Sometimes when it rains it pours - in my case, having never found a teak trivet worth picking up I suddenly find myself with several. As with my previous post, and now with these well-made, finger-jointed trivets with feet.
This are marked "Denmark" underneath.
Here's a detail shot of the jointery - there isn't much made with this level and attention to detail much these days.
I also like how the sides are routed to provide finger-lifts to make it easier to carry whatever is riding the trivet, much like a serving platter.
OK - that's about it for this post. Good luck in the hunt!
Not much to be found lately at the thrift stores - at least not much worth buying. Seems most of the modernist items that I like have been snagged up by others. On Friday I found this nice teak tray - it's nothing special but well made, measing 22.5 inches long by 11.5 inches wide. It's also fairly unblemished (a couple of small edge scratches):
I like the bevelling of the edges:
It has a light "Denmark" stamp in the center of the bottom oh and the price was right a $1.91:
This second item I found a few weeks ago - it just sort of caught my eye as most teak items do. I believe it to be a trivet - this one made by Dansk with the usual markings and also the right price at 99 cents:
It's about 6.5 inches in diameter...
As always, thanks for reading and good luck in the hunt!
My latest find almost wasn't - last weekend I stopped in a Goodwill and basically walked through the whole store without finding anything. Fortunately I walked back through right when a staff member was putting out a few pieces in the "wooden things" aisle - that's when I spotted this tray.
I call these "teak surfboard trays" for lack of a better name - the tapered ends curve up into the handles. This is the first I've owned, however I've always greatly admired the style and design. My friend John Stephens tells me that this is the second-from largest size, measuring in at about 28 inches or so in length (eyeball measure).
This example has great, intact laminations (boards are cut and laminated side-by-side to make up the width). Notice the darker smudges - that's candle wax. I've wiped down the tray with a bit of mineral spirits and have removed all but a hint of the circles. I then applied some Danish Oil. I haven't decided whether to wipe it down again or apply another layer and call it done (no pics of the finished item yet - this is definitely a keeper).
One thing I like in particular is the construction - this image is blurry but you can see the sliding dovetail for the "feet" trimmed with a few passes of a chisel at the end.
I believe this is an earlier example, bearing all the marks: serial number, "ducks" logo, "Dansk Designs Denmark Inc" and copyright symbol.
It's been a while since I've found something worth posting about - this time I found this Heller Two Quart Casserole with Au Gratin Cover Designed by Massimo and Lella Vignelli for Heller - these started production around 1975. I've always admired the one that my friend John Stephens has - first seeing it during a pot-luck at the house where they brought a yummy dish presented in the casserole dish. I was very lucky to find this example for less than $5 at a Goodwill near work. This one is marked Heller, Made in USA and Microwave Safe - no chips in the lid or dish at all. Measures about 9 3/4″ in diameter at widest and 5 1/2″ tall and very heavy - the interesting texture is from grooves moulded into the glass. Very happy to find this during a serendipitous moment...
I found this smaller (about 10" in diameter and 2 1/2" tall) Kobenstyle paella pot (for lack of a better name - I think it was actually sold as something else, maybe as an alternative to a saute pan?) at Goodwill the other day for less than $6. The bottom is marked Dansk Designs France and IHQ. I've always admired these low-slug pans, this one is in exceptional condition, the only problem being the chip on one of the handles. I generally don't buy these if the white enable has chips in the actual cooking area (yep, I actually cook with my set). This one joins the much larger "paella pan" I already own in yellow (the latter was purchased many, many years ago in the old junk shop that used to be on Ponce by Eats for $3).
Felix says "I sure like the red!"
Glad I'm wearing clothes!
Since owning and using these Dansk pots, I've managed to chip the red off of one other handle on a red lid. At some point I'll take some photos of the whole set.
Last week I came across this interesting table accessory at my local favorite junk/thrift store - I'm not quite sure what it's called but it's basically two stainless steel bowls attached to a wood handle, marked Kalmar, Stainless Steel, Denmark on the bottom. Most of you know of my affinity with wood, especially teak and rosewood - the rosewood handle on this item jumped out at me on the shelf. Priced super cheap, I also got a slight discount at the counter.
This is what real rosewood looks like - I believe many have sort of forgotten as much of the junk on the market is actually a substitution (rosewood finish). It's very hard and very striking...
The second item I found a day later at Goodwill. I've been wanting a mat cutting jig for some time and this one looks to be unused (extra blades still wrapped, and even the blade in the angle-cutter appears unused and sharp). At $8.58 I couldn't say no - this is a "baby-brother" to the much larger Logan I learned to cut mats with back in the 80's (dating myself) but at least it has metal parts - most similar parallel el cheapo mat cutters you find these days in the hobby stores are made of plastic.
I actually found this radio some time last year at an estate sale, where I picked up several other items. Since pickings have been slow lately and I was recently able to get this guy working, I thought I'd talk about my fix.
Immaculate Wood Finish
So when I got home with the radio I foolishly plugged it in - a huge spark flew and the breaker kicked. Looking carefully at the cord there was a break right where the cord melded into the housing. I took the time to take the cord apart and open up the case, mostly to see how bad the paper cone was deteriorated. Amazingly the interior was very clean and the paper still intact - no brittleness that you usually see in old radios and speakers.
So this is what the cord looks like:
And you can see the culprit here:
I made a few inquiries online with various radio "experts" - one guy I found specializes in restoring old Grundig radios. I related the cord issue and asked if there were any replacements available - his reply was that there weren't. At that point I was resigned into cutting the piece apart, rewiring and epoxying everything back together - so it became a back-burner project.
Fast forward to yesterday - I was at my local Goodwill and looking for an externsion cord to test a piece of outdoor equipment - I came across this old appliance cord and thought "this looks just like the cord on that old Grundig radio!" It came home with me for $1.91
And viola! A perfect fit:
Here's the test - plugged in for the second, hopefully successful time:
I put together this short video as I tested the stations and controls:
Another cool, useful item saved from the landfill!
I found this smaller (about 10" in diameter and 2 1/2" tall) Kobenstyle paella pot (for lack of a better name - I think it was actually sold as something else, maybe as an alternative to a saute pan?) at Goodwill the other day for less than $6. The bottom is marked Dansk Designs France and IHQ. I've always admired these low-slug pans, this one is in exceptional condition, the only problem being the chip on one of the handles. I generally don't buy these if the white enable has chips in the actual cooking area (yep, I actually cook with my set). This one joins the much larger "paella pan" I already own in yellow (the latter was purchased many, many years ago in the old junk shop that used to be on Ponce by Eats for $3).
