Padauk vs red sandalwood
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I recently found out that Blood Rosewood sets from the House of Staunton are made of African Padauk. I always thought they were red sandalwood but I was told they are an endangered species. If anybody has a Blood Rosewood set from HOS please post some pictures and express your opinion on the wood coloration.
keep in mind that Padauk will darken significantly over time...
Now that rosewoods have been banned, and once the present stocks have been sold off, only a fool would continue using the terms bud and blood rosewood in their advertisements. Unless they want to tempt the rath of the Feds.
I have more questions now than before. Will it darken to the point of not having any red coloration at all? How many years will it take and is there any way to prevent this from happening?
Now that rosewoods have been banned, and once the present stocks have been sold off, only a fool would continue using the terms bud and blood rosewood in their advertisements. Unless they want to tempt the rath of the Feds.
The House of Staunton is the number one offender
The House of Staunton is the number one offender
ESBU wrote:
I have more questions now than before. Will it darken to the point of not having any red coloration at all? How many years will it take and is there any way to prevent this from happening?
you can avoid or at least delay this by minimizing exposure to light. Darkening will be noticeable within a year or two otherwise. Very little reddish color will remain eventually.
From my experience with padauk and red sandalwood, the original orange/reddish hue will slowly begin to darken. After a while it will start approaching a burgundy color.
Here's a couple of examples. The first pic is from the House of Chess website, the second picture is the same set 3+ years later. The third and fourth pics are from a red sandalwood set I also purchased about 3 years ago. At the time I bought this set, red sandalwood had been banned for over a decade. Fortunately, the dealer was selling off his NOS (new old stock) sets to make way for new, more popular designs.
By the time I bought this set, it was already the burgundy color you see in the photos. Unfortunately, the only way I know of guaranteeing that your orange set will maintain its original color is to paint it. Personally, I like the aged burgundy coloring. It's a sign of maturity, like the patina of old boxwood sets.
NOTE: these sets were never exposed to direct sunlight or left out on display. I rotate my playing among 20 sets, and the pieces are returned to their enclosures when done.
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All the woods loose color over time. But not all of them darken and usually in most of them the original hue that made that wood special remains up to a certain degree so that than when it is't that beautiful red Sandalwood anymore it becomes that beautiful dark Sandalwood. Beautiful woods remain beautiful even after years even if they obviously loose color. The color change is actually the reason to use these beautiful woods instead of not to using them as they not only used for their beauty but for the beauty with which they age.
Are the first two pictures Padauk or red sandalwood as well? I think I like the burgundy color better than the original orange.
Padauk.