Thread: Part seasoned timber

Hi,

I have just brought some part seasoned Cocobola. I have never made any scales before but I like the look of the hand made scales on this forum.

Is the fact that this timber is part seasoned a bad thing or will it still be OK for razor scales.

All the best.

Peter

I'm not sure what "part seasoned timber" is, but I would venture to guess that it's equivalent to what we would call "partially dried" on this side of the pond. If this is the case, you'd probably be best off letting it sit for awhile before using it so that it can continue drying. Otherwise, when you go to use it, your scales may crack or split.

I'd love to have a set of cocobolo scales. It's such a beautiful wood. Best of luck.

Cocobolo and desert ironwood are two woods that can be used without liners for scales without having too many mishaps. Seasoned or not, you should be ok.

Originally Posted by phopwood

Hi,

I have just brought some part seasoned Cocobola. I have never made any scales before but I like the look of the hand made scales on this forum.

Is the fact that this timber is part seasoned a bad thing or will it still be OK for razor scales.

All the best.

Peter

As Bill said, you'll probably be ok. That wood (and ironwood) are so oily, they're not prone to checking (cracking as they dry).

Thanks for your replies, I will get started soon. I also bought some snakewood very expensive but the Cocobola was so cheap I can afford to mess up a few times.

Peter

Originally Posted by urleebird

Cocobolo and desert ironwood are two woods that can be used without liners for scales without having too many mishaps. Seasoned or not, you should be ok.

don't quote me on this but I think what you call cocobolo we call New Guinea rose wood as I say I not sure
Kind regards Peter

Looking at images on Google it looks like New Guinea rosewood is a lot lighter than cocobolo. Honduran rosewood looks to be a closer match to cocobolo.

Originally Posted by ranlome

Looking at images on Google it looks like New Guinea rosewood is a lot lighter than cocobolo. Honduran rosewood looks to be a closer match to cocobolo.

generally the shade and grain pattern change with ,where or which part of the tree the wood was taken from ,eg wood from near the bottom or roots of the tree is usually a lot darker and has a greater amount of grain pattern or figure than say the middle of the trunk or top of the trunk, well they do round these parts any way, Beef Wood and Gidgee is a good example of this trait
I`m not saying I`m wrong or right, but shade in a lot of cases can be a bit of a red hearing.
If some one has a difinative answer ,please chime in as I would realy like to know one way or the other
Kind regards Peter

I don't think they are the same, Peter. New Guinea is half a world away. Cocobolo comes from from Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua in general. It weighs between 66 - 77 pounds per cubic foot. Pretty dense stuff.

New Guinea rosewood is native to that area around Australia... no? I don't know how dense it is.

Desert ironwood is around 70 pounds c/f.

Walnut is about 35 - 40 pound c/f to give a comparison.

Honduras rosewood between 55 - 65

Bill,

Forgive this for being somewhat off topic (I've noticed this never happens here, ha!), but given your expertise on woods, do you think cocobolo would hold up long term in a shaving brush? I've only seen pictures of the brush, it's lacquered of course, but wood and water always find a way to get together.

Jim