The face of 100 year old dog….

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. 

Well - while being destroyed in a game by @felonet - well played good man…I was also putting some baize on my smallest dogfaces before going onto the prize, full size set. Here’s a wee little pawn. Honestly, it’s brilliant - such an immediate and easy uplift in quality and feel. Thanks to the folk who inspired the work by providing examples of what they were doing. 🍻

And the finished job… on a rainy Saturday morning while the family slept, I played a few moves online and gave the old dogs some new shoes … a very satisfying job. Also below are my Lardy’s with the old felt still attached - faded and thin through wear and tear but - authentic and part of their story. I don’t believe the dogfaces ever had felt and maybe they were never intended too … I care not, these pieces are now better to look at, to play with; they don’t slip on the board, they don’t scratch the board and they slide easily. Lovely stuff. Back in their old French wooden boxes too.

Excellent job, i really like that deep green that's traditional for billiard tables.  

Recently I found out this lowly dogface knight set has some historical provenance. It was used during World Chess Tournament in Berlin 1929. Alekhine vs Bogolyubov and Lasker was watching or being the judge. Picture credit https://www.facebook.com/BobbyFischerTruth

Yo Michael!.....I think you'd have held your own with those guys.

Here’s a bit of fun. Courtesy of the wonderful show on Apple TV - Slow Horses - I highly recommend it.  I captured a few screen shots of the chess game in Episode 5 - Season 2. Unmistakably, the dog face pieces and then, for a bit of fun I put my pieces on a refurbished board … my board is too big but I couldn’t be bothered going a getting a small one …. Apologies for being lazy… but you get the picture - at least I tried to capture the lighting; on a iPhone budget 😊👍.

By the way… when the player slides the bishop across board to check mate… the sound indicates the pieces are clearly not felted - just as mine weren’t …. before I decided to apply the green baize. And here’s one more photo - it is immensely satisfying to be able to let piece scatter from box to board like this … no damage to the old pieces nor the board … just old dogs out for a run. 😉

I picked up this set a few days ago. 82 mm King. Beautiful butterscotch color. I felted them with cheap craft shop felt. They look almost brand new, and feel great to play with.

Hey Powderdigit,
I have the same vintage Dogface Knight and I tried re-felting the pieces with deep red felt. Also, Like what I do with all my other wood pieces, I cured them with pure Tung Oil to protect the wood from moist and mold and also from insect attacks. The curing process usually would take around 2 weeks but worth it. Tung Oil also enhances the beauty and natural color of the wood.
Here's a few pictures:

Beautiful - luv your work. Deep red felt always looks so stylish and thanks for the tip about Tung oil tool. I wonder what the differences are between Tung oil and the wax/oil mix I use is … I’ll read up. Thanks for the pictures - old dogs continue to thrive. 😊👍

Thank you Sir. 
I don't know about your wax/oil mix but with wax only, it usually just stays on the wood surface and you have to re-apply every now and then. Tung Oil on the other had penetrates deep into the wood (and become part of the wood, inside and out). When it completely dries with the wood grain inside, it offers great protection to the wood. Applying tung oil is an ancient Chinese practice, especially by the boat makers for centuries to cure their wooden boats and made them water proof, more durable and insect resistant.
I'm sure you'll find a ton of info from YouTube about tung oil and how to use it.

I got a set with dog faced knights off eBay recently. 82 mm kings, un-felted. I get the impression that it is fairly old both from the patina on the pieces and the form of the kings, queens, and bishops which is pretty different from most mid-century French sets. If anyone knows more about it please let me know!

I found another little dogface recently. 7.5cm (3”) kings. Lovely stuff - I imagine French but maybe German - any insights will be appreciated.

Hi all, I yet again call on your thoughts and help.

Here is another dogface set that I recently acquired. This the best that I possess - for a few reasons. 
The narrow stems and broad bases are to my eye - very elegant and eminently playable. It’s a very pleasing design. 
The pieces came in a lovely old slide top box that resembles the box that houses my Danish Union pieces - opening on the long side. 
Then there’s another Danish link - what look to be clippings from a Danish newspaper between 1936 and 1943. Of course, who’s to know if the clippings, box and pieces have always been together … the romanticist in me wants it to be true. Perhaps facts tell a different story. Who knows …

My sense by the nature the wood, age, patina etc… is that these are French made pieces … the narrow stems perhaps point to Chavet or a Chavet influence? Maybe produced in France exported to Denmark and sold in that country … hence someone doing daily chess puzzles with their pieces … again, a beautiful story if it were true … again, who knows.

I would dearly love experts in such pieces in chime in with their thoughts - what is the background to what appear to be 80+ year old French-Danish dogs. 😆