M42 Chicken Wire original?

[Den]

What's your opinion on this one? A M42 ND with chickenwire. It looks good to me but I do not have a lot of experience on chickenwires It is on Ebay..

M42


Kind Regards,
Dennis

[Tom Kibler]

What's your opinion on this one? A M42 ND with chickenwire. It looks good to me but I do not have a lot of experience on chickenwires It is on Ebay..

M42


Kind Regards,
Dennis

[FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]

Does it scream "ONE LOOKER" at you? Those are the ones you should hunt for.

[Willi Z.]

Helmet no longer listed.....could be a good thing or a bad thing.

WZ

[TOMGREEN]

Den,

It is under this number now....2193449655

[Den]

Thanks Tom! Here is the link to make things easier

M42 Helmet with Chickenwire.


What is every ones opinion about this one?

Cheers,
Dennis

[Wood]

Is the wire usually this thin?

[Bob Lusk]

Hi Dennis
I like the helmet. The wire looks right,.. the paint under the wire looks right. Better pics would be nice though. Also I'm not sure what his terms are, but a inspection/return period would be good too.

Best regards,
Bob Lusk
www.wartreasure.com

[Den]

I liked the helmet also. But I'm still suspicious about wire-helmets.. I don't have much experience with them ..
I asked for more and better pictures, I will post them if I get them.. Strange there is no reserve price

Kind Regards,
Dennis

[Den]

I got some pics.. Here they are..

[Den]

And the steel clips

Cheers,
Dennis

[JohnB]

chicken wire

Gents,
I don't think the wire on this helmet has a chance of being 60 years old. There seems to be no impression by the wire on the shell whatsoever. I would stay away.
John

And the steel clips

Cheers,
Dennis

[Willi Z.]

Based on the photos, I agree with John. It just doesn't have the "right look". Wire on a helmet for the last 60 yrs looks different. Hard to put it into words. Though half baskets can be loose and sloppy, the main wire and hooks don't have the "been there forever look" either.

Here is a close-up of a classic era chicken wire. Note how detailed the wire is. The twists, the galvanized finish and how tight the twists are. Though wire can come in numerous variations, the good stuff always talks to you. In this case the wire on top slapped, and left some damage, on the camo paintwork.

Willi

[Bob Lusk]

Gents,
I don't think the wire on this helmet has a chance of being 60 years old. There seems to be no impression by the wire on the shell whatsoever. I would stay away.
John

Hi John
I respectfully disagree. Although under the lip where the larger bailing wire meets the helmet, isnt EXACTLY what I wanted to see, I still think the wire is period original based on what I perceive to be a nice black patina (with no rust).

Additonally the paint under the wire appears to be nicely oxidized and aged the way I would expect. I have a DD luft with chicken wire and far less oxidizing under the wire than this one. I could be wrong, but from what I see, I still like it.

Dennis,
there certainly are other CW helmets that scream "original" louder than this one. Disagreement here is an indicator for you to be be "suspect" of it. If you take a chance on it, make sure you get a inspection/return. If after in-hand inspection, you feel uneasy about it, you can return it.

[APC]

A Little Common Sense

I don`t mean to butt in and I`m not an expert on German helmets or chickens for that matter, but I must say in light of the endless supply of similar looking EBay Chicken Wire Helmets that I really doubt the average Soldats or SS Grenadiers spent that much time with needle nose pliers and wire cutters making precise to the 1/4 inch elongated wire octagons on his lid for leaves and branches.

Especially in 1944, and most especially in Normandy.

Also, FWIW after 4 years with EBay, I think 80% of WW II Third Reich items on EBay are fakes to the Max, and I really hate to see good people waste their $$$ on that.

[Bob Lusk]

Hi Willi
great looking wire. Can we see the whole helmet?

APC,
You are no doubt right about fakes on eBay. I still like this helmet though. If it sells for less than $200 as it appears, then whoever gets it will have gotten an great bargain IMO as I still think this lid and wire are good and worth maybe twice as much or more.

Still no indication whether the seller offers an inspection period as that would be the only way I would buy ANY helmet.