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5 years ago or so I bought some ebay wood labelled as Brazilian Rosewood. (yeah, I know, I know... ) The price was right and I'd had a few - impulse purchase. When I opened the package, the smell was so strong that I was instantly dubious - had that Kansas City cathouse kind of smell. Perfumed rather heavily, shall we say. I wondered whether a bottle of rosewater perfume had been liberally sprinkled.

It's lighter in color than any Brazilian I've seen - along with some browns, has various shades of purples, yellows, with some grays. The tap tone is quite good, but I wouldn't put it on par with other Brazilian I have, or Madagascar, or Amazon. Not quite as "glassy". Still good, though. I'll certainly build with it.

What do you think this is? Could it be Braz? Thanks.

The usual advice is to scrape or sand a spot of the wood and see if you get the typical smell of BRW, which some people describe as chocolate.

Corky can you see any pores? If they are barely visible it could be pau ferro/morado

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/pau-ferro/

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Pau ferro would also be my first guess. Check the density. Pau ferro is heavier than BR on average.
If this was bought from the Ebay seller that has been listing wax-coated "Brazilian rosewood" for a few years now, it makes sense.
I researched the company, and it is mainly a business that sells flooring.

Color is not a reliable indicator. I have some D. nigra that is straw-colored. What I do see in your photos is more indicative of pau ferro, mainly because the dark striping is indistinct.

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John

This doesn't look like brw to me, santos would have also been a guess from me, but without seein, feeling, smelling it is really difficult to be sure. cheers, alex

Thanks, all. Bob, I think you're right. I've actually worked with Pau Ferro before, but the coloration was very different than this one (that previous set had much more rosewood-like coloration; browns, light browns. The "dark violet" coloration in the description in your link is the tipoff. Also, the pores are just as described; visible, but very, very small.

No more ebay "Brazilian Rosewood" for me...... if it seems to good to be true.....

Have one overpriced FB blank , that is the same colo,r pau ferro or ironwood in spanish.