Arab Figural Nutcracker
Arab Figural Nutcracker
Nov 09
Here’s a unique nutcracker that came to the shop missing a jaw.
The piece was disassembled, the broken area flat spotted, and new wood added.
Here’s the piece all done with the new wood blended to match up seamlessly with the original.
The finish on the piece was also refreshed to bring out the details and make the piece pop.
The customer suggested I carve the piece with a soul patch.
Honestly that was a great suggestion, it works, and really looks great on this piece!
Early Lever Nutcracker
Early Lever Nutcracker
Oct 13
This great really old lever nutcracker came into the shop with some damage to the face as well some older repairs that were not done well.
I removed all the old repairs, replaced the damaged areas with Boxwood, and blended them into the original piece:
The face was fixed and all the new repairs were then painstakingly stained and colored to seamlessly blend in with the original wood and the piece’s great patina:
Both myself and the customer are very pleased with how well this piece turned out.
Groden
Groden
Jul 22
Another great rare Groden came through the shop recently.
This one came in with a lot of woodworm damage which is a common issue with these pieces.
The customer wanted all the woodworm holes filled and the damage to the top and above the lever repaired, and wanted to retain the original patina.
This meant filling every hole individually and blending each one to match the surrounding color/ patina.
It’s a lot of work, but is well worth it on a piece this rare.
It came out great!
I was very happy with how this piece came out and, more importantly, the customer was thrilled with the restoration.
A not so Simple Groden!
A not so Simple Groden!
Feb 18
I was contacted by a customer who purchased a Groden that had been previously repaired.
The mouth was repaired in such a way that it threw the alignment off and set the chest too far back in. (*click on photos for a larger view)
On a less rare piece where authenticity isn’t an issue, moving the pin would be an option.
On a rare piece like a Groden, the less the original wood on the piece is disturbed, the better.
Getting the chest to line up, required a lot of material to be removed from the previously repaired mouth which then pushed the mouth too far back into the piece and out of alignment.
To fix this, new wood was added to the mouth to build it back out.
The new wood was then carved, blended, and stained to match the original finish and the aged patina on the piece.
This is a lot of work, but it’s worth it to not disturb the original wood and maintain this piece’s authenticity.
—–Brandon
Anri from the Netherlands
Anri from the Netherlands
Dec 16
Back in August I got an email from Fran – Vintage Breda (Etsy) politely asking if I would mind if they mentioned me as a resource to fix an Anri Sailor they were going to post for sale.
The piece went up for sale in November and I let one of my customers who has a great Anri collection know about it.
He bought the piece immediately and had the piece drop shipped at my shop for repairs.
Here’s the piece as it arrived fresh from the Netherlands:
Got new wood glued in place:
I started working on the piece then noticed it had a couple holes too:
Here’s the piece all fixed and fully restored (remember-simply click on the image to see a larger version):
This is a great piece.
The restoration turned out great and this piece will be heading to it’s new home soon.
—– Brandon
Black Forest Gnome
Black Forest Gnome
Oct 31
Here’s a great gnome carved in the Black Forest style.
It came in with a broken beard.
Got it all fixed up and made a custom base for it.
This piece came out great and has been added to my own personal collection.
A big thank you goes out to one of my blog readers for sending me the link to this piece on Ebay!