My odd Norman style helmet.

[Farkas]

Hello Gents,

Although having a couple of things I want to share in this section already I haven’t yet… but now I have a fitting challenge for the panel I believe.

 

I just recently bought this helmet below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s full size, heavyweight & it fits my fat head.

 

It came from a house clearance in Newcastle, Northern England, UK.

 

The retractable nose guard was the feature that caught my attention, it’s not something seen on helmets of this style of any age so I took a punt on it. How could I not at £80 🤷‍♂️

 

Then once I had it in hand, I saw there are visible signs, inside and out, of there being pieces that have been removed, the holes are metal filled not plastered in with filler.

 

Before I explain how I interpret what I think the marks indicate about its original appearance, I’d be very interested to hear any other opinions.

I hope you find it interesting Gents.

 

Cheers

tony 🍻 

[Graf]

On 22/06/2024 at 12:13, Farkas said:

Hello Gents,

Although having a couple of things I want to share in this section already I haven’t yet… but now I have a fitting challenge for the panel I believe.

 

I just recently bought this helmet below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s full size, heavyweight & it fits my fat head.

 

It came from a house clearance in Newcastle, Northern England, UK.

 

The retractable nose guard was the feature that caught my attention, it’s not something seen on helmets of this style of any age so I took a punt on it. How could I not at £80 🤷‍♂️

 

Then once I had it in hand, I saw there are visible signs, inside and out, of there being pieces that have been removed, the holes are metal filled not plastered in with filler.

 

Before I explain how I interpret what I think the marks indicate about its original appearance, I’d be very interested to hear any other opinions.

I hope you find it interesting Gents.

 

Cheers

tony 🍻 

Very nice Tony

[Harry the Mole]

I saw this - or one very much like it, for sale on eBay a good while ago. The helmet itself makes no sense, as Norman helmets were usually made from four panels beaten into shape and held together by metal strips riveted to the panels. And as your helmet skull is made from one piece, there is no  need for it to have the metal strips and rivets - unless it was purely to add strength to the dome.  Whatever it might have looked like, I cannot see that it would have matched anything similar to a Zischagge helmet. I would hazard a guess that it either fantasy piece - or for theatrical use.

 

Cheers,

            Steve

[Farkas]

On 07/07/2024 at 20:46, Harry the Mole said:

I saw this - or one very much like it, for sale on eBay a good while ago. The helmet itself makes no sense, as Norman helmets were usually made from four panels beaten into shape and held together by metal strips riveted to the panels. And as your helmet skull is made from one piece, there is no  need for it to have the metal strips and rivets - unless it was purely to add strength to the dome.  Whatever it might have looked like, I cannot see that it would have matched anything similar to a Zischagge helmet. I would hazard a guess that it either fantasy piece - or for theatrical use.

 

Cheers,

            Steve

Hi Steve,

yes it was on EBay for a while, I chatted to the dealer, he said it came from a local house clearance and didn’t know any more about it.

 

I did wonder if it was a more modern helmet chopped up, like maybe a zuckerman…

 

but it is so heavy, i’ve got a zuckerman and others and this doesn’t seem to be part of one of them in my opinion.

 

You are spot on about the one piece shell. No need for the straps as part of construction.

There seems to have been two more horizontal straps that ran around it and over the vertical ones still present. And a disc shaped mark to the crown. The ‘scars’ left indicate the same grooved style of strap as those still present currently.

These are a few pics I found…

 

These first 2 Turkish/MidEast style I think..,

 

 

These more local I’d say…

 

 

 

 

This one below was the only ‘locally’ made style I found using the adjustable nose guard. 

 

I’m an optimist and I like learning a little as I trawl the web looking but at the moment I am inclined to say fantasy piece too.  

cheers

tony 🍻

[Harry the Mole]

Hi Tony,

 

Its the shape and size of the dome that is so weird. I have honestly never seen anything like it, and the helmet seems to have been based on a mixture of styles and fittings from various types of helmets. But as long as you are happy with it, that's all that matters.

 

Cheers,

            Steve