 helmet that was brought back from a veteran in Texas who was in the battle of the bulge
so show it
Nice
@@нехорошийсовет ShOw It Or It IsNt ReAl
Nice!
How did u get it? Did u buy it somewhere
You really helped me with my own restoration of a m40 helmet! Love your videos!
An excellent upload, one of the best I have ever seen. The speed, editing and presentation, very professional as is your camera work (good close ups and focussing). Loved all the information regarding the helmet and all its parts. Would NEVER have known all the ins and outs reference to number stamping etc. Adding in the snake info too, great. Being an animal lover (and breeder/owner of chipmunks) myself, I was almost as interested in your beast as your helmet :-) What a beautiful animal you have there. One thing though. You know all the little tricks of the trade as is obvious watching your restoration work. Is there no way to treat the (new) leather, steam, water, an oil perhaps that would soften the leather strap so its more natural and supple? Would hang more nicely and feel better too. Was leaving it like that a deliberate choice of yours, and out of curiosity only, may I ask why? Again, just interested as it involves animals. How long was the time between the bite and you showing hand when healed? Respectfully....kind regards. Francis. U.K.
I ordered a late war German helmet but got it with the sellers name carved into the side of it. Why ruin a perfectly good helmet?
You can probably return it if it wasn't explicitly shown/described as having that on it.
Can you file it out
How do you know it was the sellers name? I’ve seen a lot of helmets that were ‘personalised’ by the veterans who picked them up during the war. You will see names, places and dates scraped, scratched and painted on the helmet... eg PVT Smith, Juno beach, 6 June 1944....
@@therealcharlie7314 you can tell because it would be the same name as the seller is listed by
Could be the sellers relative with the same last name
really enjoyed it! twice now I hope I can get an original like this some day :)
yes finaly hes back yyeessssss
Yess we were wating for a long time, but its al worth it
I'm glad you're still here!
This is honestly one of the best videos out there. Good knowledge, good restauration and funny. Size 68 is not rare though. It is wanted. Size 70 is rare.
This guy is amazing he will always be remembered for preserving history.
Hey, I resturated a completely rusted helmet and gave it a new Luftwaffe repaint, I could give you sum pics and tricks if you want 👍
hi. show your work we are all interested
Yes please do that
Yep
You "restored" a helmet. There's no such word as "Resturate".
Thank you sir, former Luftwaffe Air Man.
As an old leatherworker, try wetting the leather before installing it. It makes the leather more pliable and once dry it returns to it's firmness
I’m polish and I have to say you pronounced Łódź perfectly.
I agree
Really enjoyable video, loved seeing each step in the restoration. Particularly liked seeing the preparation and applying of that excellent decal. Now I understand how a real WW2 decal lasts so long.
An amazing video, couldn’t be explained in a better way.
Kind Regards
Lorrie
Just love the shape of the German Helmets. So awesome. Thanks for sharing
When the music started when you were putting on the chinstrap I knew something funny would
happen. But anyways, that's a outstanding helmet!
I liked your video as I am a bit of a WW II history buff. I liked your research for the helmet. great historical information. If you plan to make some more similar videos, I have a few comments. 1. paint the inside first to prevent scuffing the paint on the outside. 2. Instead of using the word "right" for placement, use instead "proper" or "correct" to avoid lateral confusion for some of the viewers who may attempt the resto process. And lastly, wet the leather prior to placing the chinstrap as it will be more supple and pliant for placing the pins. Consider either mink oil or some leather/shoemaking friendly substance and then placing the pins will be easier and it will also condition the leather for longer wear. Overall, a great video! keep it up. Thank you for the video and good luck on future projects. I will look forward to seeing more.
Excellent, entertaining process, and a highly accurate restoration
You can’t imagine how much I’ve enjoyed watching this restoration - twice!
Thank you for watching!! :)
Never clicked on a video this fast
Same
Me to
Same bro
Haha same here!
Me too
Yes! Been waiting awhile for this vid!!!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😃😃😃
Love your vids btw
Awesome job on that! I have original M35 and M40 shells that I’m thinking of restoring, what grit of sand paper did you use and what did you use to fill the pitting areas before you painted?
