Bad Batch of Brazilian Rosewood? Normal?

[J. Keeton]

So I've been working with a large block of what I think is Brazilian Rosewood (based on input from Greenberg Woods on a previous thread). This is the first time I've ever used this type of wood.

Are these fractures and "dots" normal? I noticed them when cleaning up the front of the scales. This is around a 600 grit finish.

*Note the line to the top right of the photo along the flat of the scale is a scribe line... it just so happens to line up with a fracture.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

The dots are pretty much normal. They look clogged with sanding dust. The checks are probably due to being overheated when sanding. Rosewood is a big name that covers a lot of wood types. The Brazilian rosewood I have used looked different that yours.

 

[Carterwhopkins]

I agree with Stacy that it is dust or residue from polish, if you used a buffer. After I buff my wood handles, I always wipe down with mineral spirits and a rag to clean off any residue. Cracks are likely caused by heat...if you are concerned, flood them with thin CA.

 

[Greenberg Woods]

The dots are the pores filled with ultra fine sawdust.

 

[tim37a]

You might try wiping it down with a tack rag to get rid of the dust in the pores.

 

[J. Keeton]

Awesome, thanks guys. I wiped it down then flooded the fractures with CA glue and sand it down. Thanks for the help!

 

[Carterwhopkins]

Please share your results...

 

[Ken H>]

and use fresh sharp belts!

 

[Randy3000]

I, too, would like to see results. Pores have caused me to throw wood away.

 

[Andreotti]

The real Brazilian Rosewood is Jacarandá da Bahia. it´s a oily wood. smeel like chocolat when you grind. The wood have some open pores. Don´need oil in your finish, just a polish.

 

[dirc]

I'd like to get some of that, it sounds almost like lignum vitae - which is probably the most expensive/impossible wood to get since the age of sail (when most of it was used up)

 

[MBB]

That pic looks kind of like Katalox to me. Katalox tends to have a purple-brown look. Also, sale of Brazilian rosewood is strictly banned with very rare exception:

"In 1992, Brazilian rosewood was added to the CITES treaty, strictly banning its exportation. Today, Brazilian rosewood can only be obtained and used for guitars (or anything, really) if it was harvested and exported prior to the CITES ban, or harvested from trees that have fallen naturally—and is accompanied with a certificate of provenance in both cases."

It may be that what you have is Brazilian. I just have experience from working with old hand planes totes, which were usually Brazilian. Those totes have a chocolate-to-black color.

BTW, the linear lines are probably "heat checks" from heating the wood up during sanding. You might do better with rasps, files, or Japanese files (Iwasaki) for shaping and then hand sand.

 

[J. Keeton]

Thanks again for all the input. I did my best to salvage the scales. This is how it turned out. I CA glued any fractures I saw and then sanded them down.

 

[Britt_Askew]

Looking at the first picture I was also thinking Katalox but after seeing the last pictures I am not sure??
They turned out nice.

 

[MBB]

Or Kingwood.

 

[daizee]

The Katalox I've used is a waaaaay darker brown/black.

That's a nice little blade. I like the stonewashed finish on that shape.

 

[J. Keeton]

Thanks,

The wood defiantly grinds purple. Here is some grinding @ 2:57:

 

[jdm61]

This is Brazilian and frankly, the dregs of the old stash that this guy had for years. I still have a few tiny scale pieces left with a fair bit more figure. He blew this stuff out cheap. The stuff from say 18-10 years ago was a fair bit fancier. You get the idea of the color and the stick with the knot gives you an idea of what it looks like with a bit of figure.