1970 US Army MacGregor Tanker's Helmet

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Conservation

Readers of this blog frequently email with questions about the cleaning and restoration of helmets.  I don't really think that anything can be restored, entropy being what it is, however nearly anything can be conserved.

"Restoration" makes me think of Norma Desmond:

Yikes!

"Conservation",  on the other hand, allows one to grow old gracefully; a conserved helmet will always be able to say "I'm ready for my close-up Mr. Demille."

This post shares some things I learned from twenty years in museum work.



(Me with Custer's shoulder strap 
and Lee's sash, both in the 
holdings of the Public Museum
 of Grand Rapids Michigan)

The old curator sez:

Conservation means stopping the agents of deterioration from further degrading the object, and, protecting the object from future degradation.

Active rust, grime, and mold are three things that can degrade or damage a helmet.  Those conditions need to be halted to prevent further deterioration of that helmet.

The greatest tools in conservation are:
1. a rough towel
2. a little warm water
3. an eraser
4. a soft toothbrush
5. a dehumidifier

and...

6. a very light touch.

I qualify this whole discussion with the knowledge that one can do anything that one wishes with an object that one owns - cover it with sequins if that's what tickles the fancy; hey, its your helmet, not mine.    But if one wishes to take a more measured approach here are some things to consider.

Rust:
Set aside a cast-off towel to be used for cleaning your helmets.  A rough toweling will remove 60% of the crud that's eating your helmet.  The soft tooth brush will remove most rust scale, and for removing very surface rust a pencil eraser can be very effective.

Grime:
Warm water, with a drop or two of dish detergent used in combination with that towel (moist only) will work wonders in removing grime, here's where patience and a light persistent touch will remove detrimental material but not compromise the object or its finish.

Mold:
Mildew and active mold blooms are very frustrating as once they establish a beach head in leather it is usually there for the duration.  The impulse is usually to hit it hard with bleach or some equally noxious fluid to kill the mold and the spores, but all that will do is damage the leather and lead to its quick demise.  Leather "treatments" merely lock in the spores which can remain dormant for many years only to erupt later.  The best thing with mold is to towel or brush the visible mold from the surface and plug in the dehumidifier - forever.  Once the environment dries out the mold will stop growing; if the environment getshumid again the mold will reappear, much to the regret of the collector.  My dehumidifier runs every day and my helmets are much healthier for it.


Meet Meis van der Rohe

He would have made a great helmet conservator with his "less is more" philosophy; maybe that's why "conservative" and "conservation" have the same root.  The idea is simply to retard or stop the further degradation of the object.















This brings us to the last step, especially in the prevention of further rust.  Micro crystalline wax is a staple among museum conservators, it provides a protective (and reversible) coating on metal to keep it from rusting further.  The pits caused by rust cannot be filled in, but the offending oxidation can be removed and the wax can be applied to prevent rust from becoming active again.

Gaylord Inc. carries a full range of museum and library conservation supplies and they are an industry standard in the museum world.

Conservation; an example:

In Gettysburg PA I picked up a MacGregor football-style tanker's helmet which was in need of some TLC.  At 34 bucks the price was right even though the lid was looking a little shabby.  An hour of work with the materials listed above proved that there was a pretty nice helmet lurking just below all of the surface crud.

I love "before" and "after" shots, so kindly indulge me.

This is one of the rusty and crusty liner fasteners on the helmet as purchased

A pencil eraser was brought to bear to remove the worst of it:

 Here's the inner padding half-way through cleaning with a damp towel:

that same towel was brought to bear on the upper lining which was very grimy

Moments later, this appeared:

The earphone bushing had some light oxidation and rust. Some serious wielding of an eraser produced nice results.

Much better.

Here's the lid before cleaning and application of the micro crystalline wax:

And here is the "after" shot

The whole process took no more than a very pleasant hour sitting in my shop listening to the radio and drinking a soda.  What I'm left with is a pretty respectable addition to the collection...

A MacGregor Armored Vehicle Crewman helmet from 1970.

 

The US Army fiddled around with civilian football helmets since the Second World War and this version of an olive drab "Mister Touchdown" lid appeared, if only briefly,

 during the Vietnam War.

Wilson, Riddell, and MacGregor helmets saw service as paratrooper and tanker helmets in an interim capacity. This lid was the lightweight stop-gap on the long road to the US CVC helmet which I blogged about in 2008 (go here).

This is a just standard football helmet fitted with earphones  and a  boom microphone and chinstrap.

("sis-boom-bah" mic?)

On this specimen only the mounting holes and studs remain,

 

though the earphones are still intact and in place.