So very glad to see you back. Great Video!!!! Thanks
Having just restored two early WWII McCord M1 helmets (with no markings), I can understand your satisfaction when completed. I usually get the shells bead blasted to remove all of the paint and rust. And the have a clean shell to work with. A question for you? Could an M35 helmet still have been in use at the end of WWII? I hope that the snake bite heals quickly.
Yes. Especially lat war if a M35 re surfaced in the helmets to be given to troops, it would have. Another way if just someone having been issued the helmet early war and still having it all they qay till the end.
Extreem gaaf weer Nick! Top dat je weer eens upload :)
Yussss finally a new video!
I like the fact that people like you can appreciate history.I see other people on youtube and not all of them appreciate history like u do.
33:25 i was dumped by a german helmet so now i only date us;)
Hahahaha, smart move, German helmets are really hard to understand sometimes.. 🤣
Beautiful helmet. I am happy that you find originals, because those who seek history are the ones who find it. Amazing video as always.
Hi friend. Whats the glue You use? Name please.
Yessss New vid
Eindelijk weer een nieuwe video yessss!!!!
Awesome video Nick really great! Much greetings from your friend Max😁😉
A very interesting video once again. Hope you and your family are doing well Nick in these times.
Ahh the stalhelm .... german fashion at his finest.
Stahlhelm
@@corbinkanneman1653 And it came back in the 1980's as KPOT Kevlar helmet for the US Military.
@@michaelbenjmitchell1 most modern helmets seem to have german influence and lots of other tech
@@corbinkanneman1653 Yeah I happen to own a original KPOT Though I replaced the original liner but still have it and switched to a passive replaceable foam liner like in the modern ACH. And I have some US BDU's which resemble the 1936 Tunic with the number of buttons and the type of pockets though not in cotton. Only difference is the pants have cargo pockets. I do own a original US army helmet used from the 1920's through before 1943 that ended up as a Civil defense helmet.
@@corbinkanneman1653 The only correlation between the two helmets is the similar methods used to create the proportions. There was no "influence", simply a coincidence in appearance.
I love your vids man, you do a great job and you show that history means something i been watching your videos for a while now! Keep up the amazing work. Watching this video keeps people interested!
Refurbished beautifully. Very interesting video, Ty.
Great restoration,
informative and entertaining. Thanks!! :-)
Hey HS I love your videos as u can imagine I'm considered weird since I'm 13 and I love ww2
There is nothing weird about loving history, it makes you more special when you're young!
People call me weird for liking ww2 because when I was in year one I started collecting and now I’m in year five Btw if your Americans it might be grade
I started when I was 9 and the first thing was a modern day US Army assault pack
Nice restoration on the M42 helmet and very informative. Keep up the great work .🇺🇸
How much did it cost?
I mean it
Those kind of helmets arein about 200-400 dollars
I am Finn
Ok Finn
Just a shell between 140 and 200 usd depending on the size ckl is a pretty common make
In Slovakia tou can get it for 150€
Best history TH-camr hands down
Whats interesting a couple years ago I rescued a early WWII US Army helmet(The type that looks like the helmets from the 1941 movie Wake Island) from a scrap pile that the government repurposed into Civil Defense helmet from the Cold War still has the original liner and original leather headband.
A Brodie helmet
when putting on my decal it went on slightly off. I was glad when I heard you say the decals were not all the time straight, it made me feel better about the job I did. Thanks! historically correct
I have been waiting for soooooooo long.
Same
Interesting video! Its like a lesson to restore a ww2 german helmet
We moved into the house I now own in 1987. It was built in 1913. I found a German device hidden in the basement. It was a compass plate in a container filled with oil. The container was mounted on two gimbals. It turns out it was used in the navigation system used in WWII German bombers.
Cool
The moral of the story is to buy very old german homes
Again a very GoodVideo man!! Like it 👍🏼👌🤘🏻
Yes a new vid. Beautiful m42 helmet. I recently bought a m40 made in Finland with original paint and a original ss frostbite salve and 303 bullets. As always. Great vid.
