Dansk Teak End-Cut Coaster Set

I'm finally getting around to December and January finds - fairly "slim-pickings" from those two months or perhaps I'm just getting too choosy. In any case, I found these 8 coasters at Goodwill - they had the two rubber bands around them as shown, wrapped in plastic with a $1.92 price on them.

They looked great and even better once I got them home. I don't believe they were ever used - so these are keepers.

Dansk would normally market these in sets of 4 so I'm presuming that these 8 are actually two sets. Also, Dansk would normally mark the edge of at least one coaster with a small "Dansk" imprint - I've looked these over and couldn't find one so these are potentially knock-offs. However they are so nice it doesn't matter to me, plus they are extremely functional.

I'm particularly fond of the butcher-block end-grain cut of similar cutting boards. I find the grain patterning entrancing. Sorry about the glare on these - they aren't high-polish but due to the wood's hardness and silica content, they tend to reflect light.

More to come...

-- John

Dansk End-Cutting Board Tray Refurb

I managed to do some light sanding on the Dansk Teak End-Grain Cutting Board/Tray that I posted previously.

This tray was mostly just a bit dirty but it did have a few imperfections - luckily they all sanded out. I always start these retorations by wiping everything down with mineral spirits. It tends to get off any goo and the sanding tends to work out any residue. After a bit of sanding at 220 I wiped well and followed with two coats of Watco Danish Oil. I love the honey-colored hues of Teak. This one will be a keeper.

-- John

Dansk Teak Serving Tray with End-grain Cutting Board

I posted this find a few days ago on Facebook - $1.71 at Goodwill (where do they get these prices?).

Technically this is more of a platter with a cutting surface, for cheese, fruit, etc. It's about 12 inches in diameter and in very good condition (no major gouges, with a surface that's just a bit dirty).

Dansk would cut small pieces of end-grain teak to get the butcher-block effect - these were inset into a routed space then sanded flush - an interesting technique that would hold up well provided the platter wasn't left submerged in water (I've seen more than one butcher-block platter made in this manner with pieces missing from the glue-up).

As a bonus, this example was made in Denmark (rather than Malaysia or elsewhere) so the teak is probably from Northern Europe. Full Dansk and IHQ brand on the bottom.

Apparently whomever priced this at Goodwill thought the top was the bottom (usually the price is marked on the bottom of these types of items). I was surprised to find this as it was mid-day and most of the dealers had already grabbed-up anything of perceived value. I'll post a pick later after I've cleaned it up - this one is a keeper.

-- John

Restored Dansk Surfboard Tray

I thought you might like to see the Dansk Surfboard Tray after I worked on it. Original post: http://thrifting.blogspot.com/2012/03/dansk-teak-802-surfboard-tray.html

This is how it originally looked:

A few notes:
I originally thought that the staining was just wax - I now revise that as with most waxes, mineral spirits quickly dissolve paraffin and remove the staining and in this case it didn't work. It could be that these were candles that contained other additives and it's those compounds that resisted cleaning. Or it could be that the stains were actual bottles of some other products.

1. After trying a couple of solvents I first neutralized and then lightly sanded. The sanding took care of all the staining.
2. I finished up with a quick rub-down of Watco Danish Oil - Natural.

-- John