[Prosperturning]

I picked up a box of pen blanks from woodcraft a couple of weeks ago when they had a sale and I still haven't figured out what different types of wood it all is. I turned a few pens the other day and was wondering if anyone in here would be able to tell me what they think the wood type is.

 

[ddiamondd]

The one on the right looks like walnut...but I could be wrong

 

[phinds]

The first one is probably some kind of rosewood, not sure about the 2nd one but I doubt it's walnut --- better (closer) pics would help, or you could poke around my site and see if anything looks familiar. Do you have any pics of the planks these came from ?

 

[Prosperturning]

I thought first one might be East Indian rosewood but wasn't sure. Here are some pictures of the blank next to each pen and a closer pic of the darker one (Walnut).

 

[phinds]

The first one is unquestionably zircote

The "rosewood" one does not look like EI rosewood to me, but that wood is variable one can never be sure. My bet is Honduras rosewood.

I'd suggest you poke around on the various rosewood pages on my site and see what you think. Also, it might be "granadillo" (an almost meaningless catch-all name for a lot of South American woods).

 

[Prosperturning]

Your site is a wealth of knowledge I have saved as a favorite. What would you call the figuring that is kinda snakeskin like?

 

[phinds]

Your site is a wealth of knowledge I have saved as a favorite. What would you call the figuring that is kinda snakeskin like?

that's just ray flakes ... those kind of flakes are pretty common in zircote. They show up particularly well in tight curves such as your pen. I think my site shows a bowl with a more gradual curve that shows similar flakes.