What type of wood is this?

H

Hubert S.

Joined
Dec 14, 2019
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Does anybody know what type of wood this might be? It is very heavy. Unfortunately, there is a crack on the left edge, where the lighter color part is. I am thinking about making some wa handles from it, it is about 1" thick.

ZgVh9Yj.jpg
 
You say it's very heavy - does it sink in water? If so, it might be Rosewood. I've got some that looks similar to that. The white portion is sapwood, and the dark portion is the heartwood. If Rosewood even that portion that is straight grain will look good in a contoured handle.
 
I weighed and measured the piece, it came out to 69 lbs/ft3, but that number is probably not very accurate.
 
Hubert S. said:
Does anybody know what type of wood this might be? It is very heavy. Unfortunately, there is a crack on the left edge, where the lighter color part is. I am thinking about making some wa handles from it, it is about 1" thick.

ZgVh9Yj.jpg
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Kingwood ?
y6Osi8c.jpg
 
im almost positive this not katalox or a rosewood, but is ebony. It looks like a piece of Amara ebony. Amara is one of the many ebonies from S.E asia that often gets listed as Makassar ebony.

The sapwood line as well as the slight glimmer to the surface are very characteristic.

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My bet is on a rosewood of some sort. What does it smell like?

Any way to get a close up shot of the grain?
 
I trimmed one side on the table saw before I took the picture and it did not smell like rosewood to me, but it has been many years since I worked with rosewood. I can take some close up shots tomorrow.

Are there any tests I can do to narrow things down? Would the end grain be helpful? It has some sealer on it, but I am going to have to cross cut it eventually. A couple hours ago, I was convinced it was katalox, the pictures on the web look so similar. Now I am not so sure.
 
if you polish a piece of end grain and post a photo, i can confirm based on that.

As I said though, the odor, weight, and appearance strongly point to this being a type of S.E asian ebony.
 
Greenberg Woods said:
if you polish a piece of end grain and post a photo, i can confirm based on that.

As I said though, the odor, weight, and appearance strongly point to this being a type of S.E asian ebony.
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Thank you. How do you recommend I prepare the wood after cross-cutting on the table saw?
 
So, Ben and Dave - I don’t doubt you on the ebony ... but my first impression was Kingwood, with a likely color shift in the photo/light. What is it in the photo that is cueing you in on the difference?

(though likely it is just my bias that I really like kingwood....)
 
Ben is more of an expert than me but in my case cause it looks exactly like a piece of SE Asian Ebony I'm working with right now.
 
Well , if Hubert S. don t like it because he don t know what it is ....he can send it to me ...I like it , and i don t care is it kingwood or queenwood :)
 
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