Red Sandalwood -- going, going, GONE.

For chess collectors, ivory, red sandalwood, and certain species of jet-black ebony have always been sought after materials making chess pieces. After decades of overharvesting, measures were taken to curtail the illegal smuggling trade by imposing an outright ban, or severe restriction on the import and export of these materials.

Collectors interested in legally acquiring a red sandalwood chess set had better act fast, for these sets are no longer being imported into the U.S., and the only ones available are old stock sets that were acquired before the ban.

I was just speaking with Steve Livingstone from The Chess Piece (TCP) in Florida. He told me that he only has a two or three red sandalwood sets remaining in stock. Once these are gone, that's it, no more.

If anyone is interested, here are the links to the two red sandal sets he's got left.

http://www.thechesspiece.com/proddetail.asp?prod=The-Fantasy-knight

http://www.thechesspiece.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Chess-Master-Red-Sandalwood-Chessmen

I'm not sure about the availabilty of red sandalwood from any other vendors.

P.S. I recently bought the Fantasy Knight set from TCP and I'm very happy with it (4.25"/4.5 oz. king -- total weight of the set is 71 oz.).

stop trying to sell crud

reported for spamming

I can attest that set lou has in sandlewood is of high quality similar to a luxery HOS set. We played with it a week ago and I would buy it if I wasn't already extended. 

Sorry, I'm not trying to be a shill for anyone. I figured a lot of us here are collectors, and red sandalwood is a highly collectible material that won't be available for long.

I welcome others to provide links to other vendors who also have red sandal or other sets of rare materials still available for sale.

And you know this how? Are you psychic?

ooo, I'm quaking in my boots!

Yes. Thanks.

The Chess Store is also selling some red sandalwood chess sets:

http://www.thechessstore.com/#!category/.00010-wood-chess-sets/Wood-Chess-Pieces

As is the Regency Chess Company:

http://www.regencychess.co.uk/luxury-staunton-chessmen-c-1_16.html?page=1&sort=20a

Perhaps I'm behind the time with my response. However, for what it's worth:

I've learned that buying Red Sandalwood products of any sort really isn't all that worth it. We're paying for a very rare and expensive wood that like many woods, is highly susceptible to UV radiation, where a time lapse of exposure to light, which is most of its days, will eventually transform it into a muddy purplish dark brown. (Purpleheart faces the same fate, if not face it a bit faster.) And then, we're cleverly trying to legally get around a firmly-placed Indian Law that rationally prohibits exporting a wood that is endangered due to petty over-exploitation of it's hindsighted beauty.

How long will that beauty last until light destroys it? Maybe approx. half a decade, if we're lucky? Really, what was all the effort for to begin with? More like a waste of time and money, if you ask me.

Might as well buy the lustrious Golden-Orange African Padauk chess pieces, which are just as visually glimmering and longer-lasting.

BattleChess,

Your points are well taken, however I don't think there's much danger from UV radiation unless the set is kept out on display (mine is kept in a case when not being used).

I don't think red sandalwood turns purple, more like a dark burgundy. In my case, purchasing did not circumvent the laws as my set was made up 10-12 years ago when it was still legal to import. Styles had changed and the vendor was selling off his remaining stock at a deep discount (over 40%) in order to bring in newer, more popular sets.

I do own several sets of African Padauk, and I agree they are beautiful, yet this wood will also darken over time (oxidation) and if over exposed to UV radiation.

My decison to buy was based on three factors, 1) I liked the design of the set, 2) I thought it a good value, even for a rosewood set, and 3) realizing there would be no new red sandal sets available, I thought it would be nice to own one, especially since it didn't bend any regulations to do so.

Reported for idiocy.

Loubalch,

I see in your case it was all the more reason to buy your beautiful set in RS. I don't doubt that its colors and texture glare with beauty.

In my specific case, however, the wood just didn't convince me that it would be worth the buy, considering that not only am I ordering a 6-inch set in ebony and "Blood rosewood" (which I came to learn was previously Red Sandalwood and is currently crimson African Padauk) and that my set will be on display since no vender could produce a box that has coffers that can hold 6 inch kings with 2.5 inch bases, the consequence it would have in my set's color combination would be a major disappointment****, not to mention my option to buy RS was half legal with at least a few roadblocks of risks on the way. To cut out all this trouble, it seems so much better to just go with the other option that was presented me, African Padauk; since that's what "Blood Rosewood" currently is anyways.

