One of the most troublesome areas of a leather fire helmet in the restoration process is the contact seem between the dome and the topside of the brim. When people see this segment on their helmet, it often causes some eyebrows to raise, but you’ve got nothing to worry about.
There’s a large misconception about the structural integrity of the helmet due to the common appearance of that seam. At first glance you might think “Is my brim falling off the dome?” Or “Does this need to be repaired?”. To keep this short and simple, no, you do not need to be concerned with this contact seam 99% of the time.
The other 1% might come into play if your brim has some serious damage. If the seam is widened all around the base of the dome and the stitching is damaged, that’s a different matter to handle. Since your fire helmet is made of leather, it will naturally flex over time due to its exposure to the elements - That’s just the science.
As leather flexes, so too does the space between the dome and the brim. This is what mostly grabs a lot of peoples attention. A brand new helmet from the factory or a refurb from the shop will usually have this seam filled in with a sort of contact cement or vinyl adhesive caulk. Once the helmet is painted, you really can’t imagine seeing a seam at that point either, so naturally, it would take just about anyone by surprise.
Now, if an open contact seam is present on a helmet as it is for most, it may not always be able/necessary to be filled in. Some seams are just far too shallow or thin for the filler to cover up properly and hold over time. Other helmets like the Phenix TL-2 is significantly more flexible than a Cairns leather helmet and the contact seam there is easier to flex over time as mentioned previously.
As we work on leather helmets in the shop, we do our best to make sure we properly fill in any significant contact seams as we come across them. Flat coat paint jobs make these stand out the most, so balancing the decision to fill in a contact seam is something that is handled on a case-by-case basis. A small but relevant detail to consider in the restoration process.
As of January 16, 2024 the anticipated delivery period of the Fire Duty and Extrication Mitts has now been pushed out to March, 2024 (was February).
Shipping dates are still subject to further delays and alterations as of the current moment. We don't expect any further delays to occur for the foreseeable future and we're looking to start shipping these gloves out ASAP once they arrive to the shop!
An unexpected material supply issue has required the shipping delay of our gloves by a full month out. No need to worry though - The issue is short term and is already being resolved at this time.
Keep an eye out for the gloves come March and check out our social media accounts often for any major news/updates regarding them moving forward. Our sizing guide is still in the works and will be available to view on the website once the gloves arrive.
]]>It wouldn't be the holiday season without shopping sprees, big sales, and tons of packages outgoing and incoming. Catch up on the most recent shipping timelines for your jolly shopping:
The cut-off date for holiday orders to ship in time for Christmas is Friday, December 15th. It's best to use USPS Priority Mail ® for any orders placed between today and Friday to better the odds that your package can reach you ASAP, but unfortunately that shipping method is not guaranteed.
As the majority of the products on our site are shipped out via USPS, it's important to know that the post office have also announced their own shipping/mailing deadlines. These vary depending on mail service and where in the country the orders are placed in relation to us. Tap here to see the USPS deadlines yourself.
]]>Lately, the shop has been hearing a lot of direct scam activity all over Instagram, Facebook, and likely other platforms. This started out pretty sparingly with only one or two reports of scammers posting fake helmet listings or direct messaging every 4 months or so, but recently, these guys have been making some bold moves.
If you're active on social media, you'll want to keep your eyes peeled for a few accounts floating around blatantly pretending to be us, as well as a few other known shops in the industry. Most notably are the accounts ragtopfirestore and ragtop.fire on Instagram. There are also some scam pages pretending to be us on Facebook. See photos below:
Below are the links to all of our official and active social media accounts. If you think you follow a scam page, compare it to these here just to be sure.
It's pretty easy for a scam account to fake the appearance of an official page, and even easier for you to fall into their trap. As of this time we're not verified on social media, so for the time being, here are a few things to look for if you come across a suspicious or unfamiliar page that looks like ours:
It usually won't do it any good, but properly reporting the page every now and then for being a potential scam/fraud account can result in a page takedown. You'd think it'd be easier to do nowadays, but some platforms are slow to respond to reports or ignore them completely if the scam page is doing just one thing right in the community guidelines. If you find a scam page, best to steer clear, report it, and tell your friends!
]]>New N5A helmet orders placed prior to April, 2023 are currently due to arrive by early 2024 (Q1-Q2) |
New N5A helmet orders placed from April, 2023 onward are due to arrive by late 2024 (Q3-Q4) |
After the most recent price increase went into affect just this past April, delivery timeframes were subsequently pushed out by only a few months. Originally, those timeframes were estimated to arrive within 6-9 months when ordered between January, 2023 - March, 2023.
To reiterate, those delivery timeframes are now expected to arrive by early 2024 (was 6-9 months). Only a small amount of early January orders have arrived since the change in delivery. We are still working on early January orders as of this moment.
NOTE: Delivery timeframes from the factory are subject to change with or without notice. Any changes to those estimated deliveries are entirely out of our control, but we'll be sure to notify you if any significant changes occur. Check back to the news feed on the website for the latest delivery ETAs and information.
We recently just pulled some early January orders to start customizations. Currently, customization turnaround time is still within 8-10 weeks upon pulling your helmet into the shop.
