Thread: Desert Ironwood

A brush I did for a new member here who had wanted the same brush as Thomas from Denmarks, on youtube. The handle is Desert Ironwood turned to replicate the brush in the video. The badger knot is a TGN 26mm supersilvertip.

Thanks for looking guys!

Great job.
That is beautiful wood.

Do you know what causes the black?

Looks great,Have often been perplexed about Ironwood as the name covers about 25 diff. types of hardwoods (inc Lignum).
Great Job.

Originally Posted by rolodave

Great job.
That is beautiful wood.

Do you know what causes the black?

That is a good question. I don't think it's caused by anything, it's a natural occurrence in the wood that varies from tree to tree. I've seen pieces with none and I've seen pieces with lots. But......It may be a lot like box elder where it has a vibrant red streaking going through it. Some say that is caused by damage or trauma to the tree be it from bugs boring, wood peckers, broken limbs or anything that might cause trauma to the tree. I've seen the black pigment present around checks and cracks in the wood so it's possible it's the same.

But really, I have no idea..

I have seen mesquite have streaks of red, black, yellow, etc.

An injury does seem like a very plausible cause.

B

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Looks great,Have often been perplexed about Ironwood as the name covers about 25 diff. types of hardwoods (inc Lignum).
Great Job.

I've been after desert ironwood for a while. The prices on Ebay for it were redic... especially to get it up here to Canada. a guy from Arizona posted some not to long ago and the price was right. The stuff I received is quality. Interlocking grain, tons of color and figure. I'm very happy with the wood that's for sure.

Originally Posted by rolodave

I have seen mesquite have streaks of red, black, yellow, etc.

An injury does seem like a very plausible cause.

That's another I need to get. Saw lots of mesquite when I was in Arizona. Beautiful stuff

Very nice. I recently made some knife scales from desert ironwood and I was really surprised at how heavy it was. I thought ebony was heavy till I got some. Its a beautiful wood. I have a block and some burl slabs lying around that I have been wanting to use. After seeing this I might have to stop being lazy and finally get my lathe running.

Originally Posted by JSmith1983

Very nice. I recently made some knife scales from desert ironwood and I was really surprised at how heavy it was. I thought ebony was heavy till I got some. Its a beautiful wood. I have a block and some burl slabs lying around that I have been wanting to use. After seeing this I might have to stop being lazy and finally get my lathe running.

Your right, it is heavy and one of the premier woods in my opinion. The trees don't grow very big making the wood rare and prized for small projects like ours.
I'm sure glad the customer didn't want CA on this one. Oil makes this wood puff out its chest and say, look at me!!

Normally the dark wood is the heartwood,T he lighter wood the sap wood (not a bad thing).
This is a pce of Coromandel from my wood collection,the tree is extinct today,no longer exsists.
The dark is the heartwood,the light is the sapwood.