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I have a buddy who is a full time sword smith. He often comes over to my shop to make use of my bandsaw and planer for resawing scabbard wood. On more than one occasion he has brought in a wood that he called Brazillian Blackwood. I have some of the scrap wood from one of these that I think would make some pretty cool fittings on an electric. I never doubted that this stuff was "Brazilian Blackwood" until I started trying to look up info and found absolutely nothing under that name. I wonder if maybe he meant African Blackwood and got confused? I have not worked with African Black-wood so I am not really sure. The wood is not quite black, it is a very very dark brown color. when you cut into it it is very light colored and has an orange hue to it, but within a couple of days or so it is all dark again. Very dense as well. If I get a chance I'll take photo or two of the piece that i have if it would help. I am just wondering if Brazilian blackwood actually exists or maybe if its a name that the lumber yard has given something generally known under a different name.

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~shad peters

http://www.flickr.com/photos/petersinstruments/
http://petersinstruments.blogspot.com/
http://petersinstruments.com/

How does it smell? Some Brazilian rosewood is pretty much black, with occasional orange streaks.

Hmm.. not sure about smell. I'll have to check that tomorrow. I have only ever held BR, I have not worked it so I am not super familiare with the odor. Is it at all similar to EIR?

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~shad peters

http://www.flickr.com/photos/petersinstruments/
http://petersinstruments.blogspot.com/
http://petersinstruments.com/

The African Blackwood that I've had didn't change color going from freshly cut to fully oxidized/UV exposed.

You may have Burmese Blackwood. I've never worked with it.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

It could be Pau Santo or Coracao de Negro (Brazilian ebony). Both of those are extremely hard, dense Brazilian woods that darken on exposure.

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John