M35 chicken wire Luftwaffe helmet

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

i would like to compare the study of camo and wire helmets to the same problem i face almost everyday when i try to study volunteer militaria- it is "homemade" alterations you are looking at and trying to judge. So if you have just a fragment of doubt, it can be your gut feeling is right.

And dont worry, there are always something else to be found to fuel your addiciton if you are not certain of autencity of the item. After all remember how quickly your new helmet will feel very sour if you have to live with this "is-this-real" feeling for the rest of the time you have it in your collection. (and you are to blame if you resell it and it turns out to be a post45 creation)

there is a cheap way to study metal wear if you are interested in diving into the details- (yeees i will share my personal eccentric way of study age)

go to a antiques store, ask for (at least) 10 different size metalobjects from 1920- 1950. (no later) study the details, study the wear. The traces of abuse, -ordinary wear should be there.

70 years of touching, polishing, fat from fingers that turns into rust, one million small scrathes that turns into traces of time.

Now after you have studied this signs of time, use this to study helmets. Dont think of the helmet as an precious object- it is a lid- and has been made for abuse- now do you see the signs, do you see the soul of time has marked the helmet, or is it made 20 years ago in a polish cellar??!
Are these marks here on the outside of the wire, under the helmet where the wire has been under constant pressure of the edge of the helmet.

The devil is in the details.....

(made 2 centavos worth)

bang on! Leon.

[SteveR]

I tend to agree with the comments. Question, there is a 30 day no question asked 100% refund policy, do I buy the helmet take better pictures and post for review? I can not lose except for the 25usd shipping cost.

I wouldn't pay $1500.00 to find out if it is real or not.
I don't think the chicken wire is original to the helmet.

[Wagriff]

The wire is almost certainly post-war applied...

[MAP]

....do you see the soul of time .....

Awesome saying!

[Tank Destroyer]

Thanks for all the comments,TK did hit on a concern if I did buy it I would always have doubt if the helmet was real and everyone seems to have the same concerns.
Marty

[Glenn66]

Can I add that the wire is very tight to the shell. As the purpose of the wire is to insert various items of foliage into it the wire should necessarily have space within which to insert said foliage.

This is a common mistake the 'upgraders' of wire lids make and unfortunately, I fear the same has occurred with this example.