East Indian Rosewood
East Indian Rosewood earns its name from the fragrant aroma produced when it’s first cut. A light weight, but extremely hard, durable wood, it grows natively in tropical, lowland monsoonal areas throughout India, Sri Lanka, Java, and Indonesia. So, no surprise, it’s known by many names, including “Sonokeling,” “Bombay Blackwood,” “Beete,” and “Satisal.”
Whatever you call it, East Indian Rosewood is drop dead beautiful — especially the heartwood. And the species has long been celebrated as an expensive, yet beautiful wood for cabinet making.
But it’s also valued for its strength. And has been for more than 3,000 years, being used as far back as 1250 BCE to make spokes for the wheels of Chinese military chariots.
Fast forward to the mid-1960s and East Indian Rosewood became popular for making acoustic guitars as a substitute for the then-and-now-endangered Brazilian Rosewood. And today, before being harvested, the popular species is planted as an excellent shade tree, one that’s also relied on for the reforestation of eroded soils, including the improvement of nitrogen levels.
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Quite similar in appearance to Brazilian Rosewood and Honduran Rosewood, the heartwood of East Indian Rosewood varies from a golden brown to deep purplish brown with darker brown streaks — all of which darken with age, usually becoming a deep brown color. The grain is usually narrowly interlocked, with a uniform, medium texture.
An elite, exotic hardwood, East Indian Rosewood tops many lists for wood veneer sheets, custom plywood, fine furniture, musical instruments, cabinetry, and turned objects.
With a beautiful purple hue, this Indian rosewood would make an amazing piece of furniture that would look wonderful in your living room. Not only does the Indian rosewood makes an item of amazing furniture but also have you heard of an Indian rosewood guitar. Well, now you have. This wood is also used to make acoustic guitars that give it a sophisticated finish. And don’t you worry about what to get your dear pen collector friends. The Indian rosewood is suitable for making pen blanks that have class, character and always leave a statement.
The East Indian rosewood or the Dalbergia latifolia is a type of exotic wood that came into demand when the Brazilian rosewood Dalbergia nigra had to be replaced. In the present, most of the Brazilian rosewood guitars have been replaced with the Indian Rosewood and is found to be better in many of the features.
The East Indian rosewood is native to the low elevation tropical monsoon forests of southeast India. It requires a moist climate. The tree grows to 40 meters in height and is evergreen, but locally deciduous in drier subpopulations.
Color: The heartwood can vary from a warm golden brown to very deep colors as the wood ages. The sapwood is a pale yellow color which in turn develops into this warm golden brown color.
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Grain / texture: The wood has a medium texture with fairly small pores. Occasionally very few media to large pores can be seen too. sometimes the heartwood deposits can be seen in the form of tiny rays but these shouldn’t be bothersome as they cannot be seen without a lens. the grains appear to be narrowly interlocked.
Odor: Like the many rosewoods, the East Indian rosewood has a pleasant rose-like odor mixed with moisture from the monsoon when it is freshly cut and while it is being worked on.
Workability: Although this wood has so many great advantages and will look amazing as a wonderful piece of furniture right in the middle of your homes, the effort it takes to change this piece of wood to your desired needs can be a bit challenging for the one behind the tools. This wood can take a toll on your tools if not very sharp. This type of wood tends to dissolve into the finishes and bleed into the surrounding areas, therefore alcohol-based wood finishes are highly recommended.
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Availability: East Indian Rosewood requires a sufficient amount of time to grow and that is a problem faced by the sellers as they are not able to meet the ever-increasing demand of the customers. These woods are not officially on the CITES list (Convention in the International Trade of Endangered Species) but they are expected to join soon.
Uses: It can be used as a substitute for Brazilian Rosewood in stringed instruments. this wood is increasingly less common these days and is usually exported in small sizes including fingerboards, guitar backs, chair parts, fine furniture, turned, paneling, knife handles, cabinetry, etc.
Dalbergia latifolia is a beautiful hardwood with violet purple hues and dark streaks. Selling under the names of East Indian Rosewood, Sonokeling, and Indian Rosewood, this true rosewood is a good substitute for Brazilian rosewood in stringed instruments. Once plentiful, it is becoming less common and is usually exported in small sizes including fingerboards, guitar backs and sides, and chair parts. This special Rosewood is a relative bargain for the amount of effort and time it requires to import. The easy workability and high polish of this species make it an exceptional choice for fine woodworking projects.
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Ships to USA only due to Cites regulations.
East Indian Rosewood became the next best thing for guiter makers after Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) was placed on the endangered species listing in the 1960s. It has now been placed as a CITES appendix II listing due to the world-wide restriction on all Dalbergia (True Rosewood) species. This makes it almost impossible to import but we do have a fair amount of material still in stock from pre-CITES imports.
East Indian Rosewood has a beautiful rich color with the heartwood being brown with hints of purple and red. It typically darkens with age
Trees belonging to the rosewood family (genus Dalbergia) are considered woodworking royalty. Beautiful to look at, tough with a rose like scent, they are used in high-end furniture, cabinetry and musical instruments. East Indian Rosewood should be familiar to most woodworkers, especially for its use in musical instruments. It is also available as lumber, blocks, squares, and decorative veneer.
East Indian Rosewood is native to Southern Asia, particularly India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. It prefers the lower elevations, especially the damp tropical monsoon forests. Since it grows over such a wide area, there is some variety in colouration and grain structure. It is not a tall tree, occasionally reaching 100 feet with a 2.5-foot diameter. Specimens with 5-foot diameters have been logged. It is prized for the long straight trunks that can yield quality quartered lumber.
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