# Did I get jipped on Cocobolo? Now with pics



## CharlestonPenWorks (Jul 27, 2009)

I recently purchased a bulk of "Cocobolo" blanks from a distributor which shall remain un-named at the moment.  It was not anyone related to this site, however I did get them through a group buy.  As I have been turning them, (used about 10 of the blanks), as I get deeper into the middle of the blank the color changes from a rich, deep brown to a much lighter color.  At first I thought that the blanks had nice color variation within the grain, hey, we all like color variation.  However, the finished pen last night was practically whitish inside with what looked like stain marks into the wood. The exterior was completely brown, the interior was almost completely light.  Something is not vibing with my instincts.  Did I get ripped? or am I completely paranoid.  I do not have a picture right now but I will post it tonight on this thread.  

DJ

As promised, here is a pic.  This is the best I could do.  My software has a hard time resizing pictures down small enough to post.






On this particular blank, there is a visible band of dark reddish coloring evenly around the entire blank, like if a liquid had soaked into the blank.  There are also streaks of the color lengthwise through the blank following the open parts of the grain.  





This is the pic of the pen I made last night.  The coloration doesn't seem natural.  Too much light, almost white wood with streaks of reddish brown.  If you look at the end of the pen which was the end of the blank, it is almost completely dark.





Here is a closeup of the end.  


I do not want to be called a crazy person, but when I tell a customer that I am selling them a pen made from XXX wood, well, you know my emotional/moral delima.  If wood has been doctored to make it look better when you open the package, I'm not interested.

Thanks for all your postings.  Keep them coming.

In Christ, 
DJ


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## NewLondon88 (Jul 27, 2009)

It's hard to know (as you yourself can see) what we will find inside of a piece
of wood.

HOWEVER.. the person doing the milling can see it. If this was a group buy, the
chances are pretty good that whoever did the milling knew where the two tone
was happening and cut accordingly. If they knew it was for pen blanks, that's not
so good. But chances are, this had nothing to do with the person putting together
the group buy. They wouldn't have any way of knowing what is inside the blank
any more than you would.

But cocobolo also shows dramatic variations in color within the same piece of wood.
It will also change color after being cut and exposed to air. (but not likely from
white to dark brown)


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## CharlestonPenWorks (Jul 27, 2009)

In no way do I blame the person who put together the group buy.  Absolutely not.  I have no reason to question intentions or motives.  That is all good here.  However, these blanks were purchased from out of the country.  I am just wondering if they were doctored before selling to make them "King Cocobolo"?  I do understand that there is great variation in color but this seems different than that.


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## THarvey (Jul 27, 2009)

Have you cross cut (diagonally) and sanded a blank to see if it might have been stained?  If you have turned 10 blanks with similar results, this does not seem like a random color variation.

I have turned a lot of cocobolo and never seen it turn white.  I have seen a lot of color from light orange to chocolate brown, to black, and even some grey, but never white.

BTW:  If you need some cocobolo for projects your working on, send me a PM.  I have some extras on hand and would be happy send some, if it gets you out of a jam.

Tim


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## DurocShark (Jul 27, 2009)

I've found that coco frequently looks pale until it's finished. Give it a quick wipe with mineral spirits or DNA and see if it darkens. If so, you're probably fine. And it does darken over time all on its own.


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## George7 (Jul 27, 2009)

I've seen that happen before with cocobolo. The pen I carry personally was like that. I bought a 3" x 24" board at Rocker because it showed some nice grain. When I ripped the first blank, I was so disappointed at the pale color that I almost didn't use the blank. The color changed quickly once the pen was turned, even after it was finished (CA). The pen is now very evenly colored, and it quite attractive.


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## wolftat (Jul 27, 2009)

CharlestonPenWorks said:


> In no way do I blame the person who put together the group buy. Absolutely not. I have no reason to question intentions or motives. That is all good here. However, these blanks were purchased from out of the country. I am just wondering if they were doctored before selling to make them "King Cocobolo"? I do understand that there is great variation in color but this seems different than that.


 I also bought in on this buy and have noticed some color variations, but they seem to be the normal colors. The place that they were purchased from is in PA , not out of the country. If you look the place up online, they have a website www.diamondtropicalhardwoods.com .


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## GouletPens (Jul 27, 2009)

I've had cocobolo be more of a light-orange color, but never whitish. The sapwood of cocobolo is quite light, perhaps that's it (though you would have seen that on the outside. A picture posted would go a long way!


