Review of SC Walter Grimshaw circa 1854 Repro 3.5" Staunton

There are many reproductions of Jaques Staunton set and this one is from Staunton Castle called "Walter Grimshaw circa 1854 Reproduction 3.5" Staunton Antiqued/Ebony Chess Set".

The white pieces are made from boxwood, antiqued processed and the black pieces are made from unstained ebony. From certain angle you can see the stripes/grains on some ebony pieces, that's very nice.

There are many reproductions out there and what differentiates between them in big part it's the knight. It's a matter of preferences but I like this knight the most. It has fat round belly and the head is not overly big compared to his body which I find perfect in proportion.

The set came well wrapped in the default box from SC so I'll be using the same picture from previous set.

Measured specs:

King 3.37" (85.60mm) / 1.68" (42.68mm) - 75g/77g
Queen 2.71" (69mm) / 1.5" (38.23mm) - 67g/56g
Bishop 2.54" (64.63mm) / 1.42" (36.23mm) - 43g/40g
Knight 2.31" (58.75mm) / 1.42" (36.08mm) - 40g/43g
Rook 2.04" (51.83mm) / 1.42" (36.15mm) - 51g/48g
Pawn 1.76" (44.9mm) / 1.27" (32.24mm) - 28g/23g

Note: weight is boxwood first then ebony.

Weight set: 1205g (without extra queens)

Impression:

The set has the classic height of 3.5" (well, almost) and combined with 1200g weight and the broad bases it makes it extremely stable. It handles really nice and above all it has such a classy look it's really a joy to play a game with it.

As for the design, besides the already mentioned knight's round fat belly as in not gouged out and the not overly big head, the rook has a more straight shaped stem with high battlements, the bishop's head is more square and the bases are more flat and broad and they're not tapered. All of this makes the set an elegant classy looking set.

Complementary pictures:

Very nice set Michael, love the in depth review and the quality photography. Really like the antiqued finish too.

Beautiful. I especially like the knights and the bishops. 

Cheers guys. Actually there are few other things I really like about this set compared to others but they're all preferences so I didn't mentioned them all. Besides the knight's body not being gouged out like mister Mc said, the rook has a more straight shaped stem with high battlements, the bishop's head more square and the more flat broad bases of the pieces and they're not tapered at the base. All of this makes the set more elegant compared to others imo.

edit: actually, the impression section is subjective so I actually can put what I wrote here, in that section.

Another sweet acquisition! I especially like how this set is packed for least amount of potential damage during shipment.I wish all vendors used this type of packaging.

Enjoy your prize.

Thanks for the review and all the photos, well done.  Your chess clock looks very classy too!

Very nice, particularly the knights ...

@mister Again yes I've seen that set while searching for a classic height 3.5" Jaques style set. It's beautiful! For someone like me who's not really into Jaques style but do feel one must have a classy looking Jaques style set in his collection, I find that set bit too expensive so I was glad I found this one. It's on the low end of the price spectrum and yet still looking classy and feels premium.

@mister Sound yes I'm glad I'm not into Jaques style sets otherwise I would be in trouble seeing how many iterations are out there lol.

Very nice carving on those Knights. Especially the ears. These SC carvers are on top of their game. 

To the chess manufacturers listening out there. No need to pump and dump to make a quick buck. Take your time and make a quality product. Quality over quantity. A finely crafted solid oak chair versus IKEA. There are enough low-end products in the world. No need to race to the bottom. 

PS. I don't agree with calling that part of the Knight piece the "belly". Since it's really the neck and throat of the horse. I interpret the gouging, as you call it, the representation of tense tendons and muscles of the neck. Not an empty belly. But I know what you mean.

Oh hey! I've never looked it that way mister Pawn! Now you said it, I see indeed what you're saying.

@TheOneCalledMichael   It's all good.

A nice and indepth review of the Walter Grimshaw set by Al Su Chess (Alex.)

As Michael correctly points out in the first post in this thread, the king base diameter for this set is 1.68 inch, I think on Etsy or the SC website, it is mentioned as 1.62" or 1.75".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUa-lwVe8D8

Nothing to add, just wanted to say thank you to The One for sharing the photos and description. This is the only way I and many others will have the opportunity to see them “up close”. 

+1 @wits-end - Can't agree more!

Cheers guys. Yes I think this is the other steal of the century. You gotta love the knight, it's like a horsie who went all out in a all you can eat wok restaurant. You see, I don't like horsies who only take salads when going out for dinner.