Removing post-war added piece of tape from helmet?

[Danmark]

Since I've already got a thread going on this helmet and its liabilities I'll just continue on using this one.

There are two other liabilities that I'd want to have corrected; one is that the liner leather has been spun around at some point (definitely looong ago) so that the seam is now at the front... the other is that for some strange reason the metal bands that go around on the outside circumference of the actual liner has been bent over, thus causing the leather liner taking on an angular appearance with 5 straight sides to it rather than following the helmet's natural oval shape.

I just ran out of battery on my camera so I'm not able to post any photos right now but if anyone know what it'd take for me to rectify these issues anyway it'd be greatly appreciated! I know that the three rivets are what's holding the whole liner system in place but I just do not know how to take them out in the gentlest possible way... I don't want the original rivets to break or anything... help..

Show us some photos first - sometimes liners were put in the wrong way so don't correct what might be an original fitment until you get some opinions. Also, if the rivets pins look like they have been bent only once, DON'T remove them - they will never look the same untampered gentle curve as an untouched rivet.
Dan

[slados28]

Yeah, I know about the rivet tampering issue... need to charge the battery for my camera first as I do not even have the seller's shots anymore and the item has unfortunately already been deleted from his site. Having said that, do I really need to have the whole thing out to correct the bent-over band issue? (the leather having been spun around isn't really all that important)
I suppose it could have been done by the soldier for a snug fit but I have never seen this before and I'd rather lean towards the theory that this was done post-war by the vets son/by the vet himself for his son to make it more of a kid's size

[davejb]

The liners were designed to be removed without disturbing the liner pins but because of the time period involved the springs may have rusted over which makes removal very difficult, either way replacing the springs in the slots on the outer liner band is very fiddly if not sometimes impossible, therefore its easier to take the entire liner out, inner and outer bands by removing the liner pins, but again this is frowned upon, albeit i would think that the original users would revert to the latter method to replace a liner because its easier, there is a great deal of controversy over the appearance of liner pins , ie appear loose etc and whether this was done post war to replace a rotted liner etc, personally i think there is no real proof as to whether an original liner has been replaced in period or post war except if the evidence is glaringly obvious, ie repro liner in good helmet,clean liner that doesnt match the overall condition inside and out, i have removed many liners in order to re-sew the leather, restitch the felt, clean the rust from the springs etc, but i always ensure that the liner pins go back in the same holes the same way they came out in order to preserve the original asthetics of the paint and position of any corresponding marks on the pins and helmet, your best bet is to post the pictures so we can see the extent of what would be required to correct any problems, but again any re-adjusting should be carried out by someone confident in doing so, the normal rule of thumb is , if your not fully able to do the work leave well alone

[slados28]

Roger that, Dave. Thanks for the info... All I can say before being able to provide the pics needed is that the liner pins are definitely original to the helmet based on paint and wear, they do not appear to have been messed with ( although this is just my novice opinion), although they are loose (with a lot of buildup of dust underneath, so if "messed" with it must have been a looong time ago by the looks of it).
Another plus in my book in view of these "issues" is that it came directly from the vet's son - dealer - and then me, not from another collector/out of a collection.

Other than that, if special tools are not needed and the procedure is not overly complicated I feel confident in taking on the job on my own... I tend to do that with most things, carefully prepping and researching how to do it properly first of course. Anyway, I will be able to post pics shortly!

[slados28]

A few photos showing the liner, bent bands and liner pins inside and out

[davejb]

Well to my eye, the liner pin looks too flat, more like a WW1 pin , the springs have been bent backwards and i'm not sure if they are even fitted correctly in the slots, can you show the other liner pins at a side angle, i'm thinking this has been removed post war and put back wrong because they could'nt refit the springs, why remove it in the first place i dont know, why bend the springs as well ????

[bigmacglenn]

I've never seen a liner re-inserted so haphazardly...that's why it's all bent out of shape. Perhaps this was done to make it fit a child's head postwar, but this is the first time I've seen pins bent like that. Glenn

[slados28]

I've never seen a liner re-inserted so haphazardly...that's why it's all bent out of shape. Perhaps this was done to make it fit a child's head postwar, but this is the first time I've seen pins bent like that! Glenn

That was my theory as well.... judging by the obviously very old adhesive label with the name of the vets son on it and some of the marks on the shell it seems like it has been played with quite a bit.

Dave: I'll have pictures of the other pins taken asap... just looking at it right now it actually seems like the one pictured and the one in the rear are indeed flatter than the one on the left side. The paint and wear seems spot on on all three though...

[slados28]

Here's profile shots of all three pins, the last two are obviously flatter than the first... so are those ww1?

[davejb]

No , from that angle they appear to be ok, just flattened out a bit, the first picture you showed was at a funny angle which made it look completely flat, but they will be hollow inside and the actual long lengths should form part of the entire pin