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## Russianwolf (Jul 27, 2009)

Yes, Cocobolo will be very pale when first cut/turned. As it is exposed to oxygen/sunlight the colors come to life and can eventually get so dark that all the grain will be lost.

Set the pen aside for a while in the sun and see what happens.


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## Texatdurango (Jul 27, 2009)

CharlestonPenWorks said:


> ... Did I get ripped? or am I completely paranoid. I do not have a picture right now but I will post it tonight on this thread.
> 
> DJ


A picture is worth a thousand words so I'll wait to see what your talking about.

Cut a blank in half and show a cross section of what you're talking about.


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## CharlestonPenWorks (Jul 27, 2009)

I promise I will post a pic this evening.


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## jclark58 (Jul 27, 2009)

Looks normal to me. A number of woods, cocobolo among them, will change color with age and/or exposure to light or oxygen.

Jason


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## rjwolfe3 (Jul 27, 2009)

I'm not an expert but it does not look the cocobolo that I have in my shop.


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## THarvey (Jul 27, 2009)

DJ

I had a stopper blank I purchased from Rockler that looked similar to that.  It looks as if the blank was soaked in BLO (or something of that nature), that darkened the surface grain of the blank.

I do believe you received cocobolo.  However, I would not call that premium or "KING" cocobolo.

Try some DNA or Acetone to dilute the oil.  That may help level the color.

BTW:  My offer is still open, if you need some pen blanks.  I have some I cut from a board a couple months ago.  I can send you a few, if you need them.

Tim


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## maxwell_smart007 (Jul 27, 2009)

When I turn a cocobolo pen, it often turns pale and boring as I sand it...

If I leave it for a while, in the sun (I don't know if that has anything to do with it), it tends to get its colour back...


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## GouletPens (Jul 28, 2009)

All of my cocobolo pen blanks I've bought from WC and they don't look anything like that! Mine are all dark brown and black, sometimes the brown part lightens up a bit to a kind of orange tone, but nothing like what you have here. Maybe it comes from a different country than mine!


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## Bree (Jul 28, 2009)

DJ...

I see no whitish wood in the PIX.  I see some areas that are lighter than others but there is nothing unusual about that especially in Cocobolo which has wide color variation within the same board.  As others have said, the wood is photosensitive like Padauk... exposure to light... especially UV will cause color changes.  

I store all my Cocobolo and Padauk in a very dark area of the shop to retain the color that I liked when I bought the boards.  I treat them with UV blocker when I finish them to retard the color change though I kinda know that it is inevitable especially if the wood is exposed to sunlight for any significant amount of time.

If the wood were dyed or stained, when you cut off a cross section as you prepped the blank for drilling, it would most likely have shown significant variation in the very center.  The chips drilled out would have shown more of the original color as it is hard to penetrate the dye 100% throughout the blank.  From the cross section you displayed, it doesn't look dyed or stained to me.  Now I am not sure whether that is an exterior or interior cross section.  I am talking about an interior section.

If you are not sure about the wood, sell it as a "Not Sure But I Think It Is Cocobolo"  Give a $5 uncertainty discount and let the wood and craftsmanship sell itself.  If the rest of the blanks give you an unacceptable result, maybe buy your Cocobolo from another supplier.  

I prefer to buy boards I have visually inspected and mill them myself.  That gives me a good picture of the original wood and a better shot at verifying the species.  Even so... I mark each blank with a species code because sometimes it is sometimes very hard for me to tell one from the other.  Is it Honduras Rosewood, Brazilian Rosewood, East Indian Rosewood, Cocobolo, Bocote or something else?  I have all these woods and sometimes they look almost identical.

Bottom line... I wouldn't worry about it.  Finish the blank with some oil and CA and it will be beautiful... and it will sell.
:wink::wink::wink:


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## NewLondon88 (Jul 28, 2009)

If that is a 3/4" blank, then it could be from the sapwood portion of a large piece.
The radius of the rings looks pretty wide. And, as mentioned above, it does appear
that oil or sealer is soaked into the wood.

It would be interesting to take two blanks with similar color, leave one in the sun for
a few weeks and then compare them.


It could be cocobolo, but not a blank I would necessarily buy  (or sell)


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## hunter-27 (Jul 28, 2009)

rjwolfe3 said:


> I'm not an expert but it does not look the cocobolo that I have in my shop.