****I'm aware that in many cases, the faded Red Sandalwood still retains a minor degree of its luster and glow, even when it's dark mahogany at that point, and people can still enjoy the pieces as it were before because of it. I guess if I ordered it (were it legal) with Boxwood or any other lightwood, I probably wouldn't have a second thought on it. On the other hand, since the RS would eventually turn a coloration that is hardly distinguishable from Ebony, which is the other wood of my set, what was supposed to be the white pieces (Since RS is lighter than Ebony) would irritatingly become another black army that's almost indistinguishable from the first. 

BattleChess,

Wow! That's BIG set. By my calculations you're going to need a 3"-3.25" chess board. Where does one find such an animal?

I don't think I've ever seen a 6" red sandalwood set. Since it's going to be out on display, it makes sense that you wouldn't want to select a wood that's sensitive to UV.

From the pictures I've seen online, it appears red sandal, like rosewood, was available in wide range of hues from red to brown. I would imagine that the change due to aging would depend upon the original color of the pieces.

For comparison, here are some pictures of my RS set. Keep in mind, these pieces were sitting boxed on the shelf for the last 10-12 years, so all of the aging would be due to oxidation. I have no idea how much they've changed over that time.

As you can see, even after a decade or more, the color remains very distinct from ebony.

Gorgeous!

BattleChess,

I've seen some pictures of antique red sandalwood that looks very close to ebony, but there's no telling how dark it was originally. Here's a picture of some antique RS cabinets. Don't know if they've been exposed to UV, but they still look gorgeous after hundreds of years of oxidation.

I figure I'll have long since "shuffled off to Buffalo" before my set turns to ebony. In the meantime, I intend to enjoy it. Enjoy your new megaset! What size board are you intending to use with it? And where are you getting it? Curious minds want to know :).

In contrast to the red sandalwood set shown above, I have the following set which the vendor is listing as "Bud Rosewood." I know that designation (like "Blood Rosewood") can be a catch-all for a number of different types of wood. I'm not exactly sure exactly what this is. At first, I thought it might be African Padauk, but it doesn't have the distinctive lines like my other padauk sets. Any guesses?

Well, I got to admit, I've been blindly going off of online hearsays and unofficial chesswood advices. On the other hand, it looks like you've experienced the issue first hand. 

By the way, your red sandal pieces still look stunning, even after a decade of absorbing O2. It seems like you really did get your money's worth with your "Blood Rosewood" set, so maybe I was wrong. At any rate, perhaps I should have done this 10 years ago when India wasn't banning their RS from export. While you've convinced me that RS, as far as coloration is concerned, is better worth the purchase than I originally speculated, there's still that shitty roadblock. The Indian craftsman that I'm working with stated that he would risk getting in trouble and that the set will risk being taken in and (virulently?) destroyed by their customs agency. So... just to be safe, African Padauk it is. haha

As far as 6-inch sets go, HOS actually produces a few. But, I'm assuming that you're asking about the luxury set that I custom-ordered for Ebony and "Blood Rosewood", which expense and rarity would make it seem impossible to get. If you're still interested in how I'm getting it, please PM me and we can chat. 

In the meantime, I'm going to see if there is a local woodsmith would could create my custom chesscases with coffers that can fit a 2.5-based 6.0-inch king. And yes, I will also be purchasing a custom-ordered 3-inch-square board. I'm also asking my craftsman to custom-craft my invented chess pieces, which doesn't seem to be very popular on this website; but is with my younger cousins. (If you look for the article online, it's outdated. Just so people know. haha)

I'm not sure I would be anymore of a help than what you already know, sadly.I will say, however, I'm going to guess that the aging of my upcoming padauk pieces would look approximately like this: still maintaining a decent blood-orange luster about it.

BattleChess,

Thanks, I'm glad you like the sets. I enjoy playing with both on my custom 2.5" padauk and northern ash board (see pic below).

No, you won't be able to get any red sandalwood out of India. Although I've seen online stores selling RS products (furniture, etc.) inside India, where it's still legal, they just can't export red sandal products. If your interested in an RS set, your best bet is to find a domestic vendor (or one in the UK) who has some NOS (new old stock) items still available for sale. This way you're not breaking any regulations.