Markings consist only of this interior label and...

this very civilian label on what is, after all, just a football helmet in G.I. livery.

At 34 dollars and a little elbow grease, its a very nice addition to the collection.

Conserved and among friends.

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Royal Dutch Army M.53 steel helmet

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 Dutch treat II 
 

 

"Haven't I met you somewhere before?"

Ruggedly handsome, straightforward and reliable, the American M1 helmet design 

is a lot like Don Draper

 

The design was adopted by numerous "free world" countries following the Second World War.

These European "clones" are to the US M1 as muppet Guy Smiley is to Don Draper;  ruggedly handsome, straightforward and reliable...

yet slightly different.

Below are Royal Dutch Army soldiers of the 1970s and 80s wearing the M.53

 

(cool 'stash, bro)

The NATO M.53 is nearly identical to the US M1 in appearance and utility, with a few differences.

I particularly like the Dutch combination of camouflage covering their version of the NATO M.53.

There is quite a lot of versatility in this combination starting with the non-reflective burlap.

A net with a wrapped cord covers the burlap allowing foliage to further 

break up the profile of the helmet.

 

The whole affair is snugly held in place by a piece of rubber inner-tube.

As with the US M1 the separate liner is held in place by an auxiliary chinstrap.  Although executed in webbing the rolling-cam adjustment buckle is a dead-ringer for the American version...

 as is the stud and garter-style fasteners attaching the strap to the inside of the liner.

Similar to the American version, the M53 chinstrap is made of cotton webbing however the European twist is in the fastening buckle.

Unlike the American "claw and arrow" this fastener  sends a sprung claw into a slotted adjusting buckle, which I find not nearly as handy as the M1 version.

No surprise with the clips fastening the strap to the bales, this is nearly identical to the G.I. T1 chinstrap clip

The plastic (rather than US fiber) liner has a suspension that's a near dead-ringer for the American version save for the manner in which the sweat band "snaps" on to the inner suspension band.

The M1-family nape strap mirrors the M1...

as do the "arrow" washers that secure the webbing to the liner shell.

The sole marking on this helmet is this embossment in the dome of the liner.

Inside an out this Dutch version of the NATO version of the M1 is a solid, well-engineered, and soldierly helmet which held the line against generations of commies, but finally fell to the modern composite lids of today.

All good things do come to an end. 


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Dutch Treat: Netherlands M34 steel helmet

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Originally I had posted this as an M23-27, and asked for help in identifying markings etc.  No sooner did I hit "post" than facebook friend Reinout de Waal sent me this message:


 Mannie, judging by it's shape it is in fact a M.34 dutch helmet (easy way to tell the difference is if you put the model on solid ground and see if you can put your fingers under the rim (not possible with M27). The grey paint, red liner and flat rivets indicate that this particular model has been reissued after the war by the "Bescherming bevolking" civil protection. The blue bar was to indicate command structure.

Thanks Reinout, for contributing to this blog.
 On we go!



Some of my favorite things are Dutch

The crunchy goodness of Voortman cookies...

The artistic vision of Jan Vermeer...

that crazy-ass Rutger Hauer...

and of course, the Netherlands M34 Steel Helmet

The  Dutch had a unique helmet design,

a unique army.

and the last laugh on the Nazis

I really like this singularly Dutch helmet, altogether unlike any other and a stand-out in my collection.

The bronze shield of the Dutch Lion is appears on the front of this lid

The steep front and scalloped rear provide almost a medieval appearance

As mentioned above, Reinout notes:

"The grey paint, red liner and flat rivets indicate that this particular model has been reissued after the war by the "Bescherming bevolking" civil protection. The blue bar was to indicate command structure."

This closeup shows a highly stylized and artistically rendered rampant lion.

Possibly the inspiration behind the antics of Gene Simmons?

Yikes!

The slot in the rear rim provides a purchase for fastening the helmet to a backpack.

The significance of the only marking in the helmet is related to its civil defense duty.

The  handsome (and characteristic to the civil defence use of this helmet)  ox-blood leather liner is very European though the skirt and fastener at the rear is unique to this model of helmet as well as the Dutch-inspired Romanian model.

No markings appear on the liner interior or exterior.  The quality of the leather is outstanding, however the felt padding is minimal.

From above the flared rear skirt is very apparent.

The buckle of hardened wire is simple and efficient.

The chinstrap is affixed with a rivet and a leather washer; a nice touch.

The rolled edge is emblematic of the overall high quality manufacture of this helmet

A helmet that I am very pleased to have in the collection

And, is it just me?