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David, thank you. I appreciate the compliment. I like the way it turned out.

Thank you. I didn't straighten the spike yet; I have to fashion my spike straightening jig, but I'll post pictures once I do.

I recently picked up this pickelhaube spike. Upon further investigation, I discovered what looked different about it: it's shorter than a standard model 1915 removable spike. It fits perfectly on a spike base, but is slightly shorter than a standard spike. The brown paint looks really old as...

I'm at 95% with this restoration. I got the silver paint off the shell and the gold paint off the spike, base, and wappen, and the patina and original finish look beautiful. The cockades are reproduction as is the chinstrap, but I had the chinstrap made with original metal hardware buy a guy...

I wanted to add that this helmet came with what appears to be one original Reichs kokarde and an M91 chinstrap loop. All helmets look much better with the application of either Auto Sol metal polish, or Renaissance Wax polish. Both really bring out the original beauty while protecting the...

I've posted some of these pictures to other threads, but this is my first dedicated thread for this helmet. When I first bought this metalhelm, it was painted silver, and the spike, base, and wappen were painted a dull, flat gold color. I spent a lot of time with the dremel wire brush, and...

Brian, as always, I appreciate your experienced eye when it comes to these pickelhauben. With this one, we did, unfortunately, pay more than we should have. I'm glad to have my suspicions confirmed, as it didn't look as suspicious in the shop in Germany; I'm not sure why... jetlag maybe... but...

This JzP will be an interesting challenge. There is what appears to be tan speckled overspray on the original exterior finish of this metalhelm. I'll try some light paint remover in a small, obscure area, and take it from there. Additionally, the spike locking ring is separated from the...

As you can see, I need to finish removing the silver paint from the spike.

This is a JzP by Helbing and Sackewitz dated 1916 I recently acquired. These are my before photos. As you can see, there's a lot of surface rust that needed dealt with, someone put silver paint on the wappen and spike at some point in the last 107 years. I'm almost done with my restoration...

I picked this helmet up in Rothenburg ob der Tauber this past Christmas eve. I appreciate your thoughts on it.

Very nice looking medal bar, and even better with the provenance!

Very nice haul of helmets and accessories! I've been delinquent, and have pictures to post of new acquisitions. MTF.

Bryan, I appreciate your clarification. I'm going to see about making myself a couple of pieces of "spike straightener", along with a dowel that will fit in the base of the spike for leverage, then I'll see about using my uncle's vice since I don't have one.

I found this and thought it was worth reposting, in order to keep it current since it's almost 20 years old. Not saying any improvements need to be made; just wanted to keep it in a current format for people who may have questions.

I agree with Brian; that is a great diagram. I was discussing this with my uncle, and he was wondering if something solid shouldn't be put into the spike to ensure it keeps its form. I notice the "soft wood" between the sides of the steel vice and the spike. Is this like a pine vs. walnut...

Bryan, thank you for the clarification. I apologize for the misunderstanding on my part. I'll need a piece to fit in the cone of the spike to stabilize the spike while it is clamped using shaped pieces of wood and a vice, and a separate piece to fit into the straight tube shaft, in order to...

Bryan, Thank you for this description of how you straightened your spike. I fully understand, and plan to execute everything up through making the dowel the proper shape for the inside of the spike. After that, I don't see how to brace the spike to use the dowel to straighten the spike. I...

Here's a post I brought over from the Pickelhaubes section of this website. It's from a seventeen year old post, and I thought I'd bring it up here. It gives a pretty thorough list of helmet makers in Germany from the WW1 era. I'm familiar with Otto Nachtigall, Schultz & Holdefleiss, and C.E...

Did some work today. Got some paint off the exterior of the shell. One of the thing that strikes me about this shell is the lack of dents and dings. Despite someone painting this helmet silver, and the fittings a dull golden color, and chopping out the liner, there really aren't any dents or...