Honduras Rosewood-- What to use it for?

[RiverSmallieGuy]

I now have some Honduras Rosewood in my possession, and let me tell ya'... It is HARD. I have worked with normal woods; balsa, basswood, pine, cedar, etc and this feels super heavy. I thought that hard maple was heavy, but this is so much heavier it ain't even funny lol. I looked at the specific gravity of this wood, and it is 1.03!! It sinks by itself, it is not buoyant! It is the prettiest wood grain I have ever seen, very dark but looks even better when it is wet/finished. So I got to thinking-- what kinds of baits would this wood be suitable for? If you're wondering, it has a very potent smell when you cut it or sand it.

[mark poulson]

Honduras Rosewood is extremely hard and dense.  It is great for tool handles, like old Stanley #4 planes.

I would NOT try to make a bait from it, unless it was to mount on the wall and never fish it.

And be careful.  The dust from it can be very bad for you.

[Travis]

How much do you have?  You may be essentially burning money depending on the piece if you are making lures.  I would advise against cutting it until you know what you have.

 

[RiverSmallieGuy]

5 hours ago, mark poulson said:

Honduras Rosewood is extremely hard and dense.  It is great for tool handles, like old Stanley #4 planes.

I would NOT try to make a bait from it, unless it was to mount on the wall and never fish it.

And be careful.  The dust from it can be very bad for you.

Yeah, I had planned on not painting it very much and leaving the gorgeous grain exposed. I know that dust ain't good for ya, it sticks in the nose pretty good. Doesn't smell as bad as super glue fumes though... Them fumes will kill any virus in your nose lol

[RiverSmallieGuy]

4 hours ago, Travis said:

How much do you have?  You may be essentially burning money depending on the piece if you are making lures.  I would advise against cutting it until you know what you have.

 

I am just making a wall mount out of it, and it is like 4"x3"x1.25"

[Big Epp]

If you wanted something fishable, you could try a lipless crank or a glider. A glider might be more aestetically pleasing. With the density of the wood I'd imagine you would have to use very little ballast weight for a glider and minimal weight in the nose/belly/throat for a lipless crank.

Please post pictures of what you come up with. Natural wood baits are beautiful!

[RiverSmallieGuy]

4 minutes ago, Big Epp said:

If you wanted something fishable, you could try a lipless crank or a glider. A glider might be more aestetically pleasing. With the density of the wood I'd imagine you would have to use very little ballast weight for a glider and minimal weight in the nose/belly/throat for a lipless crank.

Please post pictures of what you come up with. Natural wood baits are beautiful!

Alright, that's definitely a project here soon, I may even get real fancy and carve some gills or fins! I tried just carving little bits off with a fairly dull chisel, and it wasn't that bad at all, definitely wasn't like basswood or pine. The main challenge with it, I feel, is the gumminess and that it dulls your tools and the dust is bad for you. Definitely will post pictures in the gallery of what I come up with. I just don't know if I will do that sooner or later though.