try repeatedly coating the ebony pieces with lemon oil to reduce the effects of drying. as the wood dries out, it shrinks irregularly and that is the cause of cracking in a dry climate.
while that may not stop the cracking, it should inhibit further widening of the cracks or the appearance of new cracks.
you could pack the cracks with plastic wood and then stain it to match the wood color.
regards,
Ebony chessmen are prone to cracking more than those made from other woods. It can happen if the weights are inserted too tight and without a soft surround. The wood changes shape or size but the metal stays the same and causes a crack in the weaker material (the wood in this case). The HOS chessmen are very good quality, so it could be just be down to atmospheric conditions or the natural inconsistency of the ebony used.
How many pieces are cracked? You might get them replaced F.O.C if you ask. We would certainly replace them F.O.C under these circumstances.
Contact HOS for replacements, if desired, and also for care and feeding of your pieces. I believe Frank has always recommended a high quality paste polish. As a leading collector of antique sets, he probably is well-informed on this.
Thanks for all the help. Two pieces are cracked (knight and king). I'm going to contact HOS.
I bought a Morphy set from House of Staunton, to be presented as a gift.
It arrived with a cracked ebony pawn, and with the wrong size board.
House of Staunton swiftly sent me a replacement pawn and another board, but by the time it arrived, another pawn had cracked.
I had to pay customs for the second shipment, in spite of not having to pay for the items. And I was already late with my gift, it had a cracked pawn - and the whole thing was a bit of a nuisance.
I presented the gift to the person it was intended for, and he's now told me that the ebony King has developed a crack.
I think the quality of the ebony being used by the artisans in India is sub-standard, as I've read quite a bit about people having trouble with ebony pieces cracking now.
I don't even want to know how much the shipping and customs was.
You sound like a generous friend.
It may be that the ebony had not been seasoned long enough. Possible too is that the set was exposed to some temperature extremes somewhere along the way which may have exacerbated the propensity of the ebony to crack.
I'm no expert but I've always divided good and proper ebony from inferior by how it looks. Jet black is good (mature heartwood) and any brown is bad (immature or not fully heartwood).
The Morphy is a nice set. A very nice set. Lucky friend.
Good ebony is increasingly harder to obtain. If it is like most timber and not properly dried then green timber in a hot dry climate will split/crack very quickly.
Living in Australia I keep my set out of direct sunlight.
There are so many factors involved with ebony chessmen. A manufacturer turning out 1000s of pieces will find it impossible to completely eradicate cracks in ebony chessmen. We had a customer buy a set and take them to Russia this last Christmas. I am guessing while outside being transported to her house there they would have been subject to temperatures of -20 and lower!
Once they got into the centrally heated house 9 pieces cracked! With those extremes it's going to happen. Of course we replaced them, and hopefully now spring is here they won't need to be subject to such extremes again.
I have a cheap plastic chess set. So no worries!
This is upsetting to someone like me who is looking to drop some serious money on an ebony set soon.
To those who have seen cracks, were the pieces out on display or stored in a box?
I suspect goldendog is on the right track here. I am one who has worked professionally with wood for thirty years, including but not limited to ebony, rosewood, boxwood, maple and spruce.
All woods shrink to some degree once the tree has been cut down. All one has to do is look at the end of a piece in a stack of firewood to see the effects. Ideally, the wood is cut into stock sizes and adequately dried before being made into any object. This can be done in some cases by kiln drying, using some heat and humidity controls to drive off the excess water. Even better, though much slower, is sealing the endgrain and air drying.
For maximum stability, not only is the excess water removed, but the entire contents of the cells are allowed to virtually crystalize. At this point, age shrinkage virtually ceases and only minor swelling and shrinkage occur with changes in ambient humidity. I know of at least one violinmaker who will not work with a piece of wood less than ten years old, and prefers wood cut and air dried at least forty years.
I, too, suspect the wood used in many sets is still "too green."
The other posters who suggested problems arising from low humidity or sudden large changes in conditions may also be on the mark. These things are bad for wood of almost any age. Ideally, wooden objects should be stored or displayed in stable conditions with normal room temperatures and away from heat sources, and with humidity near 50%.
