.....I think they may of 'over-aged' it if it is indeed a replica
.....I think they may of 'over-aged' it if it is indeed a replica
Last edited by olboy; 06-26-2019 at 11:36 AM.
Can you slide/loosen the leather a bit away from the buckle without damaging it to see the expected indentations, discoloration in the leather from the buckle resting on the leather for decades ??
D.
Unfortunately no as it's not mine and for sale
I've just been on Pickelhaubes.com, and there is a thread about chinstraps. Right at the bottom of the thread are some buckles of the type that you posted. I have owned several Pickelhaubes over the years, and none of them had this style of buckle, so I was more than likely wrong in my assumption.
Cheers,
Steve
Hi Wayne,
A little more information for you, and I suppose that really I should have done this before... I consulted my copy of the book by Jurgen Kraus - which is generally considered to be the book to consult... The German Army In the First World War (Verlag Militaria Publications) Somewhat pricey to buy, but there are over 600 pages packed with valuable information. I've taken some scans of several Pickelhaube shown in the book and concentrated on the area of the buckles, one in particular looked like the type you posted. But when I enhanced the picture it no longer looked like it... 'Sods law' I suppose, but you can see what I mean about the 'flat' finish to the buckles in general.. I hope the pictures help you reach a conclusion of your own... Click on images to enlarge.
Cheers,
Steve
Hi Steve
Some appear flat and some appear half round like and some buckles appear straight and some appear purposely bent.
Are the brass variety defined by earlier ones?
I've read they do and then read contradictory to that.
The more I look the more I find so I went ahead and purchased it anyway and apart from some minor damage (which I'll repair) I now have two complete WW1 Camos. Very happy.
I took a slight risk but I'm gaining valuable knowledge and I'd like to start using it.
Some may scoff at what I paid but I haven't seen one that even closely resembles one. It was $171 EUD.
I have to thank you Steve and the trouble you went to find me those images and also MAP & real steel.
I'll upload some better pictures when it arrives if you're still interested.
I'm always interested!
Aw great, I will do. It's on it's way from Germany today.
Was that over priced? I only ask as any dealers site or anywhere else I just couldn't find anything.
I had to buy a complete SI62 to fit out my avatar which is camo SI64.....but that was a steal actually and had been painted with black paint in the last 10 years.
Sorry for jumping in late. To me the strap looks good, as to value I would say it was worth the price, since it was sold. Thing to remember about straps, they are not all the same, the piece that goes on the post were made in different thicknesses, depending on what type of helmet they were going on. From what I can see in the photos this strap was made for a leather helmet and not a steel. But that's ok as they used earlier straps on the steel helmets.
Hi Wayne,
I cannot help you with the price I'm afraid, because the last time I restored an M16... I only used an aged repro strap. I can't even say that I have ever come across a genuine and complete strap for sale either, its hard enough trying to find a steel helmet which still has one in place... they seem to survive better on the Pickelhaube! My rather plain M17 helmet only has the attachments for the lugs and one short strip of leather. But I suppose if you have purchased two genuine straps for 171 euro's? it probably is a bargain. As for the state of the leather, I once purchased a relic K98 to source some spare parts for another rifle I was restoring. Attached to the stock was a portion of very battered rifle sling which was cracked and peeling just as the leather in your pictures. A late friend of mine - Stan Dobson - for many years spent much of his free time scouring the WW1 battlefields of France. He was so obsessed by it that he and his (French) wife purchased an immediate post-WW1 built bungalow which was situated quite close to 'Gibraltar' at Pozieres. Forum members who know about the battle of the Somme will know the significance of these two names... and any Australian worth his salt should certainly know! On many occasions Stan brought back pieces of leather equipment which had been in the ground - or lying around somewhere for a long time, and it was not unusual to see leather in the same state as those straps you have purchased.
A forum is a mixture of different opinions on particular subjects, and whoever tells you something, does so in the belief that what they tell you is correct, but we cannot all be correct! So do not be too disheartened by some of the answers that you might receive. If you enter into things with an open mind, and do plenty of your own research... looking at known originals in museums, not always easy to do I know... but you should be able to come to your own conclusions. But never fall into the trap of convincing yourself that something is original simply because you want it to be.
Cheers,
Steve
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