The face of 100 year old dog….

Thanks IBC…. Well… I hope I haven’t desecrated the set … but I’ll take the hit if I have … I have a day off work today and conducted the most delicate clean across the course of this morning.

I wanted to retain the patina but remove the surface grime … if that makes any sense. So.. warm soapy water and a cloth. …. Then bees wax oil applied with the finest 0000 steel wool and then…  another two coats with a soft cloth. A light buff. 

Honestly … I reckon the result is beautiful. The pieces seemed so ‘dry’ almost aching for some care … I don’t feel like I have lost anything - rather the pieces are richer and the aged/patina comes through with a renewed pride. In the flesh - it’s quite wonderful now and if I have offended any of the professional restorers here - I apologise in advance! 

I have some excellent green English baize … I am very tempted to felt the bases but I’ll hold that idea for a while. I hope my phone photos do the pieces justice!

Nah I think cleaning them up makes them look really nice. I have a soft spot for wood that's been worn and then cleaned up nicely. Do they seem to have any finish on them? Or are they raw? If they're unfinished I can heartily recommend using a polymerized tung oil to give them a protective coating. One that a company called Sutherland Wells makes is particularly high quality.

As for your earlier question: I believe that wooden chess sets were the standard back until plastic became widely used, and that price points reflected the species of wood used and the level of carving/turning skill required to make a set. Wood was generally seen as the "cheap" product until plastics became commonplace around the 60's, and stone/bone/ivory would have been likely used for high end sets back in the 20's. 

Thanks for your thoughts and the additional background knowledge. Appreciated.👍

Apart from the black pieces being stained in some way - I don’t think there was a finish. At present, I’m going to leave the bees wax as the finish and reapply as needed … it is amazing how good they now feel, I know it’s weird but it’s like they are hydrated!? Anyway - here’s some photos next to the Lardy - you can see the change in depth of colour - the hue is the same - is just slightly deeper. 

Sorry for the ongoing spam today … but different afternoon light and I’m chuffed with this little set - I guess my message, for the new collectors like me is … quirky, historic pieces can be fun and satisfying to add to your collections.

There's nothing very quirky about having a growing collection of different and unique sets.Nice stuff.....I look forward to what's coming in the future....Down Under.-

@Powderdigit  Great job on the cleaning and gentle application of beeswax. It gives the pieces a nice luster. I have 2 Lardy sets that look pretty much like bare wood. I'm sometimes on the fence about whether or not to apply a light coat of wax on them, but I figured they've survived half a century as-is, why bother. I'll let the next owners decide. Hah!

Hi @Pawnerai - firstly, I appreciate your feedback. Thank you. Also, given that you have two ‘raw’ sets - I reckon it would be great to keep one raw and apply some kind of wax/oil finish to another to do a side by side comparison. No doubt the pieces have and will survive regardless - it’s just that not many would get to run such a comparison and it would be good to get your thoughts, given your vast  experience. 👍

This knight form is ubiquitous in Germany

no not the German knight - this very, exact knight of your post

Oh 🤦‍♂️ sorry … got it! So that specific knight that I am picturing - while not the ‘German Knight’ … is very common in Germany. Do you know if it is still made to this day? Or are there simply many a set available from times past?

The ones I see on classifieds and local ebay are all past sets. In fact it is also the standard knight head shape of the  Regency set which was very common over 50 years ago. I will post examples of this type of knight and variations of it (like in later Boheme set) when I have time. ..

I dont know much about current manufacturing  practice in Germany.

… and here’s an associated update. I believe these TSL sets were made through the 1940’s - 60’s in France. (Albeit I have seen some TSL draughts pieces made in England in the 1930’s.)

I purchased these - another local find today - I really only purchased it because I liked the box 🤦‍♂️ - I already have similar pieces at 5.5cm (just 2 1/4”) king height, unweighted. But together with the box - they are lovely, basic and cute pieces and I’m thinking this set is 70-80 years old and it’s a fine relic in good nick. I think, as mentioned above, these sets are rather ubiquitous through many parts of Europe but harder to find here. 

Hey team CB&E,

Inspired by various re-felting threads, I am thinking of felting my Dogfaces … green is traditional and I don’t have a nice deep red - which could be nice. I do have grey and dark brown…. What are your thoughts? My thinking is green or the dark brown picks up the tones in both sides too.

I'd go with the dark brown.It's less overwhelming to the eyes on such a vintage looking set.

Btw,let me know how the felting goes....I have one set I'd like to felt myself.

I say let the dog play on the lawn - green

I'd go for classic and do green @powderdigit, but if you're inclined the brown could look nice and understated too.

@Powderdigit since you're project is more of a restoration here is some information on refelting. 

Link

Thanks @KineticPawn. Baize it is. 👍 As it happens, I have a billiard table manufacturer nearby and thus, when I put cloth on the base of boards that I recondition or for these pieces, I use off cuts from high-end snooker tables. It is - to quote - “…  the finest available from the mills of Strachan & Co of Gloucestershire, England.” The new shoes for these piece will be lovely and I think I’ll go traditional green.