# Pretty sure its HRB



## GraiDawg (Feb 21, 2020)

My question is what's a fair price? I already have a buyer. I got this in a job lot so ive nothing to work from its roughly 5 by 8 by 3 inches


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## hokie (Feb 21, 2020)

GraiDawg said:


> My question is what's a fair price? I already have a buyer. I got this in a job lot so ive nothing to work from its roughly 5 by 8 by 3 inches


As a point of reference, in this For Sale listing, I paid $60 for slab #4. 
Are you sure you have HRB in that pic? The coloration is quite different than what I'm familiar with.


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## GraiDawg (Feb 21, 2020)

hokie said:


> As a point of reference, in this For Sale listing, I paid $60 for slab #4.
> Are you sure you have HRB in that pic? The coloration is quite different than what I'm familiar with.


No not sure, however I have another piece that looks to be off the same burl with HR on it


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## Dehn0045 (Feb 21, 2020)

Ultimately it's worth what somebody is willing to pay.  I'm far from an expert, I don't actually buy a lot of burl but I do price shop online quite a bit.  In my experience common domestic burls that size would run $20 - $40 (like maple or cherry), common exotic burls or less common domestic burls would run $40 - $80, and rare exotic burls that size would be $100+.  Both species and quality are important, a really rare burl like cocobolo won't need a lot of figure or eyes to get a premium, but a piece of maple better be super figured to fetch top dollar.  Average HRB in that size would probably run around $100, and premium stuff would be a bit higher.

All that said, based on the photo I would be skeptical that it is HRB.  Wood sellers and resellers have a lot of incentive to incorrectly identify wood, a problem that only gets worse with burl.  For example there is a reseller on eBay that often sells blanks he labels as "desert ironwood burl", a quick search shows that it is not actually DIW, his response to inquiries is basically "the guy I bought it from calls it that, so that's what I call it".  It is possible that the HR label was applied by an unscrupulous reseller...  In my opinion the block that you have looks more like coolibah than HRB.

Again, this is all just my opinion and I'm not an expert by any stretch.  So take it all with a grain of salt.


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## Manny (Feb 21, 2020)

Defiantly looks Aussie vintage to me. red  Mallee maybe?


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## magpens (Feb 22, 2020)

Kind of unusual for a person to commit to buying without there being an agreed on price.

Is there a coating on it (perhaps a lacquer) ? . Hard to tell in the pic.

I don't think it is HRB ... too yellowish, plus the grain, etc., does not look right.
Also, don't think it is Red Mallee .... Red Mallee has denser patterning in my experience and isn't yellowish either.
In fact, it doesn't even scream "I'm an Aussie !" but I could be wrong.

I assume that the 5" and 8" dimensions are as we see it, and the 3" is the depth (into the computer screen, or behind what we see).
The 3" direction seems to reduce in cross-section (and maybe by quite a bit) as you go further away from the visible front surface.
So it is hard to estimate how many pen blanks it would produce (just a measure of volume ... not saying that's the only way to use it).

Don't think I want to stick my neck out on this just one yet .... might come back.

You could create an anonymous poll over the $20 to $100 range ... could be done like the currently running BASH contest polling for best pen.


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## hokie (Feb 22, 2020)

My vote is for red mallee. Plenty of red mallee has loose grain pattern and yellow sap wood. Examples: 1, 2, 3
A lot of the figure in OP's piece is probably underneath and facing the table.
I am embarrassed to admit I have been fooled by unscrupulous vendors on eBay passing off red mallee as amboyna and other exotic burls. I'm getting better at identifying the real deals, but it takes a lot of handling and exposure to genuine products from trusted sources.


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## GraiDawg (Feb 22, 2020)

It does have a lacquer on it, though from the other pieces ive used its a very clear coating, I am kind of tempted to try and find a local expert who could help me with identification. I have a whole bunch of woods that are super pretty but i genuinely have no idea what they are. 
To be fair to the buyer, I'm not planning on charging much, i just don't want to ask over a fair price and also want him to have a reasonable guess of what it is. He intends to use it for hybrids and picked it solely on the 3" depth needed for his casting. 
if i get a chance I will take a sander to the other piece for a better picture. Super busy right now though. barely get time to make pens


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