HISTORY OF THE LEATHER HELMET

Now, nobody was wearing eagles at the time; it was a flight of pure fancy on the sculptor's part, but as soon as the firemen saw it they thought it was a splendid idea, and since every fire company in those days designed its own uniforms, it was widely adopted at once. It has remained on firemen's hats ever since, in spite of the fact that it has proved, frequently and conclusively, to be a dangerous and expensive ornament indeed. It sticks up in the air. It catches its beak in window sashes, on telephone wires. It is always getting dented, bent and knocked off. Every so often, some realist points out how much safer and cheaper it would be to do away with the eagle, but the firemen always refuse.

We learned all this about firemen's hats in the course of a little talk we had the other day with Mr. John Arthur Olson, of 183 Grand Street. Mr. Olson's father started making hats for firemen in 1867, and Mr. Olson himself has been at it all his life. Recently, he amalgamated with his only rivals, Cairns & Brothers, a few doors down the street; they comprise now the only firm in America in the business. Foreign firemen wear a metal helmet which weighs five pounds, but our fire laddies' hats weigh only thirty ounces. Despite this they give even better protection against falling bricks than the European ones do. They are made of stout tanned Western cowhide, a quarter of an inch thick, hand-sewed, reinforced with leather strips which rise like Gothic arches inside the crown, padded with felt. The long duckbill, or beavertail, effect which sticks out at the rear is to keep water from running down firemen's necks. Hats for battalion chiefs and higher officers, are white, everyone else's black. Hook-and-ladder companies have red leather shields (attached just under the eagle), engine companies black with white numerals, the rescue squad blue.

According to Mr. Olson, there isn't much money in making firemen's hats. They sell for eight dollars and seventy-five cents, and as it is all handwork the profit is small. Besides, they last so long-about ten years, on the average. Matter of fact, the only thing that keeps the shop busy is the business of repairing the eagles, which are always coming in for regilding, refurbishing. For fixing eagles, the standard rate is one dollar, and has been for generations.

GENERAL HELMET MAINTENANCE

As a general rule, always remember that your leather fire helmet is made of the skin of an American steer and while this animal grows very tough hide it generally has the same limitations as your own skin.

Contact should be avoided with all strong acids or alkalis in order to avoid attacking the leather and strong solvents, such as acetone and lacquer thinner, in order to avoid attacking the paint finish. The leather does not have any oil or preservative in it. None should be added. The leather fibers have been impregnated with a hardening agent and should not be softened with such items as silicone leather preservative or Neet's Foot Oil.

The conditions that are most dangerous to leather fire hats are exposure of the leather itself to drying and to a continuous cycle of wetting and drying. This means that all bare leather should be covered at all times with either a spot of shellac or a spot of paint. Left to sit in an overheated area such as a radiator of the back of an automobile, the leather will shrink up and twist and curl very much as you own skin would under these conditions.

Unlike the human skin the thick steer hide can withstand considerable heat over short periods of time. The leather has preformed very well in atmospheres approximating 300 F for upwards of 20 to 30 minutes.

LEATHER HELMET REPAIRS/REFURBISHING by ROTTEN HELMETS

Is your helmet liner torn, stinky, or falling out?  Paint chipped or starting to come off completly?  Is your brass eagle loose, broken or dented?  Or maybe you found a good deal on a leather helmet on Ebay that may need a little TLC.  Then look no further!  High quality leather helmet repairs and refurbishing is available from Rotton Helmets.  Bill Anders of Rotten Helmets is a highly skilled leather craftsman and knowledgable helmet repairman.  Bill's talents include complete refurbishing, liner installation, brass eagles/crown pieces and custom leather shields!  Bill also makes his own leather chin straps...which are VERY similar to the original New Yorker style chin strap!! What better to finish off your helmet than with a high quality leather chin strap! Chin straps are available for $20 shipped to you!  Bill only uses the highest quality paint and materials for his work on helmets, shields, and accessories.  Contact Bill at rottenhelmets@socalfools.org or through the So Cal FOOLS at info@socalfools.org .

HELMET NAME STICKERS NOW AVAILABLE...$5