DAK Helmet

[Jason G]

OK, this is my first post, just joined up today! I bought this helmet back in 1989, in an antique shop in Gettysburg, PA. Thought I'd submit it for comment....I haven't seen too many with this paint/camo. Hopefully, the pics come thru...

Jason

I figured out how to get rid of the links and add the pics.

This one is a bit bright. The sand on the helmet is not this 'new' looking.




This one is of the decal...it's not nearly as shiny as the flash has made it out to be..




This shot isn't as shiny looking... being critical, to me, this looks almost magic marker like, but I'm just not for sure.




This is a shot of the liner. Has, in a circle, "65" on the left tongue. (The one near the top of the pic)




A close up of the liner.



Thanks for the looksee, guys. I paid about 80 bucks for this, but I have my doubts about the camo after reading the forum for the past few months.

Jason

[Skullhead]

Shell looks original, liner is a post war Norwegian reissue. Exterior paint doesn't appear to be original at all.

[ROBB]

Unfortunately you have a total fabrication ,Rob.

[Jason G]

Dang. Ah, well. I always suspected as much...sometimes, when you've had a piece for a long time, you really don't want to know the truth, even though your instincts are telling you otherwise. I got this early in my collecting career, WWII German wise, so I don't feel too much like an idiot. Is it worthwhile to try and do anything with the shell?
Jason

[KoCook]

Sorry, but most wouldn't even post on this one,
palm tree swaz

[Perry Floyd]

Jason the liner looks like it's a legit WWII German issued liner that was reissued after the war to Norway, reason for the Norwegian size stamp.
Norwegian born liners are dyed with a noticable red shade. Many (like this one I feel) was a original WWII German liner that was reused.
Jason is the helmet a SE M40 or a M35?

[Jason G]

Perry: Thanks. I believe it's an M35. The liner goes more brown than red. Thanks to everyone for putting me right on this one; now I'm trying to determine if I'm going to give it to my 5 year old son (he's got my old USMC Kevlar, and a CVC already) for display...or just hide it forever! (I don't resell fakes no matter how much I've lost on em...don't want to stick someone else).

Jason

[Perry Floyd]

Well the inside looks to still have it's original early color. Your only options are to try and strip it and see if you can break through the postwar DAK paint and through the Norwegian issue paint, give it to your kids to play with or resell it for what it is.

[Ty Smith]

Interesting helmet, Strange how that helmet survived the war with it's early 1931 liner and was later reissued to Norway. Don't see liners like that as frequently.

[SgtB]

Beware of many of the dealers in G-burg, Jason. Not all of the
crap floating around there is 'civil war' junk. On the other hand,
I've gotten some real gems there over the years.

[JohnB]

Jason, The helmet you posted has nominal value, i.e. the value of the liner and shell may still be worth $100 or more. Perry has given you good advice, maybe the bad AK paint should be stripped off. It really depends on what you paid for it in 1989.
John

[Jason G]

Thanks all, for the help. Shame about someone messing with this. BTW, I stopped buying ANY German stuff after getting burned around 1990....and that dealer (wish I could remember his name) is long gone (Of course). I've just recently started looking over stuff I have, and getting quality vs. "I gotta have this, it's soooo cool" stuff. I'll be posting some more of my "Hmmmmm" stuff later. (In the process of moving right now, so half of what I have is packed and stored already). John, The paint is covered in sand; I'd be curious as to suggestions on how to strip this. Haven't made up my mind yet on it. (I paid 80 bucks for it back in '89).

Jason

[gefreiter]

Jason,

Don't feel too bad things like this happen. When I was a kid in Germany (Army Dad) I came home with about 20 German WW2 pieces, only about 50% of which were original. And that was the 1980's. As Perry said, nice early paint I would try and strip the old paint and see what you have. First try the edge of a credit card to see what comes off. If nothing I would try conventional paint stripper, have lots of rags, apply to a small area and leave for five minutes and then rub off. Repeat as often as necessary (as in the old Polish sex manuals, ha ha). Might want to have regular rubbing alchohol around too. Original paint is lacquer based and should not be touched by regular paint stripper. I would leave the decal areas for last as there might be a remnant there which would add a little value (this would not have been as exciting back in the late 80's as an "Afrika Korps" helmet). I have cleaned up repainted helmets using stripper and it has not affected the original paint. This MAY strip any original decal remnants though, BEFORE I did anything I would get input from more knowledgable collectors here on the forum. Even as is I would consider this more than a $100 helmet, strip that shell and with any original paint left it would add even more.

Brian

[Jason G]

Brian: Thanks!!! This will be a good spring project for me, then. I think I'll give that a try. Thankfully, I'm gettin smarter as I get older...I hope!

Jason