The Prussian War Ministry began seeking designs for the helmet in late 1840. By March 1841, the first prototype spiked helmet was presented to the army. This helmet was designed for use by the mounted kurassiers and was made of metal by the Metallwarenfabrik Wilhelm Jaeger of Eberfeld. Field trials were very complimentary of the size, weight, protection, and versatility of the new helmet style. The War Ministry immediately began serious development of the helmet design. Although the first prototype was made of metal for the kurassiers, it was the leather pattern helmet designed for the infantry and artillery that was first put into use. By late 1842, the Prussian War Ministry and the Quartermaster
accepted the spiked helmet for use.

The Model 1842 spiked helmet was made of leather for use by regiments of infantry, grenadier, fusilier, artillery, pioneer, jaeger (who later changed to the shako) and dragoons . The original metal designed spiked helmet was adopted for use by the kurassiers in 1843. The helmet body was made of heavy vegetable tanned and pressed leather. The body was conical in shape and sewn together in the back. The front visor was square cut and edged with a 1 cm wide metal trim. The back visor was plain leather. All exterior leather was lacquered black. The helmet was crowned with a 14 cm tall spike mounted in the middle of a crossed base. The sewn area at the back of the helmet body was crested by a metal ridge or spine. The back spine extended from the edge of the spike base to the back edge of the rear visor. The chinstrap was made of vegetable tanned sheepskin and covered with rounded metal scales. The chinscales were affixed to the helmet body with an ornate knurled screw through an elongated rosette. Under the right rosette was placed a black and white colored cockade. The cockade was made of lacquered leather for enlisted men while officers wore leather mounted with a silver ring. The front emblem for "Regiments of the Line" was the Prussian heraldic eagle. Guard Regiments wore a spread winged eagle with the silver star of the Black Eagle Order on the eagles breast. Grenadier regiments wore the heraldic eagle with the intertwined royal monogram FWR on the eagle's breast.

The "Pickelhaube" was quickly copied or adopted by many of the independent states allied with Prussia. By the late 1860's all but the independent kingdoms of Saxony, Wuerttemberg and Bavaria looked to Prussia for military leadership. The Military Convention of 1867 formed the basis for a unified German national army. This alliance insured mutual cooperation and protection to the allied German states. At that time most of the states adopted the Prussian style dress and spiked helmet. The victory over the French in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) initiated the formation of the 2nd Kaiserreich (Empire) with the Prussian King Wilhelm I as its emperor. The Military convention of 1871 formalized the establishment of the unified Imperial Army. By 1886 all German states had adopted the "Pickelhaube".