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Rosewood or Macassar ebony??

1832 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  frankp, 
twingall1
Hi all,

Need a little help identifying this hardwood blank, Its very hard/dense; well Aged (bought from an antique toolbox c1920)

I just can't decide if its Macassar ebiony with its distinctive striped pattern, or rosewood(seems like a good match too)

Here are some pics of it:







Any help would be greatly appreciated,

thanks,
Tom
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cabinetman
That's a tough one to pick without having the opportunity to do a touchy feely and smelly. Ebony can be harder than Rosewood, and Rosewood can be more oily than Ebony. They could weigh about the same. If I had to teeter, I'd be leaning towards the Ebony.




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S
It doesn't look like either. The color in grain look more like ironwood to me.
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F
what does it smell like when you sand/cut it? If it smells sweet and nice it's rosewood. If it stinks like dirty sock dish water it's macassar ebony. (I can't see the pics so I have no other help for you.)
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