Japanese Helmet star

[Dan-K]

I have a problem with a helmet i recently sold. The buyer says that the star is a replacement as the prongs are squared and not rounded. Is this 100% true of all known examples or are there any period known examples with squared prongs ?

[Paul G]

I am pretty new to Japanese helmets, just a couple of years. I have done a bit of searching myself and have found the following: Original IJA stars have rounded prong ends, Original IJN anchors have squared prong ends. Repo stars can have squared end and rounded ends, most commonly squared. I have 2 IJA helmet stars, that appear correct in every way, except they have squared prong ends. They are pretty old and show good legitimate age, but they were deemed repo! This is just my experience, others may know alot more.

PG-

[Jareth]

more important that paint on star matches paint on shell. Also check indentations made by prongs on leather liner band. They should match