The scant amount of 'restoration' work that I've done here probably doesn't deserve its own thread tbh, but I quite like the results, so it's getting one. Also because - it'll show that making this kind of case for oneself would be incredibly simple. As in effect; it's nothing more than a spectacle case with some padding and a divider inside, all you'd need is a glasses case, some glue and a bit of foam.
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I got this pair of old Bengalls plus travel case pretty cheap on FB marketplace last week:
The razors themselves were in very good condition, the case however was not. Someone had tried to hack off all the faux leather stuff from it, and got bored halfway through, then improvised a hinge with some bits of wire. Before taking it all apart to clean up though I did save that little strip of material, which I felt might be useful later on.
Cut the wires, used a little kiridashi to remove the rest of the papery-leathery whatever and then sanded the two sides down. The wood is some kind of incredibly soft and light-coloured (almost white) pine I think. Might even be balsa, perhaps I should've diamond pasted the outside for a handy travel strop
.
Anyhow I wanted to make it darker, and I don't really use wood stain. I thought about using coffee but I don't have the first idea how to use our coffee machine idea how to work our coffee machine cos the thing has a billion complicated knobs and dials. There's even a feckin' speedometer on the top.
If only I still lived with my mother, she'd have all the right kit! (My mother is a picture framer).
After a while I remembered that my wife had actually been bollixing about with some stain n varnish stuff a few weeks back. Normally I avoid this kind of thing like the plague, cos it's sticky, and streaky, and nasty, and I don't have the patience to wait for it to dry properly. But needs must.
Yuck!
It did work though, after a fashion. I then sanded the two halves back a bit and gave them a proper finish with Tung oil.
Next I needed to think about how I was going to remake the hinge bit. My idea is to use the original white strip of fabric glued on the inside of the case, and something else on the outside. I cut out a little bit of roo leather and thought about that, but decided it'd look weird and sit proud from the case.
The stuff at the top the next picture is a big pile of Liberty print fabrics. (My mother also used to work in the textile department at Liberty. Told you she was handy.)
I've always rather liked the classic peacock feather print, so I cut a strip of that out instead. Used some spray glue stuff to fix them to the inside and outside of the case to hold it all together, and here we are...
I'm sure it could have all been neater, but I think it has 'charm'. I like the little flash of colour and pattern from the fabric, and the hinge works well without being floppy - in the final picture the top of the case isn't actually resting on the table, which was what I was hoping for.
[Some pics of how the razors cleaned up to follow.]
---
I got this pair of old Bengalls plus travel case pretty cheap on FB marketplace last week:
The razors themselves were in very good condition, the case however was not. Someone had tried to hack off all the faux leather stuff from it, and got bored halfway through, then improvised a hinge with some bits of wire. Before taking it all apart to clean up though I did save that little strip of material, which I felt might be useful later on.
Cut the wires, used a little kiridashi to remove the rest of the papery-leathery whatever and then sanded the two sides down. The wood is some kind of incredibly soft and light-coloured (almost white) pine I think. Might even be balsa, perhaps I should've diamond pasted the outside for a handy travel strop
.Anyhow I wanted to make it darker, and I don't really use wood stain. I thought about using coffee but I don't have the first idea how to use our coffee machine idea how to work our coffee machine cos the thing has a billion complicated knobs and dials. There's even a feckin' speedometer on the top.
If only I still lived with my mother, she'd have all the right kit! (My mother is a picture framer).
After a while I remembered that my wife had actually been bollixing about with some stain n varnish stuff a few weeks back. Normally I avoid this kind of thing like the plague, cos it's sticky, and streaky, and nasty, and I don't have the patience to wait for it to dry properly. But needs must.
Yuck!
It did work though, after a fashion. I then sanded the two halves back a bit and gave them a proper finish with Tung oil.
Next I needed to think about how I was going to remake the hinge bit. My idea is to use the original white strip of fabric glued on the inside of the case, and something else on the outside. I cut out a little bit of roo leather and thought about that, but decided it'd look weird and sit proud from the case.
The stuff at the top the next picture is a big pile of Liberty print fabrics. (My mother also used to work in the textile department at Liberty. Told you she was handy.)
I've always rather liked the classic peacock feather print, so I cut a strip of that out instead. Used some spray glue stuff to fix them to the inside and outside of the case to hold it all together, and here we are...
I'm sure it could have all been neater, but I think it has 'charm'. I like the little flash of colour and pattern from the fabric, and the hinge works well without being floppy - in the final picture the top of the case isn't actually resting on the table, which was what I was hoping for.
[Some pics of how the razors cleaned up to follow.]
