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I got the chance to go to a shop of an old fellow who is way past working recently and discussed the possibility of purchasing his entire stock of wood and some of his tools. Most of it was walnut, maple, Birch, elm, and other domestic woods, but he had some of wood he just called "rosewood". I wasnt in a position to be able to sand any of it or do too much of an inspection of it, but it didnt fit with what I know about rosewoods. There was quite a selection of woods, but none of it looked like any prized find that I would go crazy about, even this rosewood.

This wood has been sitting for years, possibly decades, and was covered with dust. It had no smell. It did have a decent tap tone, but was rough and unsanded. It was a deep chocolate brown and somewhat resembled walnut, but with obvious different wood structure and pores than walnut has. The thing I did notice is that it did not have that "waxy" feel that most rosewoods have, especially braz. I have a few sets of braz and it is all waxy feeling, but is it possible that some of it doesnt have that waxy feel to it?

I really feel like this was either some other sort of wood that the old man was mistaken about, or that it was really braz rosewood that just felt different. Of course it could have been some other rosewood from some other country that just had the color and appearance of braz.

I guess what I am asking is if all braz has the waxy feel to it?

PS: The old man's kids are selling off all of his stuff and they want to sell it all to one individual. Of course they think it is worth 10 times what I feel like it is worth. I made an offer, but I dont think I will hear back from them anytime soon.

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Reguards,

Ken H

Ken, back in the late 70's, the cabinet shop I was working for got a job making some cabinetry, light soffits, a wet bar, and a bunch of trim for some guy's home disco room.

He wanted us to use some specific wood he had purchased for the project, and dropped it off. It was a couple of hundred board feet of Brazilian Rosewood.

Yes, that's right, a home disco decked out in Brazilian Rosewood.

So, anyway, I got to work with a bunch of BRW. None of it was oily or waxy. Nor is the one set I bought from LMI about 25 years ago. I wonder if the BRW that you have felt was "waxy" was recently cut? Anyway, in my limited experience, BRW is not waxy.

If you could convince them to allow you to cut 1/2" off the end of one of the boards, then you would smell it, and you would know if it is BRW. I would also take a small block plane with me, and ask to plane down a small section of a rough surface. Tell them you can't really bid unless you have a better idea of what it is. There are a number of species that locals in Mexico and Central America call "Rosewood" that are not true rosewoods, but may still make fine guitars.

Good luck!

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

What Dennis said. None of my BRW feels waxy to me either. I have some coco that feels a bit waxy but this is my only set so I am no expert on coco.

Kingwood is a possibility and we even had a member who seemingly joined for the sole purpose of prepping us to have a feeling frenzy on a box of cut-offs and assorted planks left over from an executive office remodel. Turns out that was Kingwood and not BRW.

Pictures would always be helpful and Dennis's mention of smelling it and planing it is sage advice.

Perhaps waxy isnt the right word I am trying to find to discribe this.. maybe slick or oily would be better words for the rosewood I have, both EIR and braz. This wood was so dry feeling that it had none of those charachteristics. He didnt say what kind of rosewood it was and I didnt want to show too much emotion about it since I was going to bid on everything he had. I guess you could say that I had a poker face. There were only a couple of sets of this stuff and it was pretty, quarter sawn, and chocolate brown. If I could have sanded some of it, I would have known right away what it was for sure, or at least that it was some flavor of rosewood.

I guess you have answered my question, since you seem to think that braz can feel dry and not slick , oily or waxy feeling. Because of the man's medical condition and sense of memory, I couldnt rely completely on everything he was telling me, but as far as looks this did fit the bill for being braz. It just didnt have the same feel of the wood that I am used to. I was really more interested in his collection of old chisels that most anything else that he had.

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Reguards,

Ken H

Scent is pretty distinct with BRW. Either way, with all the varieties of rosewood, and species people commonly call rosewood without it actually being a Dalbergia. It is a stretch to assume it is without some solid indication. If it is good looking wood, that looks like it is cut and seasoned well. Then make a fair offer based on the wood you can identify it as. Personally, I think this is where your knowledge of wood as a builder is what you need to rely on.

Rich