As all experienced collectors know, when in doubt as whether or not to make repairs on artifacts, it's usually better to leave it original. However, in doing so, parts of the artifact can be damaged or lost if action isn't taken.
I bought this SA kepi recently, and the sweatband was not only torn in several places, but was also torn along the area where it was stitched to the cap. At least 1/3 of the sweatband was HANGING OUT OF THE CAP, and it was only a matter of time before it fell out completely. This is very common, and often, there's no leather left to sew back onto the cap without being very noticable. Just cut a small square of cotton khaki cloth small enough to hide behind the sweatband. Using a small amount of carpenter's wood glue, just spread a very light coat of glue on the entire square. When the glue is tacky, with a pair of tweezers, place the cotton square behing the tear, and press the sweatband against it. It will dry overnight, and the 2 pieces will be joined. The sweatbands on these caps are often so brittle, you really can't pull up the sweatband anyway, so you'll never see the repair. Purists may disagree with such repairs, but as a collector, I'd much rather still have the sweatband intact with a few repairs than have 1/2 of it missing. The areas I'm showing have all been repaired this way. The "forehead" area of the sweatband was cracked because someone put the front button on with a typical brownshirt button ring, and it messed up that area. I replaced it with an appropriate "sunwheel" type button fastener. pS: This type of white carpenter's wood glue dries clear, and is excellent for tiny repairs where thread cannot be used.
I bought this SA kepi recently, and the sweatband was not only torn in several places, but was also torn along the area where it was stitched to the cap. At least 1/3 of the sweatband was HANGING OUT OF THE CAP, and it was only a matter of time before it fell out completely. This is very common, and often, there's no leather left to sew back onto the cap without being very noticable. Just cut a small square of cotton khaki cloth small enough to hide behind the sweatband. Using a small amount of carpenter's wood glue, just spread a very light coat of glue on the entire square. When the glue is tacky, with a pair of tweezers, place the cotton square behing the tear, and press the sweatband against it. It will dry overnight, and the 2 pieces will be joined. The sweatbands on these caps are often so brittle, you really can't pull up the sweatband anyway, so you'll never see the repair. Purists may disagree with such repairs, but as a collector, I'd much rather still have the sweatband intact with a few repairs than have 1/2 of it missing. The areas I'm showing have all been repaired this way. The "forehead" area of the sweatband was cracked because someone put the front button on with a typical brownshirt button ring, and it messed up that area. I replaced it with an appropriate "sunwheel" type button fastener. pS: This type of white carpenter's wood glue dries clear, and is excellent for tiny repairs where thread cannot be used.
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