In my most recent haul, there were two Gem Damaskeene cases that I needed to combine into a workable and better looking one. The first two pics shows them inside and out.......... I chose the second one, although it did have some wear on the outside, it was in better shape than the other one. This pic showing them after I gutted them out.......... The fourth pic shows the material I confiscated from my GF to make the inside hinge, or what ever it's called. Not an exact match in shade, but it looks good........ Next, using the same material as the hinge, I made the lining for the bottom wrapped around a thin piece of cardboard. As I wanted more contrast, I used deep blue acrylic to change the color, rubbed in using a coffee filter, except the bottom right area so I can glue the handle rest onto. I used the inside top lining of the other case because it's in better shape and I like it more. Also to make the outside of the case more presentable, I used my refillable brush pen with India ink, that I use for ink drawings, to touch up the areas wear the cover has worn down. Then rubbed it in using my finger and then lightly sprayed with a clear coat. I also removed the black coating on the snap, as I think it looks better.......... Final pic showing it all put together, along with the razor and blade bank..........
I wonder if it'd be worth my creating a few silk screens to create the various logos on velvet, so that people can refurbish or create new boxes.
I'll think about it. I know my folks still have all the screenmaking supplies, it's not horribly difficult. The trick is going to be getting the ink correct to seal into the velvet so it does the nice 'flat' surface. I wonder how they did it 80 years ago - probably still silkscreening, as it's an old technique.
@jimjo1031, could you take a couple of closeup photos (or scans) of the logos, with the height and width ?
If I can do one, I can do any of them. Gillette might be easier, since they tended to only do white. Reflective gold is harder. They had to have used an oil based paint, because acrylic paints are relatively recent. I surmise that they screenprinted, rather than stenciled, because of the time period, and that there aren't any connections between the printed sections. Because of time constraints and needing to finish cleaning out my house of old computer stuff, right now I just want to get a better idea of what it would take. My visualization would be to find velvet that's as close to original as possible, and simply print squares of it with logos, then sell/give away those squares.
Sizes L x H in inches: Both overall size for the linings are 3.45 x 1.65 1st logo size - 1.45 x 0.75 Should be a bit more purple 2nd logo size - 1.30 x 0.85 (including Made In U.S.A.) Dark Purple
