A couple of weeks ago, I posted that I acquired a silver Tuckaway case along with matching handle and blade bank. (I'm still looking for a New Improved head, however. :-() Early last week, I got bug up my butt and decided to take my first ever shot at doing a restoration. Before: After: According to advertisements from the time, the original lining was velvet and satin. The current lining is more like felt and twill. There are some dark areas along the edge of the upper case lining from where I used too much glue and had some seepage into the fabric. Ideally, this should be redone but that is something for another day. Now, you may be wondering about the logo on the lining. This was a bit of an experiment. First, I downloaded this image from the wiki associated with another forum: Then I went to RubberStamps.net and had a 1.5" wide stamp made with the image. The actual stamp was done with silver ink. It's not perfect but seems to add a nice touch. BTW, I didn't try to fix the dent in the cover. I think it adds character in a "stopping a bullet" kind of way.
Beautiful work John! Nice poke in the eye to current SJW Gillette how you had a stamp made to reproduce the old logo. There are others that do these restores that might want to PM you for pieces of fabric that are already stamped.
I had reason to work on this case again to fix an issue with the latch. While I was at it, I replaced the lid cloth with a flannel-backed satin which is more akin to the original cloth. Time for a family portrait: First up is the Silver NI Tuckaway case which I relined. The satin is a definite improvement. I still don't have a silver NI head, however, so an English FB New is currently standing in. Next is my recently acquired Gold NI Tuckaway. This is the original lining. The base isn't in too bad a shape but the lid cloth is pretty badly stained. Last is my New Deluxe Tuckaway. This case was relined by @jimjo1031.
One more project that I've been fooling around with- a Pocket Edition case. This one was, figuratively speaking, a basket case when I got it as part of a lot. The case was bent such that it would not stay closed and bore the remnants of masking tape which must have been used to hold it closed. I managed to get out the worst of the bends, though you still can see some dents in the engraving area and on the bottom. The case will stay closed on its own now, though I have had it pop open if bumped wrong. I don't think I have the tools or the patience to get it to where it was in the 1920s, but I'm willing to settle for how it might have looked in the 1940s. The original lining was brown(?) velvet which was complete but had dry-rotted to the point that it would shed brown dust if you even looked at it. I took a slightly different path with the replacement lining. The base is purple felt and the lid is a satin material. Technically, the lid should be lined the same as the base but I don't like the effect with this material; instead, it is lined more like a Tuckaway case. The logo is another rubber stamp; this time in 2.5" wide. The case came with a blade bank and an OT ball-end handle that was split from end-to-end. For now, I've decided to take some liberties and use the case to store an Otto Roth New LC with a mismatched handle.