Reichswehr/Early Heer General's Visor Cap - The Final Product

[DonC]

Once in a while, when you bend over, you do get a kiss...

All, I have another thread on the Headgear forum about the restoration of this cap, which I received with a detached visor, 1/3 of the sweatband loose and the wrong eagle, cockade and chinstrap. Thanks to the kindness of member Kurt, I obtained the proper eagle and a low-profile cockade. The chinstrap on it now is original but of later vintage than the cap, so if anyone has an earlier one that would want to swap for, I am all ears. Anyhow, here's the finished product.

Total time in the restoration was about twelve man hours - the worst part was a former doof owner tried to re-glue the visor to the cap, which caused the tear in the sweatband. Getting the glue residue off was a chore, but luckily, the majority came off and the sweat band is still nice and pliable save for one spot of glue residue that was too stubborn for me.

It's a size 58 or 59 - it fits my melon head.

I would appreciate some of our cap experts taking a look at it and give their honest opinions - I am especially interested in how early the cap may be.

As always, any comments appreciated.

Don

[DonC]

A

[DonC]

B

[DonC]

I don't know if these are initials inside the sweatband or what:

[DonC]

Some more under the hood:

[DonC]

C

[Kreager]

Looks like you did a great job Don

Matt

[turbopanzer]

hi

Hi Don
Great work

turbo

[ErichK]

Kudos for a job well done!

[Karl S.]

Yes, well done.

[stonemint]

Don, the hat would have to date to 1933 at the earliest. Prior to that date, it would have had the Weimar cockade, which is more oval, and would have left a mark. Prior to the adoption of the Adler the Reichsheer used a cockade, but I do not see a hint of one of those, either. As you know, the M-34 RH eagle was adopted in February 1934. Therefore, this hat would date to the 1933-34 period.

Magnificent restoration job.....

[NTZ]

Don you did good. Based on the under the hood shots this is no rebuild. A good 100% early generals.

[DonC]

Thanks, all. I was more than a little nervous before I bought the cap until I got it in hand - it was pretty much a one-looker in person. I was fortunate that the restoration was pretty straightforward - the glue residue was the tough part as it had gotten on the underside of the visor and clogged the thread holes on about half of it. I have some very small-diameter drill bits I use for modeling and they came in really handy in getting the glue out without widening the holes. The stitching was not exactly a breeze, but taking my time paid big dividends.

Don

[BenVK]

You did a great job Don, it sure is a nice feeling after all the hours of hard work is completed isn't it. Taking your time is the key to a good job but it seems endless. How's your finger tips? bit sore?

Glue on caps is an absolute bitch to remove so please guys, DON'T DO IT!!

[DonC]

You don't want to know how many times I ran that damned needle into my fingers, Ben. I used a pair of long-nosed pliers to work the needle through where I could, but sometimes I just had to suck it up!

Don