Our New Addition - Dutch M-34

[Greg Pickersgill]

CM = Centraal Magazijn, inspection stamp of the issuing arsenal. That handwritten name has a very period flavour - the sort of handwriting that was taught then but has mostly fallen out of favour or even use now.

[Greg Pickersgill]

100 dollars for that, AND you have an excellent KNIL - Wow, you are going to all the right places. Either of those helmets would be a rare sight at any militaria sale in the UK, and would have much higher prices. Even out of the Netherlands they are selling for a lot more than 100 USD equivalent for that condition. The black-painted examples (without badge) from the Occupation period are somewhat more common and a little cheaper, but if you want the Real Thing then its raiding the savings. If you have any.

[MySonsDad]

Yes I agree Greg, I've been watching M34's on Ebay and other sites for the past couple of years just waiting for that "bargan" to come buy, wanted one with original paint etc. Seems the best deals were $150 on up plus you had to slap on another 25-30 for shipping, so yea, I think I did OK

As for the KNIL, that was a compelete fluke. My son and I hit this little militaria swap meet once per month, not much in the way of WWII period stuff or helmets but this guy had this thing stuffed in a box. Was not 100% sure it was a KNIL at the time but was pretty sure it was Dutch because of the neck protector. He thought it was Romanian and just wanted to get ride of it, he said $20 (or maybe it was $30) and I couldn't get my wallet out fast enough.

[magicdutchmen]

Super nice helmets, congrats!

[gerrit]

Always great to see a M34 helmet
Nice condition too, ive had a few but that aint so hard, im Dutch

Cheers,
Ger

[Gunny Hartmann]

Great lid!...

[Jerry B]

Cool lid Russ & son. I have the post war relinered version same as Rene showed.

[James C]

great to hear from you and the kid russ and a really great addition to your collection ,she's a lovely example and in superb condition ,i really know nothing about these except i believe the national lion insignia is made from bronze , is the buckle on the liner for head size adjustment oh and does it clear the wearers head if your anything like me i would of tryed it on by now ,regards james

[MySonsDad]

is the buckle on the liner for head size adjustment oh and does it clear the wearers head if your anything like me i would of tryed it on by now ,regards james

Hello James, I am pleased that you enjoyed our new addition. The photo does not show the back of the liner correctly. The leather piece with the strap actually folds out and is more like a nape strap on the later M-1 helmets, the buckle will adjust how tight the nape piece pulls into the nape of the neck and holds the helmet in place. I'll try and take a more detailed photo later and post.

Regards,

Russ

[magicdutchmen]

Talking about that liner adjustment strap. I was told it was better to loosen them up completely to relieve the tension on the liner. That's what I'm doing with all my helmets.