Schellenberg Heer Artillery Officers Schirmmütze

[BenVK]

Yes, it's possible. I would just take some matching wool and blend it into the remaining wool around the eagle. Same goes for the piping.
It's very time consuming though so my usual advice is whether it is financialy viable for the owner.
With very rare and valuable caps, it's usualy a no brainer but with the more common variety, it's worth sleeping on.

[Adrian]

Thank you Ben. I'm not so worried about the piping, it's the eagle that could use some tlc. I will wait until I get the cap in hand and can make a better inspection and post better images before I make a final decision.

[BenVK]

I get a lot of emails from collectors wanting a restorer. I see my role in all of this as being able to 50% advise and 50% restore.
I could easily say that everything that gets emailed to me to have a look at needs restoring. More money for me!
But that's not how it works, or should not be how it works.
To be involved in restoration means taking on the responsiblity for making the right decisions.
Anything can be fixed to a degree, whether it's right to do so is a more important question. I'm not just talking about TR hats here quite obviously...I hope.
Some major restoration mistakes happen all the time IMO with items worth millions of dollars.

[Adrian]

Battle damage, honest wear and tear are part of the history of a cap, or whatever else you chose to apply it to. I'm not into restoration and I believe in leaving items with their character and history intact, however that's a personal choice and it's very much a case of each to their own.
Moth nips, while part of an item's life are not part of the history and any repair or restoration to cover up the damage these larva cause is a good thing.

[BenVK]

Whilst I'm suitably inebriated and in the mood to talk about this, there are many forms of wrongful restoration.

I can't see enough of this hat to say that the bullion insignia was always there since day one. That hasn't stopped hundreds of collectors since 45 to swap and change the insignia based on whim, aesthetics or just personal favouritism. Likewise changing NCO chinstraps for Officer chords etc etc. It's all regrettable and unnecessary but it happens.
Just as some people take off the original skulls and eagles on SS caps just to replace them with "collector approved/desired" matched sets in terms of material, i.e. zinc skull and zinc eagle.

They might think there is no harm done doing this but I disagree although it's a very difficult task these days to judge if insignia is original to the garment.
I would just advise that if in doubt, leave it alone.

[BenVK]

Battle damage, honest wear and tear are part of the history of a cap, or whatever else you chose to apply it to. I'm not into restoration and I believe in leaving items with their character and history intact, however that's a personal choice and it's very much a case of each to their own.
Moth nips, while part of an item's life are not part of the history and any repair or restoration to cover up the damage these larva cause is a good thing.

You're spot on Adrian.
I refuse to fix any battle damage or natural wear and tear unless it's something like a loose vulcanfibre peak. If you don't repair something like that, the whole hat will fall apart sooner or later.

[Adrian]

I agree with your sentiments Ben. It's senseless and wrong to change items on a cap, uniform or anything else to pimp it up or 'make it better' than it already is.

[davejb]

I agree but is it really making" something better", in fact its ruining the history of the piece itself, whether its for personal display, which in any case you ruin the item in your possession, or for personal gain which you risk being discovered unless your honest enough to sell the piece with full disclosure of any restorations , and again this would naturally reflect in the price, so what have you gained in the long run, either way its more than likely a no win situation, especially if the buyer is well tuned in and spots the work done

[BenVK]

It's all about the ingrained collector mentality ie, conditon. The better the condition, the more it's worth.
To be honest, I have never agreed with this.
I would gladly pay more for a completely knackered and combat worn hat from any branch.
That's just me though...

[Adrian]

I agree but is it really making" something better", in fact its ruining the history of the piece itself, whether its for personal display, which in any case you ruin the item in your possession, or for personal gain which you risk being discovered unless your honest enough to sell the piece with full disclosure of any restorations , and again this would naturally reflect in the price, so what have you gained in the long run, either way its more than likely a no win situation, especially if the buyer is well tuned in and spots the work done

I agree wholeheartedly Dave. What I meant by making 'something better' was in respect of replacing metal insignia with bullion if that is how the collector chooses to think of being 'better' for example. That would be ruining the history of an item.