Helmet covers ..........good and bad

[DougB]

Well now.

There has been many covers pushed as real that are not.

Now we shall begin to EXPOSE fake covers and tell the stories related to the fake covers.

This is deep.

.....

Now we shall begin.


Dr ,

you are UP .

owen

Owen, hit them hard. You've got my full support and attention.
Cheers
Doug

[Francesco]

Here are KammoMan only one (?) camo cover and camo cap.
I have enlarged the pics so you all can notice that they are made by
SAME hands,with SAME camo/pattern cloth,with exactly SAME cloth condition,SAME thread and SAME machine sewn.
You all can get your own conclusions.
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[Francesco]

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[Francesco]

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[Francesco]

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[Francesco]

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[Francesco]

.....and still,from beaver book.
Note the irregular double row in this cover.You can find many more original with this same feature out ther.

[Francesco]

Still about irregular double row,n160,that own 50+machine sewn and did many repro helmet cover,as tailor make a good and technique explanation:

Roy, that's what I thought at first, but look on the brown side. Two rows. There's no way to do that with a single needle. I think the material puckered going through the folder- but it didn't spit out.

As for a zig-zag, you are thinking of a serger. There are two kinds of double needles- lock and chainstitch. Chain looks like a chain one side and normal sitches on the other. Lock is "normal" stitches.
If you tried to imitate it with a single needle you'd have two rows on one side and three on the other.

[Fritz]

Here are KammoMan only one (?) camo cover and camo cap.
I have enlarged the pics so you all can notice that they are made by
SAME hands,with SAME camo/pattern cloth,with exactly SAME cloth condition,SAME thread and SAME machine sewn.
You all can get your own conclusions.
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I am sorry, Francesco, but IMO that attitude won't help it.

See the different shades of green in cap vs. cover, see the different depth of the overprint, which is weaker on the cap. Note the misprint on the cap's oakleaf background.

And, last but not least, although the list could be extended, note that a very real double needle machine was used to make that cover.

Cheers

[Fritz]

Still about irregular double row,n160,that own 50+machine sewn and did many repro helmet cover,as tailor make a good and technique explanation:

IMO he is wrong in assuming that this is a genuine double needle seam.

Cheers

[Fritz]

.....and still,from beaver book.
Note the irregular double row in this cover.You can find many more original with this same feature out ther.

These are regular single needle seams, so that is all ok.

I am not really sure you know the difference between double and single needle seams and what they should look like? I will try to explain if desired.

In case you are aware of the differences you should have a second look.

Cheers

[Fritz]

Francesco,
I don't mean to harass you with double posting my posts but the fact that we have various threads now dealing with the same topic is not really helpful.

So, sorry for the fact that I am posting the same here and in other threads.

[Francesco]

These are regular single needle seams, so that is all ok.

You are right Fritz......my mistake.
If I'll post more I will go on only one thread.I'm too confused now.

[Daniel.S]

Fakers exposed?..sorry but what was the meaning of this thread? i cant see anything about some fakers exposed.

Daniel.

[salt*creek]

Owen,
I don't usually comment here, but I have
Your back!
I've owned and held a lot of real SS helmet covers.
I've made quite a few from ruined zeltbahns and
Sold them to reenactors since 1988.
Fakes are always easy to see. I think it's
Strange that today we see a lot of them offered
For sale.
The fact is that the SS helmet cover is
One of the rarest pieces of SS camo to find. They
Made millions of them, but they just don't show
Up very often. I once had a U.S. vet tell me that
They weren't interesting and they took them
Off the helmet and threw them away.
I've seen 10 real smocks to every one helmet
Cover in my life.
I had a chance to see about 6 real ones at
Steve Wolfes place about 1995 that he bought
From Jerome Blake.
The ones that you are showing and I have seen
For sale lately are real good copies, but FAKE!
First of all, the hooks look like they are sanded
Down around the edges to give them age. Second,
The sewing is too consistent and perfect compared to
All the real ones I've seen.Finally, that extra
piece sewn across the front is really strange.
Every real helmet cover I've seen that has that
Reinforcement, has it made from another kind
Of fabric. I've seen about 6-8 of these for sale
In the last year!
It's my opinion that that strip of material is a REPAIR
And not the original design if the cover. Helmets will
Rip the front if a cover even on your shelf.
Rayon, cotton, web, sateen..I've seen it all on that
Strip of fabric, but having it made that way, with
Matching camo? I haven't seen it very often.
Clips? Well, Mike Beaver gave me some that
We're painted black. Lately I've seen some in zinc.
We all like the plumb colored ones that nobody
Has been able to reproduce, but these new ones
Look good. If you look close, they have been sanded
Down with really fine sandpaper to "age" them.

Anyway....my opinion