Made in finland?
Ive heard of the finnish contract ones made for finland but not made in finland
Yes! So good to see a new video. Hope you are well . I’m sure all this stay at home is cramping your need to get into the dirt.
In Germany you would be in Jail right now because of the Symbols :D
Also Greetings From Germany :)
Really?
Vesastrul yes all nazi related is heavely regulated. WWII march songs are cencured
Richard Törnblom wait,what if you were JUST restoring it?
Yeah too bad
No only the swastika is illegal in deutschland the others are just army so ya
Cool dude! I had a red tail boa years ago, & he was a bad boy! Oh yeah, your M42 turned out bad ass too! I really enjoy your videos, & I have a relic M35 shell coming to me from Slovenia as I speak. Thanks again
Wow cool man. love your channel
Bedankt voor het hartje man
Great reworking on your helmet 👍👍👍
hello by the way love your videos a lot.
alone the battle with the chinstrap made the video great. love the snake, and great job on the restoration with the background story. you just gained another subscriber. :)))
I really enjoyed this, thanks! Could you please describe the different paints and colors that you used - and that were used in the originals? What were the original names of the paints and what are the names of the paint colors today. Thanks again HS!
Good find, good buy, and good restoration,, I really appreciate WWII items restored to their actual war semblance,,, its a LOT of work, but worth it in the end,, and you have preserved history young man,,, a little help, next time with a hard leather, soak it in Murphy's Oil (very inexpensive) for a couple hours or dab it on the item and let it sit overnight, it will smell nice, flex easy, and will not discolor the leather either,,, it also prevents leather from cracking later on,,,, great restoration,,, Take Care Stay Safe,,,, E
makes me shiver to think, my grandfathers had to wear these.
Really very nice M42 helmet!
I also got a M42 with original winter camouflage color, original liner and chinstrap for only 280€.
I really enjoyed the video! Thanks a lot!
Nice one Nick, it's ww2 living history speaking. Love the vid man. Great content. It would be amazing to get a reply from you.
I'm glad you like my content, thank you for watching!!
Yay another video Ive been watching everyone of your videos a thousand times waiting for a new vid😀😁
🙏
Great job Nick. I so want an original WWII helmet. and the snake thing OUCH!!!
my bro nice video. I got the first like. I just got my new kriegsmarine offiecer tunic only 12 pound on epic military but its post war
Wtf 12 pound is really heavy for a tunic
Jamie he was talking about how much money it cost him 😂😂😂
great video My decals always chipped or fell off. Ich bin sehr Dankbar.!
I was just watching you 10 mins ago
Hahaha, awesome!!
Yay new upload I have been watching your videos for ages and you made me start collecting 😄 also that’s a nice helmet
Here we go!
M42 helmets should have some light textures or aluminium powers in the paint finish. Very informative, fun restoration process. Great work , congrats! and thanks for sharing
31:01 historicaly accurate injuries
awesome helmet Nik, yes thats strange about the size to, Fantastic info on the Helmet liner band too. hey be careful with your fingers man lol, stay safe we enjoyed your video THX
Good job on the restoration but just a heads up when you do a spray paint job you should do a dust coat that dries quick so the paint can bond well then it has less of a chance of scratching or chipping. Love your videos
Yay u are back
Yes!!
I saw a picture of a German soldier with the decal on the front of his helmet with a bunch of soldiers laughing at him for it
That's life my friend, former officer from the Luftwaffe Air Force.
@@halfers83 Luftwaffe *means* air force.
@@TomParmenter I know but a lot of people will not know the Luftwaffe, then yet they could simply Google or TH-cam the meaning of it. Thank you still my friend.
Even though I am not a big fan of Jerry! Your work on restoring this helmet is very very good! I think I would feed the snake to a hungry wolf! That sucker is about as mean my neighbors Chihuaha....meaner than a snake!
