School me on Canadian Mk 2 helmet nets

I'm in need of a period correct helmet net for my Mk2 project I've been working on. What different types were in service on Canadian helemts during world war 2? What are the availability of them, and what should I expect to pay for one? Also are there any tell tale differences between war time and post war ones?

First thing to do is to go www.servicepub.com and buy Roger Lucy's Tin Lids. Then wait for it to arrive and read away! LOL, not trying to be funny but it is an excellent resource for Canadian helmets and it will answer all your questions.
As for value, it depends on where you look. Dealers, antiques stores, etc you are lucky to find any below $100. The average price I see is $125. If you pound the pavement, hit some junk stores etc, you may find one cheaper. For awhile I was pulling them out for around $40 but I haven't seen a deal in over a year.

In WWII we used the MKII and the MKIII and the MKIV was produced at the end of the war but was not issued during the war. The MKII is the most common, as for post war, look for dates on the shells and liners, most were marked. Other than that chinstrap material and shell paint colour will be dead giveaways. Have a look at some of the pics on the forum to see what you should look for. Other than those tips, try and find a bunch and even if they are overpriced, handle as many as you can to get used to them.

The MKIII is much harder to find. Chinstrap lug location and paint colour are the easiest ways to ID war time ones. Expect to pay around $300 from a dealer, they aren't easy to find(unless your Dale lol) I have dozens of MKII's but only one MKIII.

jholl72 wrote:First thing to do is to go www.servicepub.com and buy Roger Lucy's Tin Lids. Then wait for it to arrive and read away! LOL, not trying to be funny but it is an excellent resource for Canadian helmets and it will answer all your questions.
As for value, it depends on where you look. Dealers, antiques stores, etc you are lucky to find any below $100. The average price I see is $125. If you pound the pavement, hit some junk stores etc, you may find one cheaper. For awhile I was pulling them out for around $40 but I haven't seen a deal in over a year.

In WWII we used the MKII and the MKIII and the MKIV was produced at the end of the war but was not issued during the war. The MKII is the most common, as for post war, look for dates on the shells and liners, most were marked. Other than that chinstrap material and shell paint colour will be dead giveaways. Have a look at some of the pics on the forum to see what you should look for. Other than those tips, try and find a bunch and even if they are overpriced, handle as many as you can to get used to them.

The MKIII is much harder to find. Chinstrap lug location and paint colour are the easiest ways to ID war time ones. Expect to pay around $300 from a dealer, they aren't easy to find(unless your Dale lol) I have dozens of MKII's but only one MKIII.

Ummm, good info Jeff but he's looking for info on the nets....

LMAO, I just read that! Well, I tried!
Sorry Lorne19, my attention to detail is off tonight

Thanke for the advice but infanteer is right I'm interested in Mk2 helemt netting. Here a pic of my Mk2 I've put together.

Well I might as well add something to the discussion aside from giving Jeff a hard time. There are many variations of helmet netting but the best ones that are without a doubt Canadian issue are the two tone green/brown nets with small weave (small openings) issued from 1943 on. There are two versions of these nets, knotted being the more common and woven which of course would be less common (but a little nicer IMO). Prior to the two tone nets there were khaki and OD nets but without provenance these are much more difficult to determine country and date of issue. Its still possible to find these two tone nets in unissued condition and they range from $20 to $40 or more. These nets continued to be issued with the M1 style helmets into the 60's and 70's and can be found with small strips of brown color treated fabric added (tied/woven to the net). This was the same fabric as used on the large vehicle/equipment camo nets of the period.

I see that What Price Glory sell reproduction two tone nets, is there any easy way to tell the real deal from a repro?

Here is an image of one of my WWII Mk II parachute Helmets with a Canadian net.

This is my old PASGT helmet from the late 1990s which at the time had a rather battered WWII Canadian net attached to it.

Here is an image of a couple of happy Canadians bound for Kiska Island. Note the Canadian nets on the M1 Helmets.

Here is an example of the woven variation...a bit trashed, but I think it gives it character.

Here is one on a Mk III with a little scrim added to it.

Dose anyone have any side by side photo of woven and knotted nets? Also these were issued post war but were they produced post war?

Yes, they were issued up until at least 1980.

lorne19 wrote:Dose anyone have any side by side photo of woven and knotted nets? Also these were issued post war but were they produced post war?

There are no dates on the nets themselves and without having ever seen the nets in their original packaging I can't say with 100% certainty that they weren't manufactured post war but it's my belief that the nets issued post war were war time nets.

Took this photo last night of a helmet and net in the collection of the Loyal Edmonton Regt museum. Unfortunately, I don't have the provenance of this net but it appears to be they type of net used early war before the introduction of the two tone nets.

Interesting, it seems like every aspect of militira collecting research is the key. Now begins the quest for a net for my helmet.

Yes, research is the key for everything.

Well I realize that this thread is a bit old know but I finally picked up a decent helmet net this week and thought I'd share a few pics with you all.  Thanks everyone for the info.

I've got a woven one that was sent to me from Greece...it's VERY fragile,but cool.