Black Cap

[DrCMH]

Wise observations, but I would ask my colleagues whether we are enjoined to point out all the errors in this case, since our work enables exactly this kind of better fake.
I try to refrain from total disclosure of all details, since I am very sure that our pictures and our little essays have improved fakes greatly.
Dr CMH is a fine collector and a gentle colleague, whom I esteem highly.
The beginner should be very careful with such black SS peaked caps.

Thank you, FB. Your point is quite correct, I was attempting to be descriptive and vague at the same time. The information I posted is, from what I understand, of a "declassified" nature as I certainly would not want to empower those that prey upon the collecting community with information not already publicly divulged. There was a thread not long ago concerning a bad tunic which received many replies reminiscent of other fora and a moderator correctly reminded us that the forum requires some substatiation of the opinions. It is a fne line to walk, I hope I did not do any unintended damage.

Any success I have had in collecting has been a direct result of the efforts of people such as FB and Bob Coleman.

Regards,

CMH

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Thank you, FB. Your point is quite correct, I was attempting to be descriptive and vague at the same time. The information I posted is, from what I understand, of a "declassified" nature as I certainly would not want to empower those that prey upon the collecting community with information not already publicly divulged. There was a thread not long ago concerning a bad tunic which received many replies reminiscent of other fora and a moderator correctly reminded us that the forum requires some substatiation of the opinions. It is a fne line to walk, I hope I did not do any unintended damage.

Any success I have had in collecting has been a direct result of the efforts of people such as FB and Bob Coleman.

Regards,

CMH

Thank you for your reply. You always do our cause much good and add much value to our work.
However, I vote for more restraint in all of this, as this item is better than the fake of a year ago....
There must be a direct, causal relationship, or I am over inflating the role of this site and others....
Thank you.

[carlsson1982]

I am very surprised by the outcome of this cap, I thought It could be a one looker, but looks can be deceiving. The insignia are indeed vey nice originals.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Truth be told, it looks like two different caps to me. The exterior is more or less perfect, but the interior is of a well made fake. In any case, the key is to
get the thing in hand and inspect it.

- - ------- - -

I find all these electric pictures a huge goat rope, and there is only one way to tell the reality, and that's to paw at the thing in real life.

[DougB]

I am very surprised by the outcome of this cap, I thought It could be a one looker, but looks can be deceiving. The insignia are indeed vey nice originals.

The use of real insignia is part and parcel of the methods used in the creation of the believable but still fraudulent black caps.

As well, it is my understanding that the art of forging Deschler totenkopf and certain Adler's has reached the point where an in hand inspection is required and only from the reverse can one tell with certainty.

[BOB COLEMAN]

The use of real insignia is part and parcel of the methods used in the creation of the believable but still fraudulent black caps.

As well, it is my understanding that the art of forging Deschler totenkopf and certain Adler's has reached the point where an in hand inspection is required and only from the reverse can one tell with certainty.

A sad statement of the reality of collecting. The forums help the collector but they also aid the producers of fakes. Pictures can only tell so much. This is the main reason a collector needs to self educate himself by taking the opportunity whenever available to handle and closely examine period original examples.

[DougB]

Well said Bob.

And while I perfectly understand the frustration of collectors who want to login and gain education only to read that certain details will not and can not be made public the sad reality is that the frauds and fakers walk among us here, and every forum.

The investment by a serious student of this hobby must be made not only in the study of books and the reading of forums, but the networking with collectors who own the real artifacts and the personal handling of the real artifacts through visitation or outright purchase.

It is just the way one gains the correct education and confidence to make these critical decisions. I for one am indebted to many members here in this forum and specific thread for tier contributions to my collecting education and am far from possessing expertise as has been displayed in this thread by my colleagues on the art of the black cap, however I can walk alone in a field of SS helmets and pick the good from bad with relative ease.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

The point of knowledge is its distribution in order to secure more knowledge.
As one who is confronted endlessly with the mania for secrecy, classification, etc. in a world gone made, far be it from me to want to hold things back, but I am convinced that we aid the faker
and that is a shame. And the beginning collector suffers as a result, which troubles me a great deal.
Thanks to Mr. Doug B for what he has shared about these helmets, too.
I am half convinced that the cap here is actually two caps--the kind of deception that is the norm in our world.
How droll. Finally, the statement that one has to examine real material via networking and some effort other than point-and-click causes some discomfort and unease
to those either too lazy or otherwise socially unable to gain this very knowledge through the conventional modus. Those who are passive in their ambition and who have a sense of entitlement that you and I will do all the work for them are those who are damned to failure.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Black hats and insanity.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Clauswitz said it best: a.) chronology; b.) cause and effect; and c.) judgment. That, the first thing we struggle to know is the when; then we try to see how one thing causes another and its results levied against the "when"; finally, we struggle to assess what it all means, if anything. No small order around here each day, of that you can be certain.