“This is not a how to date your German helmet video” hahaha
Hahaha! :)
I love your vids and reanactments
Pleas restore a turtle or a pudding base original British helmet as I have one my self (also we go to a abandon shooting range metal detecting it’s not a trench but I still love it (: thank you for you vids I love history)
i also have a british helmet from ww2. it has the guy's name written in the liner, along with some numbers. pretty cool piece of history
An excellent work man , i have an helmet too but i don't have your skill to do this restoration ...
this isn t how to date a german helmet 😂😂😂 never laughed so hard 🤣🤣❤️
Awesome thanks!!
31:27 **insert dirty joke here**
Try 7:18
WOW!! Nice restoration. Love your videos Nick, keep up the good work! :D
Can i have question???
This is why I love history
48:38 now that made me jealous as hell :(
Lol me too
FINALLY he's back with another awesome video. Honestly I thought you stopped making videos but glad your back and staying healthy keep up the great work see you in the next video.
Nobody is gonna point out that this guy has been very hurt realy this guy is a leged i wish u a fine recoffery
if this would happen to me i would be dead
Great to see you back Nick, coming from a fellow collector & subscriber in California.👍😁
That moment when the most rare thing in this video is the face mask he used when painting.
Hey man, Just wanna let you know that you're helping me out greatly through this quarantine. I've been binge watching your videos for the last three days. You do what I've always dreamed of doing, so thank you for your eloquent documentation and preservation of this amazing history.
It makes me feel really happy knowing that I'm helping you! I'm trying my best to entertain, and I'm really glad to hear you like my content! Stay safe!
@@History-Secrets You're doing a great job, Keep it up brother! Health and happiness to you and your family.
Why would you destroy a piece of history like that!? Such a shame. Big fan of you, but not on this one!!
Like i explained in this video, this helmet was post war repainted, and there was no original paint left. No History was destroyed in this video.
The post war crappy repaint stands out immediately. He didn’t destroy it, he brought it back to life
At europe we have full woods of these helmets, we are selling them to scrap metal
that is a nice helmet and great job ... the fight whith the chinstraple was epic jejeje
That helmet should have been left as it was, maybe just finnish removing the remaining post-war paint and that's it, could have sold it and get another shell which would also been a much better base to restore. Also most late war M42s didn't come with decals and this one didn't so adding one isn't part of restoration since it never had it on the first place
Why should it have been left alone? Some M42’s DID come with single decals as well so I don’t see how that effects the restoration
some early M42 helmets had a decal, this one is from 1943 so it probably didn't
Early M42 had decals . Early ones are the ones with the maker mark and batch number in 2 different locations , the later ones without decals had maker and batch numbers stamp at rear of neck together . This one is later , I'm not a purist I like your helmet , make it the way you like it.
At least somebody knows what "restoring" means. This shell was not to be "restored" butt just to be cleaned. It is always better to leave everything as original as possible. Especially since this helmet still had a lot of "scars" and the pitting should not even be an issue. This helmet is now devaluated considerably. What you did is ok if you have a complete rusted relic with holes witch you can then complete with filler, butt not this one. You should indeed have only removed the post- war paint (although in some cases helmets are more valuable WITH the postwar paint then if it would have been removed). And spraypainting is not restoring, butt destroying. It looks like a reprodution helmet now. No character at all. And now you cannot tell if its a good replica, if the shell was complete or just a car-putty restored relic. Shame. Please stop restoring if you don't know what you are doing. And yes, after 1943, decals were not applied anymore.
Shut up there 500 of these still in the woods
Whet most people refuse to accept is that most German soldiers were not told about the concentration camps and were completely unaware until after the war. Also, this reminded me that I also have some old memorabilia from the United States, Germany, and the Chinese. I forgot how comfortable German helmets are.
they were drafted anyway, so they had no choice. plus, if they did find out and protested and refused orders (cowardice before the enemy), theyd be sent to those very camps, or get simple death. nothing the average grunt could do.
you should do ww1 Reenacting
A very good job & informative regards manufacture. It made me smile as you met all the typical hazards & intricacies of German helmet restoration. Well done.