I would not recommend attempting a crack repair immediately, until it can be determined that the crack is stable. If it widens, the repair will fail. If it narrows as humidity rises, the repair could damage it further. (After receiving a replacement, I kept a cracked ebonized boxwood piece I have. The nasty crack closed to near invisibility as the heating season ended and ambient humidity rose!)
All this talk of fine wooden pieces "cracking" has certainly scared me off buying a really nice expensive set ! I will only reconsider if the seller has a great reputation for replacing such defective pieces at no additional expense to me. Are there such sellers out there ?
HoS is good about replacing cracked pieces completely free of cost (as, no doubt, are some other companies). They may limit the time period in which they will do so. I'd have to research it, but I think I recall reading something about "one year." The good news is, a year is probably enough time if the wood has not been properly dried prior to manufacture. After that time, conditions or abuse are more likely causes of cracking, and thus are avoidable.
Ebony has been used for decades and even centuries for piano keys and violin (and viola, and cello, and bass) fingerboards and fittings. Cracks can occur, but are not particularly common.
I have owned a House of Staunton chess set for close to a year. Recently, I have noticed cracks at the base of two of my Ebony pieces (the King and one of the Knights). The cracks are not from rough use. In fact, I noticed a new crack appear on the Knight after just sitting out on the table unused. I live in a very dry region and wonder if that is a factor. Has anyone had a similar experience? I'm very disappointed since House of Staunton is supposed to be high quality.
Drying out can be a major problem for anything made of wood. Don't do what I did and store them over top of a heater. 
Where were you when I needed you, Bur_Oak?
We use little humidfier packs for our wooden instruments (guitars, violins, etc.). They're some sort of water-absorbent substance in a perforated plastic can about the size of an espresso cup. Not sure what the substance is exactly. A music store would have them. Soak 'em in water once a month (the humidifier, not the chess set
), and keep it in the case.
Trivia: Most of the black ebony you'll ever see is actually brown ebony that has been dyed.
Hope this helps.
Where were you when I needed you, Bur_Oak?
Indiana. Bit of a long drive from Iceland.
We use little humidfier packs for our wooden instruments....
That might be a little much for a chess set. If one cannot raise the humidity in the room in which the set is kept, perhaps a small humidifier designed for use in a cigar humidor (and used more sparingly than appropriate for tobacco) would be sufficient. Too much humidity is also harmful.
Trivia: Most of the black ebony you'll ever see is actually brown ebony that has been dyed.
That may depend on the product. Some of it surely is, perhaps even much of it. "Most" of it ... ? Not in my line of work. Of course nice, dense, straight grained black ebony is getting scarce and pricey.
That may depend on the product . . .
What I meant is that most of the ebony your average Joe will ever see is likely the cheaper stuff.
No offense intended if there's anyone named Joe here.
I have owned a House of Staunton chess set for close to a year. Recently, I have noticed cracks at the base of two of my Ebony pieces (the King and one of the Knights). The cracks are not from rough use. In fact, I noticed a new crack appear on the Knight after just sitting out on the table unused. I live in a very dry region and wonder if that is a factor. Has anyone had a similar experience? I'm very disappointed since House of Staunton is supposed to be high quality.
Wood in low humidity needs periodic oiling. There are polishing furniture oil. linseed oil, lemon oil, olive oil. Take your choice or simply experiment. What works on the kitchen cabinets and the coffee table will work on your Ebony pieces. Oil preserves and moisturizes wood.
What type of climate does Ebony grow in ? It grows Tropical Rain Forrest, not the desert. Its wood is used to some humidity. Either move to Alabama or give your wood an occasional oiling. Good luck.
I have owned a House of Staunton chess set for close to a year. Recently, I have noticed cracks at the base of two of my Ebony pieces (the King and one of the Knights). The cracks are not from rough use. In fact, I noticed a new crack appear on the Knight after just sitting out on the table unused. I live in a very dry region and wonder if that is a factor. Has anyone had a similar experience? I'm very disappointed since House of Staunton is supposed to be high quality.