Is this normal for Cocobolo?

[bowhunter15]

I ordered three blanks online, expecting the deep, dark, reddish tone I often see in bows and in the product photo. From the looks of the first photo, only the center one has that characteristic color. Looking from the second side, all three look roughly similar in color, with the bottom looking a little more reddish... but the top one doesn't look red at all. More yellowish than anything. Also notice some staining on the bottom right. Then there's the dark cloudiness on the left side of that second image. Looking from the side in the third pic, the right piece looks deep reddish, and the left piece looks halfway there, but the center block is more yellow in tint. I expected there might be slight variances block to block, but these things vary within the same piece of wood! Is this normal? Am I just seeing surface blemishes that will disappear once cut and finished? Should I ask for an exchange?

 

 

 

[ron w]

Cocobolo can vary a lot......from a dark grainy red to an almost orange color with very little grain. Those blocks look more or less normal to me.

[pdk25]

Yep.  Very common.  That being said, the only one I really like is the middle block.

[wingnut]

Yep that's very normal.  My wood guys sent this to me last month when I asked.

"Typically the really deep orange and red with black stripe is from Mexico and the most expensive.  Purplish with black stripes and really heavy and oily is Nicaraguan. Orange with little to no stripe is Guatemalan. Bright orange like a new basketball with heavy black stripe is from Panama"

Mike

[YORNOC]

What you have is what I love about exotic wood.
Even from the same tree, the tones vary greatly. Add sap wood and knots and burls, oh man. I love it. Swirling shades of color tones.
The more odd ball it is, the more I like it.

If you don't like that wood you have, I'll buy it.

[bowhunter15]

Thanks for the replies. I've got no problems with the variations knowing that it's normal. I just wanted to make sure I didn't get a poor batch having never ordered any before.

[YORNOC]

Gorgeous stuff!

[Jim Wright]

Looks like you have 3 very pretty pieces of cocobolo with variation that seems common.

[Orion]

Yeah, it varies a lot.  Seems like two of the blocks were cut almost across the grain.  I don't mean quartering across, but nearly 90 degrees to the grain. Not the best for handle material IMO.

[doubleo]

Wood is wood! But Cocobolo seems to have different colors and grains than other woods!  

[South MS Bowhunter]

Another thing too is that Cocobola will darken with age somewhat similar to Osage.

I have a longbow that I had expected to be a deep red color like the last one I order, but it came in rather orangies and I was somewhat taken back by its coloration.

But in the 2-3 years I've had it the color has deepen to a dark reddish tone and is beautiful.

My first one came in with this dark reddish tone and darken to an almost purple hue as it aged.

Beautiful wood with a lot of variation that will change.

[South MS Bowhunter]

Here a pic of the orange one before it darkened.

 

[BigJim]

They look freshly cut. The colors will darken fairly quickly. They all look plenty nice for solid risers and I wouldn't worry about the direction of grain...coco will do that. It is getting very hard to come by now too.

I would be concerned with moisture content. If you purchased from a "regular" wood supplier, it is likely to wet to glue.
As with most, they sell as quick as they can and coco can take a year +++ to dry depending on thickness and environment. I wouldn't expect them to know the truth either as if they check it for moisture and you ask if it's dry, they would likely have to tell you a story to sell it.

If they are 1 1/2" square or smaller, it is possible they could have been kiln dried, but then someone would have to cut them again as they would be much darker than the picture shows.

The big issue with coco and other exotics is the lengthy time it takes to dry. Tough to sit on that much wood waiting for it to dry.

I always get chills when I think about how much money I'm sitting on waiting for it (wood) to dry. Certainly the most expensive investment I have in bow building / supply.   :(  
BigJim