Just traded into a new to me 13-2, previous owner had this set of footballs mounted on the gun after he had smeared them with polyurethane so I striped them a couple days ago.

Will someone tell me what species of wood this is? opaul suggested some sort of cherry but I am leaning towards rosewood are there any other suggestions?

As far as a new finish is concerned I believe that I will wax them.

Thanks for any suggestions.

terry

Terry,

I think those are Goncalo....

Compare with these...



Drew

Given the quality of the photo and that you stripped the finish, I'm leaning toward rosewood.

I don't think S&W ever used cherry.

Goncalo alves is another possibility, as suggested above. It often appears to be more orange with darker streaks, but can mimic rosewood.

I think rosewood.
That is definitely not cherry.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Terry - can you post a picture of the insides?
I'm leaning strong to GA

Looks a lot like Moradillo. I have seen some N-frame combats that were labeled Moradillo and look a lot like what you have.

Terry, what lighting did you use for the photo. The boxes in the background have a yellow tint suggesting tungsten lighting and a daylight setting on the camera. This could throw the color of the wood off. Take a photo of them next to a window with strong light or actually outside in shade if possible. It will let everyone get a clearer idea of actual colors.

Based on what I do see though, I'm with others that it is G A.

CW

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μολὼν λαβέ

I was going to name them Fred.

The structure of the pores makes me thing rosewood. But the coloration and pattern make me thing goncalo alves.

Goncalo alves is a hardwood (from the Brazilian Portuguese name, gonçalo-alves). It is sometimes referred to as zebrawood or tigerwood — names that underscore the wood’s often dramatic, contrasting color scheme, that some compare to rosewood.

A good way to tell the difference is how heavy they are. Rosewood tends to be very heavy compared to Goncalo alves. Because of the lighter coloring on the bottom I'd go with the GA.

DW

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"NUTS"

There are several species of genuine rosewood located on several continents.
The color varies from light tan to almost black.
The sapwood of some is almost white.

Google "rosewood lumber" and "rosewood wood"

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

I had another picture so I replaced my original. I'll try to get some more pictures this evening... as for the boxes having a yellow tint they are old and are aged somewhat yellow

Interestingly enough one of these panels is nearly equal in weight to a set of goncalo-alves checkered targets that has the extractor cut.

terry

I would called it pretty wood. Larry

Oh. S&W stocks. For a minute there....

Well... that WAS what put the "former" into former Congressman Weiner....

I'm farsighted so I don't see any stocks...but I'm pretty sure that wood on the wall in paneling.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Looks like a Rosewood species to me,,probably Brazilian as the price and availability is or was the best with all the import and trade laws.

There's many species of Rosewood (Brazilian, Honduran, East Indian,,, Burma I think is also one.

I have a block of (east) Indian Rosewood I bought years ago from Herters. Much denser & heavier than the brazilian rosewood. The Indian rosewood has alot of oil/wax in it. Makes finishing a real chore, much more so than the others.

Even the Cocobolo, Tulip, Kingwood are from the same group (genus ? is that the right term?) but they have their own name separate from the rosewood groups.

Just my guess....

Looks like "CTG" wood to me.


James

The flash pic makes a big difference. The orange "tiger striping" at the bottom and top still make me think goncalo but if one panel of this is as heavy as two similar sized panels of goncalo, then it may be rosewood. Whatever it is, I think it has a very nice grain to it.

CW

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μολὼν λαβέ

Thanks for the inside picture........I'm still leaning toward G.A.
Regardless ...........you have a beautiful set of grips!

There wasn't alot of Rosewood used in the "Silver Washer Era"... but there were scads of Goncalo stocks made in this period...

Can't believe no one named them:

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Still Running Against the Wind

After a session with Johnson's paste wax. Not to bad in my estimation.

wood densities PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF COMMON WOODS

from the info given GA weighs 60.o lbs/ cu ft.
and Bolivian rw weighs 44.3 lbs/cu ft
E. indian rw weighs 48.7 lbs/cu ft

looks like Ga would be heavier.

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NRA Life 1969
OGCA

OK, how do you calculate the Specific Gravity of something that floats? I know how to weigh rocks and metal in and out of water. If the wood floats, some is above water so it does no good.

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Dick Burg

Dick in the laboratory objects that float may immersed fully with a stiff, but wire.

Here are a lot of photos of GA.

Exotic Wood goncalo alves

Go to their homepage for pics af a large number of different woods.

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Corripe Cervisiam

Hey Terry let me know if you are coming to the swap meet next Fri and i will bring my pair of goncola alves and pair of rosewood K frame footballs to compare with yours.
Glen

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NRA Life 1969
OGCA

Glen,
I'll be at the Washington CH show Friday morning.

Terry

I would say they are Rosewood, I bought a pair on the forum that were K "rosewood" and I wish they looked as good as yours, mine that I got look like mahogany. Jeff

Grain is open, kinda similar to these rosewoods.

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God spelled backwards is dog.

My .02 cents is that they are Goncalo Alves because of the orange tint to them. When you cut GA you get an orange sawdust from the wood.

If you rub Rosewood real fast a hard, the smell will tell you. On unfinished wood of course. They DO appear to be Rosewood, of which there are several versions. JMHO