US M1 Helmet - WW2: Fixed Bale, Front Seam, McCord, Westinghouse Liner

**ruddersrangers44** · 04-02-2015, 08:41 AM

Dealers sometimes tend to stick to the facts,which is that everything is totally original and certainly a looker,I don't honestly think that would alter or effect the price in any certain terms,and do not think it could be used as a leverage to reduce the asking price either,had you known would you have passed?to make you feel a little better I purchased a set 2 years ago from a very well known US dealers and the Liner had an entire ring of red spray paint around it which certainly had nothing to do with any service life,pissed me big time as it cost $300,but he didn't think it was important enough to mention it or take a picture either.

**avenger** · 04-02-2015, 08:47 AM

Red paint would definitely have made this one go back without much question.

My goal has been to find a single, 100% original WW2 helmet set. Given the nature of the M1, and its usage life, that has turned out to be a difficult goal. I suppose I would have probably passed on it if the seller had mentioned parts of it looking repainted, just because it's easy to pass and keep looking. But, having it in hand now, is it worth trying a return? If value isn't really affected, it is on the inside leaving the outside still as it was in WW2 (with perhaps the exception of the rim if it were touched up), so I don't know that I would bother with it. I'll have to think about it I guess. Wish we could tell if it were a military touch up or a post war civilian touch up. It's still an impressive looking helmet.

**Walkwolf** · 04-02-2015, 09:03 AM

The military wouldn't waste time masking off the
outer rim - they'd just brush or spray it all over.

It's still an impressive helmet as you say, and
ultimately up to you. Funny, I have never
examined my M1's this closely.........!

**avenger** · 04-02-2015, 09:09 AM

BTW, is it bad for the leather strap to leave it wrapped up over the front rim for display or storage, or is that generally okay for them?

**Walkwolf** · 04-02-2015, 09:25 AM

This is the way they look best and were designed
to be used, but eventually they will stiffen
and retain this shape........

**greatwhite** · 04-02-2015, 11:01 AM

Very nice this,, led a charmed life too, its owners were either very lucky or saw very little action.

**Harry Davey** · 04-02-2015, 12:02 PM

Very nice early m1, it has clearly has some re-spraying to the inside as mentioned. However the rest has everything i look for in a perfect WW2 fixed bale. Although in my opinion if i owned the item and known it had been resprayed i would be happy with it, however if you are paying top price for a top condition helmet that is when i would have a problem, as it sounds like the dealer did not mention it, I would definitely try to get a discount. However all in all it is a very nice helmet and i would be more than happy to own it, a small defect should not detract from the history and originality of the piece.

Cheers
Harry

**LetsGo82nd** · 04-02-2015, 02:14 PM

Hi All,
I was the seller of this helmet and have told Scott that if he is unhappy with it he can send it back for a full refund. With that being said I think the concerns about this smudge or the interior being repainted are unfounded. This is very clearly a factory over spray as you can see bare metal beneath the smudge which means that this was not a 2nd layer of paint applied but the original factory applied layer of paint. Overall, this is as honest of an M1 helmet set that can be had.

-Jeremy

**MAP** · 04-02-2015, 03:03 PM

I think it's a cracker and would love to have this in my collection.

Michael

**avenger** · 04-02-2015, 04:14 PM

Thanks Jeremy for standing by your product and guarantee. At this point, I don't think I'm looking to do a return, so much as get to the bottom of what the history and story of the helmet is. It's a mystery to be solved. If it is repainted, there are a few things that don't quite add up about it now that I've had it a little while to look it over:

The paint inside the shell is not thick enough to be more than one application, so it would have had to have been stripped down first I think.

There are no tape seams.

There is clearly an age difference in the paint color that follows exactly where the liner lays in the shell, so this paint is old enough to have aged and colored differently under the liner than outside it.

Some of the rub/smear/run spots are not much more than an inch from the rim, if that, and are at all sides of the shell interior. If someone did repaint the inner shell, they would have had to have stripped the whole inside bare and painted it again. The bales match the inner shell paint too, so they would have had to have repainted those too, without getting paint on the straps as they look clean on the inside of their loops. Or those early 1917 straps would have had to have been later additions, which seems like a lot of work to me, not to mention an unlikely choice for someone doing a refurbishment. And, to go to such lengths to meticulously get these details right, only to completely slop the paint job, seems odd.

Where the liner lays along the curve of the rim, is scuffed and dirty from use. If they had repainted the shell as they would have had to in order to put paint where all the rubs and runs are, it seems like that would be fresh paint along that curve as well, and not dirty and used.

The inside of the shell is extremely musky. There's no paint oder to it whatsoever, so if smell counts, this smells old.

While smeared and unusual, the kind of refurbishment this shell would have needed to go through to be as it is, without any signs other than smears and runs, may be a bit unlikely.