steel rim M1

**Menno** · 03-23-2013, 11:50 PM

by plumbob

are the bails stainless?
Rod

Yes they are

**plumbob** · 03-24-2013, 12:19 AM

I think the bails changed to manganese steel around the same time as the rims. So perhaps this is a helmets made of mixed parts made around the time of the change, which might be why the rim joint is at the front, the fitters force of habit as he had been doing for the last few years.
Just a theory
My mates one has manganese steel bails and rim with a heat stamp 1?12B

**battle gear** · 03-24-2013, 02:43 AM

I use to own a front seam like that also made of manganese steel instead of stainless

probably a late production model during the transition, yes they also had some with a stainless rear seam, I also have one of those

**1stCTHeavyArtillery** · 03-24-2013, 02:52 AM

I just bought a helmet like this a couple weekends back- I was so tired I thought it was freakshow Nam era mistake, the helmet shell was so cheap I bought it- I did not realize it was a WWII lid till I got home and woke up a bit.

It's a rusted non stainless steel front seam like this- I just don'
t just know if the bails are stainless....I'll look when I get home.

**Menno** · 03-24-2013, 11:54 AM

Heat stamp could also be 17 A, but then the 1 is very hard to see

**plumbob** · 03-24-2013, 12:43 PM

I think there will be other numbers which just haven’t been stamped properly.
This is my mates steel front seem, we thought it was 12B until he let me rub it. Then another 1 appeared near the 12B.
Low numbers like this would have been the first fixed bails.

**m1m3r** · 03-24-2013, 01:01 PM

So just how rare would a steel rim front seam be?

**ruddersrangers44** · 03-24-2013, 07:47 PM

Rare as in there isn't that many around....however this has no impact on value whats so ever......most folk dont even take note of the rim material....there could be a dozen reasons why these oddities occured,maybe just part of typical wartime production being pushed to the limit.....Jake.

**m1m3r** · 03-24-2013, 09:37 PM

On my M1 the bails are definitely stainless, but I'm not so sure about the rim. I can't see that typical stainless shine. What do you guys think?

**plumbob** · 03-24-2013, 10:20 PM

It looks like a steel rim to me , the first time I have seen a Schlueter shell like this, but then again I have only seen a couple of mcCords with this feature, just goes to show that both factories must have made the same kind of mistake.
I also agree with Jake above about the rarity.
Rod