Former French firefighter here, we still use those for ceremonial purposes, and when on guard duties (for those of us who are (were) military firefighters). I remember hating having to wear that thing for four hours, it weighed a ton and was very uncomfortable. Our operations helmets are way cooler, much lighter, and efficient. Great job at restoring it though, it looks like new! Sauver ou périr!
Quick question about the feathers/plume; was it just for style or something more practical, such as pulling it out and "if the feathers singed it was/wasnt safe to enter?" Just wondering, because I can't find anything on it. Thanks in advance!
Est-ce que les sapeurs portaient les plumes quand ils entraient dans une maison en feux? J'imagine que les tisons qui tombaient dessus devaient bruler les plumes.
@@soulextracter Most city buildings were out of stone and steel etc. A lot of them had wooden decorations on the facade, but the structure was still non flammable. This is the 1890s, not the 1700s
Fun fact, this design was reused by Adrian for the military helmets of 1915 and 1926, and is still better at protecting the wearer from falling debris and overhead deflagrations than any other combat helmet, including modern ones.
Yeah people didn't really care much about dying lives those times, serial killers were always released to commit more crimes to break each others records
You are the only restoration channel I follow who not only has all the mechanical prowess, but who also knows his way around leather tooling and sewing. Rare talent!
First off, and most importantly, massive respect for firefighters. They're willing to run into burning buildings to save others. And secondly mad respect to you for the restoration of this beautiful 19th century fireman's hat. It turned out incredible. And you said you didn't do very good on the crown or you failed on the crown. But I think you did a really good job and the most important part is you made the effort. My hats off to you
I thought that was neat as well. Does the flour react with the vinegar to aid taking the corrosion off, or is it mixed into a paste to help it cling to the helmet?
@@UlfFormynder Just creates a paste, also flour is quite absorbent so it reduces the evaporation when compared to other methods of making a paste with vinegar.
@@snarkymcsnarkles3493 It was a choice he made. I wasn’t certain of it either. Leave it with the patina or polish it? It definitely makes for a more flashy video polishing it, And it really doesn’t have that much value either way. This is a restoration, not a preservation. When you get one, that’s a choice you can make.
Not only beautifully done. But I felt so much emotion from it. Over 100 years old ; the brave man who wore this Hemet ; rest in peace and thank you for your services. New subscriber from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
Every time I see a restorer use flour and vinegar, I flash back to the hours I spent as a kid picking glued-on remnants of bread dough out of little crevices in my mother's kitchen gadgets. Cornstarch/cornflour would do the same job as flour here but washes off so much easier.
Good job! If I may: Use some small mole-grips with silicone on the grips to squeeze rivets like that. That way you'll avoid marking the brass with those pliers.
Нравятся такие видео. Спокойствие и умиротворение на душе. Приятно видеть плоды труда и сам процесс, которые человек делает с любовью к своему делу.👍🤗🥰
As a kid, I was given one of those as a present from some French friends of my parents, and had it for years, Seeing you restore this one made me smile with the memory of my old helmet! Excellent Job!
What a beautiful restoration. Job well done, it came out excellent. I was thinking for banging out the large dents on the helmet, would it also be good to use a magnetic sphere and a steel ball to help smooth out the dents after it’s banged out a bit to lessen metal stretch. Using that method is like using a smaller version of an English Wheel.
Wow, i was mesmerized watching this, such skill, well done, couldn't be a firefighter today, even with the modern equipment, imagine what conditions were like in the 1800's!
nearly 130 years old and the leather is still in this good condition? well done to the tanner of yesteryear. and well done to you for the beatiful restoration-
A beautiful restoration of this fire helmet. The restoration of this helmet had gotten me curious on the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral. I will be searching about it afterwards.
I'm a firm believer that things like these should never be restored. All the history has left a mark on it. This does not change the fact that it looks amazing
Dude, I just found your channel and I have spent the night binge watching all your videos! They’re amazing, and this helmet turned out glorious!! I will be sure to follow your content, I am very excited to see what you produce next. :)
It looks great! shiny! I really like this restauration. sadly, you could save the old leather. I hope I will get sometime on that level of restorations!
Agree, it's amazing how far you can get with leather oil, leather soap and leather wax. Would have been nice if he had tried. He could still have made the replacement, just in addition. Not sure, but the chinstrap seems to have been white-colored at one time. But otherwise really excellent craftsmanship.
Man they don’t make ‘em like that anymore, not that it’s as comfortable or safe as todays helmets but it’s a beautiful work of art and not just a helmet….great restoration 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Друг, ты прям растёшь, я подписался на тебя неделю назад, смотрю твои старые видео и сейчас новые парочку. Прям супер. Желаю удачи и миллиона подписчиков!
Great restoration. I appreciate that you don't try to restore everything to a super-perfect condition, so that one can still see the age and the past usage of the items. Instead, you take a lot of care for such accessories like this wonderful bunch of feathers, and that great leather work.
so ... you took a helmet that has been through over a hundred ten years of of history and polished it up so it looks like it could be a replica made yesterday. Erasing the past is quite an accomplishment.
Beautiful Restoration , and where you stated you failed at doing better, I think it was perfect 👍 any better and it wouldn’t have looked like it did when it was made. Sometimes it’s the imperfections that make it look PERFECT 🤩
So, I totally was thinking "ohh! He's gonna make a drumstick that's what that slot is for! So when there's a fire the firefighter can bang his helmet to warn others of a fire!" Then feathers came in and I felt stupid 🤣😅 absolutely love your restorations though - please keep it going!
How could I not sub??? Can't wait! I've watched loads of refurb's as a kid, any RU-vid has returned me to my first love. This helmet refurb is the most beautiful I've seen in the absolutely longest time! I'm star struck!
In every video you restore something, you always use the restored object. I want to see you wearing that Helmet and fighting fires! lol, jokes aside, you do wonderful work. Its amazing how you can bring life back from the past.
Please don’t say you’ve failed to do better ever again. I’ve watched several of your videos and you have the knowledge and patience that most people wish they had and you always do an awesome job. Thank you for sharing your craft with us.