Flat Black and Deep RagTop Red continue to be the hottest paint colors for new builds since we opened orders. Take a look at some of the recent builds we completed:
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As Magan and her boyfriend were moving some things around in his father's storage unit, they discovered the helmet tucked away along with various other items, and in complete disarray. Although the helmet may have been in relatively poor condition when it was found, it wasn't anything the techs couldn't handle, so we were glad to see that the helmet could be fixed up like new again.
Kevin Maroney started his career as a firefighter in the City of Providence Fire Department in October of 1973, and later retired in September of 1991 after 18 years of service. From what Magan had been told from her boyfriend, Kevin had been exposed to enough smoke to the point where it is believed he amassed lung damage from smoke inhalation over time in his career. Once the helmet had been pulled out of storage, she had though of creating a preservation piece as a gift.
"[...] I always have ideas in my head for gifts for my boyfriend and his family, for birthdays and Christmas. [...] Instantly thought if I could just get it cleaned up and restored, it would be such a great gift for his birthday that September. So I did my research and came across RagTop Fire."
Originally, her plan was to have the piece done for his birthday, but due to sudden circumstances, she couldn't make it up to the shop in time, and had to postpone. She then later planned to complete the gift in time for Christmas with only one thing left to do - get the timing right and make the trip up to the shop in Connecticut from Coventry, RI.
In Magan's eyes, she has seen Kevin as a father figure in the past years. He took her in with open arms, and she says at this point, he is more of her father-in-law while being very important to both herself, and her children.
"[...] my boyfriend and I decided that we should definitely go halves on the restoration and preservation, and give him something we knew he’d like. And there’s also not many ways to thank someone for loving you like their own daughter."
When it came to restoring the helmet, we wanted to ensure we got everything looking proper. A simple scrub down and some minor TLC later, we got the helmet as clean as can be, all while leaving it looking as original as possible. The goal of the project here wasn't to completely customize and alter the helmet, but rather simply clean it up and mount it to a display board for a wall-hanger. Once we had the helmet in a clean and proper state again, it was time to turn our attention to the board it would be mounted on, and the plaque that would recognize Kevin's career.
The shop was glad to have taken in the helmet and create the entire preservation piece for Magan, her boyfriend, and his father, Kevin. Restoration work is our forte, but when it comes to preserving legacy and history, we take pride in our preservation work. Since completing this piece for Kevin Maroney, RagTop has taken on a few other preservation projects both big and small. We look forward to completing more of these in the future.
]]>In episode 13, their latest release today, the guys get a full scoop of everything RagTop from Pete, as well as a deep dive and discussion on tradition, history and everything helmets! Hear about how it all started. From the first gig in a makeshift shop to the largest, established operation we have going on today. Get in on the episode now on YouTube and visit their profile while you’re at it. They’ve got reach on Facebook and Twitter as well, so be sure to give them a look!
In this episode, the fellas chop it up with fellow New Haven Firefighter and owner of RagTop Industries, Pete Callan. They talk about tradition, history and helmets!
]]>If anyone is curious as to who we are, what we do and how we do it, here’s the YouTube video from National Fire Radio’s visit to our shop a few weeks ago. We’re still completely blown away someone would want to come see us and the shop; we’re just a few guys who really dig working on leathers. Never did I ever imagine the shop would reach this point from our small beginnings in my basement. Without a doubt, the shop is not just one person...it’s a family in every sense of the word and there are so many people to thank, no podcast or Facebook post would ever be able to cover them all.
From our current staff of Mike Persico (our Senior Man), Collin Whalen, Alex Cardella, Jason Rivera, Alex Hilliard, Josh Miller, Dan Calcagni, Tom and the staff at Advantage, there’s no way the shop would function without you guys. From the New Haven Hamden & Bridgeport guys who gave me the opportunity to start fixing their lids 10 years ago, to the guys from Fire Training Innovations, the Connecticut Air National Guard Fire Dept 103d CEF, Bobby Eckert and Gabe Angemi from Camden, Bob Staulters, Kyle Bertin, Dan MaCAuley, Zak Daniel from Milford, the Riggott brothers, my current shift at Squad 2 Cap Almeida, Richie and Eric for putting up with me, Vince and Shane from Shipmans fire equipment, Eric Allen from FAST Rescue Solutions, Tim Anderson from Anderson Rescue Solutions, Dan Gordon from Flash Fire Industries, Jason from Rekindled Lids, the Fernandez’s from Ten Three Graphics & the list goes on and on. Without a doubt we know who built us to where we are today and we will never forget that. Capital City Fire Helmets has been so much more than a business associate, we’ve spent hours upon hours talking leathers, watched our businesses grow, watched each other become fathers (the most important job in life), and have developed a great friendship. Billy Gould who made that first call to me to fix his lid, mentored me on my appointment to the City of New Haven and has been a tremendous friend and mentor. Our customers and clients who’ve trusted us with your lids.....we treat every single one as if it’s our own and we will never waiver from that.
Finally......Last but in no way the least......My Wife Laura. The shop has taken me away from home for more hours than I’d like to admit, yet she has continued to push me to grow the business and continue this tradition. She’s put in hours upon hours of herself and our life into the shop and I’ll never be able to thank her enough. I work the way I do to make My son and her proud.
“The Shop” thanks you for your continued support and trust in us with your lids.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nationalfireradio
Instagram: @National_Fire_Radio
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