Case/Bose Norfolk "Ebony"?

sithlord_1968

sithlord_1968

Joined
Aug 27, 2006
Messages
100
Guys,

I just received a Case/Bose Norfolk in Ebony. I'm blown away by the custom quality. Now I don't own a custom slip joint and have never held one, But I never imagined a knife could be made this nice with such tight tolerances. It's Gorgeous!

Here's my question: I know the scales are supposed to be Ebony but all the Ebony I own and have seen is soot black. My Norfolk has streaks of brown in it like African Blackwood.

Are these scales really African Blackwood?

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some ebony does have streaks of lighter brown in it. There's even "black&white" ebony which is pretty cool! The pure black is harder to get.
 
willgoy said:
Apply furniture polish and it may darken, it's good for the wood anyway.
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Yep that's good or even better yet, Formby's Lemon Oil Treatment(Walmart carrys it). This stuff will penetrate the wood and protect if from moisture AND will make it darker naturally. Smells good too.
 
Yeah, give it a little lemon oil every once in a while and a little time and the brown will likely fade away almost entirely -- it's a freshly cut surface right now you know.
 
Nice:thumbup:
There is some good advice here for darkening the scales.
cheers
mitch
 
Nice knife! Hard to tell African Blackwood from the other Ebonies.
I've seen more brown streaks in the others (Indian, etc.), less in Blackwood.
I suspect you would have to look at a lot of it, to eventual learn the differences.
The most beautiful I've seen is some Gabon Ebony, which has an oily, buttery look, and is Jet Black. I have a knife with it, which I'll post next week, when I get home.
Google tells me that Blackwood has superior tonal qualities, as well as blackness, and is typically used for Clarinets.
 
Like waynorth, I thought immediately of Macassar ebony (Indian) with the brown streaks. I'd be surprised if it wasn't ebony, if that's what they advertise. I know some prefer the pure black, but I think the streaks add character. Beauty!
 
Charlie is right, really high quality Gabon ebony is something to behold. I managed to get a few blocks of some prime Gabon ebony a while back; so far I have had one knife rehandled with it - the Queen teardrop in the center of this picture. This is how it turned out with simple finishing, no oils or waxes. I still have a fair amount of the wood left, waiting for a knife I deem worthy. I should also add that although I do not have any allergic reaction to some woods that have a bad reputation (like cocobolo) I had a pretty good reaction to this ebony after I cut it.
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zerogee said:
Yeah, give it a little lemon oil every once in a while and a little time and the brown will likely fade away almost entirely -- it's a freshly cut surface right now you know.
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Or it may not. The ebony fingerboard on my well over 100 year old violin has some nice deep brown streaks in it in places. It's a very well used fiddle and has seen plenty of hand oils and cleaning oils over its life. If those streaks were going away, they'd be gone by now.

That knife is absolutely stunning the way it is. Congrats.
 
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