Wood Identity

CDHumiston

CDHumiston

KNIFE MAKER
A friend of mine has this old football carved from wood and a display base. It must be 30-40 years old.

Here is a picture of the base.

Can anyone identify this? He's giving it to me for knife scales...

IMG_0194.jpg
 
It does look similar. The grain on the piece I posted seems to have a lot more sharp edges, almost like lightning bolt drawings...
 
It's hard to tell for sure unless you sand it down to bare wood. The first picture reminds me of Wenge but if it lightens up a good bit when you sand it I would say Bocote or Ironwood. When you re-saw it, Ironwood smells like a$$ to me, so that is one way you can tell...
 
Chris Railey said:
It's hard to tell for sure unless you sand it down to bare wood. The first picture reminds me of Wenge but if it lightens up a good bit when you sand it I would say Bocote or Ironwood. When you re-saw it, Ironwood smells like a$$ to me, so that is one way you can tell...
Click to expand...
I didnt think of that but yeah ironwood smells pretty “farty”. Bocote kinda reminds me of cinnamon.
 
I’m pretty confident that it’s desert ironwood. Also desert ironwood has a specific gravity over 1 and sinks in water. If it sinks, that will rule out most other woods that it could be from the looks.
 
I received the wood today and it's very heavy for the size pieces and it smells like @$$ when I cut it! Sinks right to the bottom of a bucket of water...
 
Ironwood. Looks like a Mexican tourist piece. They worked it while it was wet (not properly dried) and over the years cracks developed. I pick em up at yard sales and thrift stores for pennies on the dollar...seals, whales, saguaro cacti, pelicans, owls, all sorts of shapes.
 
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