Showing posts with label Safety Hat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Safety Hat. Show all posts

Saturday 10 October 2020

Police Custodians Helmet

 The police Custodians helmets were first worn 1863 replacing the Top Hat worn before


Originally made of cork and balanced on the head they provided none or limited protection. It wasn't until the 1970's that a proper padding, safety style harness, chin straps and hard shells were gradually added.


This helmet is the crest style of custodians helmet, purchased without its badge on the front. Helmets with badges are sold for much more money as the badges are collectable.



One other note the custodian helmet is the helmet worn by male police officers



The photo below is from a reenactment of the Battle of Orgreave, a violent confrontation between picketer and police during the miner's strike.

Thursday 7 May 2020

Fireman's Helmet



Fighfighters helmets were introduced in the 1830's to help protect them against falling cinders and debris


The firefighter's helmet was originally made of leather, then brass, then cork, then steel, then aluminium, then thermoplastic, then a composite of all sorts of materials each adding different protection against hazard a modern firefighter might face 


In the 1930's as electricity became a hazard so brass was abandoned and cork helmets with a rubber coating were introduced as this one. 

Metal military-style helmets came back in world war II 


Helmet at least in the UK are yellow, but some countries the colour is used to denote rank in the fire service.



This helmet was purchased from an auction site, is very tatty some of the finish as worn off, but it was a bargain purchase.







Tuesday 29 November 2016

Get On Your Bike

Cycling laws in the UK do not currently require you to wear a safety helmet and as I'm not a cyclist I don't feel its my place to comment on if this is a good or bad thing, the law that is, wearing a helmet just makes sense even if it provides a small percent of protection its just got to be worth it.


I have not really cycled since my school years, however a friend took up cycling and needing to get fit I decided it might be idea to give it a go so I bought a cheap bike and helmet and then quickly decided the roads a scary dangerous place for anyone on a bike.

I suggest all car drivers try it and they will give more room in the future when passing cyclists


The cycling helmet is basically a low speed shock absorber for your brain, they are not designed for high speed impacts to protect against object hitting them like some safety helmets. 

Evidence says cycling helmets have reduced head injuries somewhere between 18%  to 50% 

Those against helmets point to helmet strangulation from the straps and the fact helmeted riders take greater risks or look more competent to other road users so give them less space. These are all claims without evidence as far as I can see.


Made usually of expanded polystyrene or dense foam and then coated in plastic,straps and a liner are then added.





















Wednesday 8 June 2016

Iron Man

A man with iron.

Wearing a hard hat.

Ironing is a tough job and safety is important.


The builders hard hat is seen everywhere in today's safety conscious environment and rightly so, the amount of fatalities and lesser injury as dropped dramatically since the days when work wear was jeans and t shirt. If I go on building site I now have to wear gloves, safety boots, hi-viz jackets, safety glasses as well as a hard hat and that's alongside safety training and all the permits you might sign.



Hard hats were once steel but now they are rigid plastic designed to protect the head from falling object or banging your head on projecting nasty objects, essential where there is any risk, one of these saved me from nasty injury when a bolt was dropped from scaffold tower 30 foot and hit the hat, I felt a heavy bang but nothing else.

The hard hats were first worn at the very end of the 19th century in the USA who seem to have led the way in their use.


This one is quite old and probably no longer to current standards but makes a great costume prop.


Sunday 20 September 2015

Velvet Riding Hat

I own this Helmet after spending about year having riding lesson in the vain hope of becoming a Jouster.

Before I got anywhere near even a basic rider  I fell off a horse straight on to rigid fence at a canter, ambulanced to the hospital no fractures to my ribs where found but it was 6 months before I could lie on that side of body and I never went back to riding apart from the odd pony trek while on holiday.
I think good riders start young, and own their own horse and stables or train full time such as for the Queens life guards.


This is certified riding helmet velvet covered in the equestrian style, although modern helmets are much more practical, this one is now 25 year old.


This style of this riding helmet is called a Hunt Cap.