First relic helmet

[evan9201]

I bought this "British helmet" off of ebay. The helmet cost me $28 shipped so I am not going to be mad if it turns out not to be British after all. The liner is in OK shape. It has this weird decal showing though the paint as shown in the pictures. Do you think I should try to clean up the liner with some saddle soap or let it be? I use pecard antique leather dressing for my old rifle slings and it works wonders.

Evan

[emileverbunt]

Hello Evan,

Nice lid! I think this is a British MkI*. A WW1 helmet that has been brought up to WW2 standards before the second world war.

They replaced the liner, the chinstrap posts, the top screw and the chinstrap as as well.

The MkII has a more oval shape.

The decal is not known to me. A collector of Brit helmets could shed more light on this, I believe.

I would leave the liner and the shell alone. Don't clean it. The looks are good enough!

Cheers,
Emile

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Even, the painted insignia I do not recognise. There are hundreds of these which are not documented.

Do not put nothing on the liner. It is not leather!

This is a great buy I think.

Cheers, Ade.

[evan9201]

Good so it is a British helmet. It was a very good buy. As you can see most of the edge protector is gone.

[evan9201]

I forgot to ask, If the liner is not leather then what kind of material is it?

[Adrian Stevenson]

It is an oil cloth type material. If it is very dirty a wipe over with a damp cloth would suffice.

Cheers, Ade.

[Panzer 3]

Hi evan,
Nice honest helmet, good to see it back in a British collection agiain.
Pitty someone has rubbed to decal but it hasnt harmed it,
As Ade says the liner is made of an oil cloth, commonly known as Rexene, if you look on one of the liner arms you will find a date stamp ie, 1941 ect and the makers mark.
dave.

[Dimas]

You must leave the liner as is, due of it's immediately lost the collectors value after cleaning. As a lot of collectors destroy the original saltiness+age dust and staining with easily washing the items, with words- I keep it to my collection and due of that I want only clean and excellent condition items.
I prefer original dust inside of the liners etc, and still keep it as is

[evan9201]

I have not touched the liner because its not that dirty. It reads 1930 something on one of the chinstrap hangers. I cannot read the date because the paint has blotted it out.