Dalbergia retusa hemsl, a true Rosewood, is commercially known as Guatemalan Cocobolo and Rosul. This is the first shipment of Guatemalan Cocobolo that we have received. Due to the rising political and internal conflict in Mexico we have decided to carry this beautiful variety of Cocobolo from the mountains of Western Guatemala. It is nice clean stock thatis kiln dried, surfaced on two sides, and ready to use.There are dark violet colors in this stock, which is very attractive.
Guatemalan Cocobolo grows on a thin band along the Pacific Coast in Central America. Our stock is selectively cut and logged by hand, squared by chainsaw, and drug out of the forest by mules. This is a very environmentally low impact procedure.Cocobolo is a true Rosewood, similar in color & tap tone to Brazilian Rosewood and considered to be a good substitute. Dalbergia retusa hemsl shares some of the same properties visually and acoustically as Mexican Cocobolo and Honduras Rosewood but is a unique species. It is denser than most Rosewoods and is less oily than Mexican Cocobolo but slightly oilier than Honduras Rosewood. For best results in gluing, epoxy is recommended. Cocobolo has great working properties & turns to a naturally high polish. The colors range from any combination of dark and light purple/violet to black lines with occasional creamy white sapwood.Our stock is 95-100% heartwood. There may be an occasional pin or bug hole in 3% of this stock. Some may have a small 1-3 check on one face or edge. There are tapers in the widths of these boards so the widest point is at one end of the board and then they gradually taper to the other end of the board (see width of each item for details). On the long boards it is hard to visually see as it is subtle. 1/8 crown or 1/16 bow may be present but generally the boards are flat & straight. This is excellent material for ukuleles, marimbas, boxes, pens, inlay and marquetry. Items marked XF have swirling, unique grain patterns.
