Jeff, I have a lacquered set (not this one from HoS) and I am pleased with it. I think it may very well increase the durability but then I do not bang my sets around so I am not a good judge of that.
I will say that it would be nearly impossible for the black to "rub off" as one of my older ebonized sets has.
Shame that any ebonized set has the finish rub off. This is 100% due to the poor finishing. If they would seal the black stain with low luster poly finish there would be no rubbing off.
When any stain rubs off that is just a piece that is finishing improperly.
Would really like a chess re-seller to chime in on this. You do not have to be a chess carver to know how to finish a piece of wood either with a gloss shine or a satin finish. Any one who ever owned a home I would think seen many hours of staining and properly sealing wood.
Shame that any ebonized set has the finish rub off. This is 100% due to the poor finishing. If they would seal the black stain with low luster poly finish there would be no rubbing off.
When any stain rubs off that is just a piece that is finishing improperly.
Would really like a chess re-seller to chime in on this. You do not have to be a chess carver to know how to finish a piece of wood either with a gloss shine or a satin finish. Any one who ever owned a home I would think seen many hours of staining and properly sealing wood.
I had to take the matter into my own hands when the crimson finish was rubbing off on my fingers from simple handling with dry hands. I had taken matters a step further and applied a clear high gloss lacquered finish to my Romanian-Hungarian Chess Bazaar sets both crimson and ebonized models. Yes it did have a much noticeable odor for a few days but that completely dissipated within 72 hours of total outdoor air drying time and the results were outstanding as you can observe in these photos I took during the evening with my night flood lights on my patio and the sets displayed on a revolving cake decorating table which I covered with butcher paper to protect when applying the Minwax spray can clear high gloss lacquer coats. 9 months of usage and the finish hasn't chipped, cracked or peeled off. They look as good today as they do in these photos and I use and play with them with friends and opponents in a bunch of games. I gave the sets 2 coats each after a day of drying between coats.
Red crimson Romanian-Hungarian Tournament set from Chess Bazaar with a Minwax clear high gloss lacquered spray coating.
The same clear high gloss finish applied to the same set in ebonized boxwood.
QtoQ.level3........Very nice job you did with those pieces. Amazing after all these years after the Dubrovnik crimson debacle they still do not understand you have to SEAL stain applied to wood unless it is an all in one finish.
I would do that with my crimson Dubrovnik set I bought from CB for a premium price at the time but my lungs are compromised and can not afford to even come close to any vapor.
QtoQ.level3........Very nice job you did with those pieces. Amazing after all these years after the Dubrovnik crimson debacle they still do not understand you have to SEAL stain applied to wood unless it is an all in one finish.
I would do that with my crimson Dubrovnik set I bought from CB for a premium price at the time but my lungs are compromised and can not afford to even come close to any vapor.
Thanks for the kind words, wiscmike. Do you know that when I showed Chess bazaar the work I did with my sets that shortly thereafter the crimson buff set was discontinued and they started to offer lacquered finishes on most of their chess sets for an additional fee of $29.99 per set per finish additionally. I think they finally got the light bulb to come on and figured this is the best solution to the problems they been having with the final sealing step to their crafting process. I'm just speculating here.
Shame that any ebonized set has the finish rub off. This is 100% due to the poor finishing. If they would seal the black stain with low luster poly finish there would be no rubbing off.
When any stain rubs off that is just a piece that is finishing improperly.
Would really like a chess re-seller to chime in on this. You do not have to be a chess carver to know how to finish a piece of wood either with a gloss shine or a satin finish. Any one who ever owned a home I would think seen many hours of staining and properly sealing wood.
True for new pieces. For antique/vintage pieces, however, the original finish (which was probably shellac of some kind) may wear away over a long period of time and the dye finish will be susceptible to rubbing off when moist. I have noticed this with many older ebonised sets. Mind you in terms of looks there is still nothing as beautiful as a french polish finish.
My argument all this time is they do not have to be lacquered so they do not bleed. All they have to have is a stain finish coat on them, preferably a few very think coats that are sanded between steps. My wood oak trim in my house is a dull finish and it does not comes off because I stained it and then out a couple coats of a very low gloss finish. What don't they get? It is not hard.
I am fond of the HoS Zagreb '59 Series Chess Pieces. They offer this set in several woods and finishes. I typically would chose ebonized boxwood and natural boxwood. However, they also offer these same pieces with a "lacquered" finish for a few dollars more. I've never seen pieces with a lacquered finish and wonder if there is a practical reason for the lacquer finish beyond aesthetics? In other words, does the lacquer increase durability?
Any comments or experience you could share would be appreciated.