I sow extremely shallow, about a dime's thickness deep. So, I get lots of helmet heads.
Saliva works for me, as it continually keeps the seed coat moist. Water dries out much quicker.
After several hours of a moistened seed coat, I gently grab the seed coat sideways between thumb and forefinger, and very lightly squeeze, attempting to at least widen the opening, if it isn't ready to come off. If nothing happens, I set the seedling aside, until perhaps the next morning.
Over the decades, it has likely been about 1,000 helmet heads, for me. My success rate is now near 100%. Except for those headless seedlings, which I generally can spot by the shape of the seed coat, and usually a narrowing of the stem where it emerges from the seed coat.
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