M18 German stahlhelm with remnants of pads and skinstrap.
I hope this one is real and I am more confident about it. The only thing : in the book German Helmets by Jan Meland I see only M18's with white pads. What about the colour ? Is this the standard ? What about the round rondelles that are not present on the inside of the rivets ? I must admit I am colourblind (daltonism) so camouflage patterns are not evident to recognise for me).
Thanks in advance !
Hi Helmetcollector!
Its an original Bell L M18 shell manufactured by R. Lindenberg A.G., Remscheid-Hasten. All of the rivets etc check out as the correct type for this shell, however I’m not sure if the liner band has been removed at some point as the liner pin heads all appear polished and lack patina on the outside. The inside looks better and less untouched. The rivets look OK on the inside, but I’d be interested in seeing closeups.
The vent lugs also have a polished look which is not typical of a WW1 period helmet - you would expect them to have taken on a darkened patina after 100 years if untouched. You would usually expect to see chrome tanned (white) leather pads from 1917 onwards which it was hoped would last longer with in the constant dampness of the trenches but these may be an anomaly and I have certainly seen steel banded shells with brown pads. From the photos provided there appears to be very little original paint left and surface when painted should be either smooth or brush applied if a regular or reissued helmet as used by Germany during WW1. It’s quite hard to see from the photo, but the shell appears to be covered in light pitting all over or some type of textured paint or as though the surface has been cleaned with a wire brush or similar (could account for the vent lug shine) and then spray painted in a couple of colours like a splotch camo. The interior looks to have a little bit of original paint and looks less untouched than the outside by contrast. The rivets look OK on the inside, but I’d be interested in seeing closeups. Also the front pad has some black coloured material/leather? Would be interesting to see a closeup of that too.
Overall, an original shell but not in original untouched condition. Have a look at the image below as this shows how the paint on an original splotch style camo in good untouched condition should appear. I hope this photo demonstrates the difference in texture. If you are after an original untouched shell then this isn’t it and I would continue searching. Hope this helps.
Andy
Andy, yes...you helped me a lot ! Thanks for this extended description of what is original and what is not. I take some new pictures tomorrow by daylight. Indeed, the helmet seems to glossy. But sometimes you do not see or do not want to see something untill someone draws your attention to it and the picture you show me is obvious...Thanks again ! Erwin
No problem at all Erwin. The more you look at original examples the easier to spot the things that standout as being outside the regular parameters of what’s normally seen or expected. Of course, there will always be exceptions to the rule, but more often than not these exceptions tend to point to the helmet being messed with.
Andy, I think these pictures will confirm your findings...
Thanks for the additional photos Erwin. I definitively like the inside a lot more than the outside and it looks much more untouched. In the first photo there appears to be some damage around the pin, so not sure what happened there. May have been done when the liner was originally installed. And the blue material on the back of the pad looks fine. There are a lot of variation on what was used. I still think the outside looks likes it’s been sanded with something and can’t tell whether it’s paint or rust. Better to keep looking if you want an untouched example.
Here’s a link to one of my steel banded Bell L M16’s for comparison.
Named, Shrapnel damaged, Bell L M16 size 64
Andy
Thanks Andy...with the pictures of your M16, I have a reliable reference. Erwin
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