 While I agree with most everything being said, I agree more with this.


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## mrcook4570 (Jul 28, 2009)

Set it in the sun for a few hours.  It will darken.  I've seen a lot of cocobolo that was dark on the outside but was very light when freshly cut/turned.  It will eventually darken to the same color as it originally was.


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## Bree (Jul 28, 2009)

I saw this photo in the Photo Gallery today and thought of this thread... check it out... it's Cocobolo at 100x.

http://www.penturners.org/photos/index.php?n=79

There may be something to the lightness you experienced.  It may very well be in the wood itself.


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## Ron in Drums PA (Jul 29, 2009)

CharlestonPenWorks said:


> As I have been turning them, (used about 10 of the blanks), as I get deeper into the middle of the blank the color changes from a rich, deep brown to a much lighter color.  At first I thought that the blanks had nice color variation within the grain, hey, we all like color variation.  However, the finished pen last night was practically whitish inside with what looked like stain marks into the wood. The exterior was completely brown, the interior was almost completely light.  Something is not vibing with my instincts.  Did I get ripped? or am I completely paranoid.  I do not have a picture right now but I will post it tonight on this thread.
> DJ



Don't you just love Mother Nature. 

Hey, wood is a natural material. You will have variations in color.


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## bad (Jul 29, 2009)

Question:
I turned my first cocobolo pen a couple of weeks ago. I used a blank from a box of exotic blanks that I received as a birthday gift from Rockler. At least it was purchased from Rockler. Trust me, they don't know me at Rockler and therefore wouldn't send me a birthday gift  I took one of the cocobolo blanks which had some wonderful colouring on the outside and made it into a slimline pen. It lost all of the orange and the remaining colours weren’t nearly as nice as on the outside. Over time will the orange come back? Just wondering.


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## Seer (Jul 29, 2009)

When I turn mine it usually is a black and white shades, after a week it turns to Oranges creams and dark stripes actually looks alot nicer after it is turned.


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## Ron in Drums PA (Jul 29, 2009)

bad said:


> Over time will the orange come back? Just wondering.



Without seeing the blank I would hazard to say... there is a good chance that it will darken over time to a deep brown.


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## philb (Jul 29, 2009)

Sometime depends on where the tree was grown as to what colour the wood is, as Ive seen Cocobolo from different countries being different colours. 

One was a very rich red, and one more of a paler orange dusty colour? Cant remember which two countries though! Possibly Mexico and Brazil? Dont quote me on that though!!

Ive had both, but never quite as pale as that, but then that might just be at the the pale end of the paler cocobolo type?

PHIL


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## philb (Jul 29, 2009)

Seems the Mexican is the darkest variety I have?


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## brez (Jul 29, 2009)

There can be a wide range of colors and figure with cocobolo. I don't see anything in your pictures that looks out of line.

Mike


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## Kalai (Jul 30, 2009)

I have turned some Cocobolo and it has a certain smell, does your pen blanks smell like Cocobolo?  I often use the smell of a wood to help identify it, although the smell can be thrown off by age, mold or mildew and even sapwood verses heartwood, for example Hawaiian Sandalwood has a very nice smell bit it is only in the heartwood and none of it in the sapwood, I have never turned the sapwood of cocobolo so I don't know if there is a big difference, aloha.

Chris "Kalai"


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## mdburn_em (Jul 30, 2009)

Those pictures definitely look like some of the cocobolo that I have.  I got them as cut-offs from a furniture maker.  Definitely not premium blanks but still very nice.  They are very dark on the outside and much lighter on the inside, as you describe.  

here is a little information http://www.exoticwood.biz/cocobolo.htm


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## bad (Jul 30, 2009)

SEER and Ron:
Thank you for your replies. Now I have to go home after work and look at the pen and see if it's changed.

By the way SEER, nice sign off  I actually laughed out loud when I read that. Do you mind if I use that line one day?


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## Russianwolf (Jul 30, 2009)

bad said:


> SEER and Ron:
> By the way SEER, nice sign off  I actually laughed out loud when I read that. Do you mind if I use that line one day?


I think Gallager originally said that one along with this one....


If the opposite of a Pro is a Con, then the opposite of Progress would be.... Congress....


Thank you thank you, I'll be here all week. :biggrin:


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## brewtang (Jul 30, 2009)

The biggest thing for me would be the smell...Cocobolo has that distinct Rosewood smell.


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