Hawaiian Sandalwood Logs

[Andrew Salkin]

Missed one of these auctions the other day but thinking about buying a semi or full circle log from him.

His last 9LB log went for 263 USD. From what I've seen, Hawaiian sandalwood is still pretty sought after, no? More so than Australian, less than Indian?

I wouldn't be buying to juice, simply to use as a table to cut other woods on - maybe a little play station for my ouddery wares. But I read somewhere that a typical distillation of sandalwood gets a conservative 3% yield. Is that the ballpark for this kind of wood as well? That would be:

4032 grams x 3% = 120 Grams. At the price his last 9LB piece went for of $260, you're looking at $25 per tola of oil. That's pretty good right? I feel like I must be missing something here. If you look at Doterra (MLM/pyramid style EO company for soccer moms in the US), they sell their pure indian and hawaiian sandalwood oils for the exact same price. Is that just because people don't know better or some other reason?

Either way - the logs are pretty beautiful so I'll probably buy one anyway, but if anyone has experience burning or juicing Hawaiian sandalwood, I'd love to hear your thoughts. It might just be nice to have for making incense cones and using for macerations. What is the profile of Hawaiian sandalwood - both wood and oil? Lighter/darker, floral, musky, ambery, buttery?

 

[tyson]

I got a chunk much like this not sure if from same souce but from 4 kilos 9 pounds I got only a few drops of oil . The wood has been glazed with something as well to make it more photogenic. Id stay clear.....

 

[Al Shareef Oudh]

real old Hawaiian sandalwood is beautiful, I smelt a batch once here at a local sandalwood harvesters factory and it was better than any mysore I had smelt in recent times. That sandalwood was however from logs that were harvested in Hawaii some 20 odd years ago.

I agree with tyson those logs in the link look treated.

 

[Mr.P]

I got a chunk much like this not sure if from same souce but from 4 kilos 9 pounds I got only a few drops of oil . The wood has been glazed with something as well to make it more photogenic. Id stay clear.....

How is that possible? Do you think the wood was maybe not real sandalwood? How could actual sandalwood heartwood have essentially zero oil? Maybe the vendor just rubbed a little sandalwood oil into the surface of some random log they had!?

 

[Rai Munir]

I got a chunk much like this not sure if from same souce but from 4 kilos 9 pounds I got only a few drops of oil . The wood has been glazed with something as well to make it more photogenic. Id stay clear.....

I think it is a custom to glaze the logs or beads. Everybody must have seen such logs and especially beads that shine. I have very limited experience with beads, but till today haven't found newly carved beads shingling like the ones being offered by the sellers. And the same is the case with wood as well.

Respected Tyson, please guide about it. I have got beads carved thrice in a year, but none is glittering like the ones I see on different websites. Should I smear sandal oil to make them shine?

 

[Mr.P]

You can get a shine using fine grit sandpaper or burnishing with a blunt object. It’s a lot of work...

i have also used sandalwood co2 total to add shine. The “total” extract is thick like honey and does not really evaporate easily.

 

[Andrew Salkin]

OK - but take this for example. Another one of his sold listings - do these look glazed too?

 

[Joe King]

OK - but take this for example. Another one of his sold listings - do these look glazed too?

Yes

 

[tyson]

I think it is a custom to glaze the logs or beads. Everybody must have seen such logs and especially beads that shine. I have very limited experience with beads, but till today haven't found newly carved beads shingling like the ones being offered by the sellers. And the same is the case with wood as well.

Respected Tyson, please guide about it. I have got beads carved thrice in a year, but none is glittering like the ones I see on different websites. Should I smear sandal oil to make them shine?

Yes with enough work you can make a bead shine up , really depends a lot on oil/resin content of the wood , fully resonated sinking material will shine up a lot more than less dense wood that contains little resins , the older material that has less oil and more crystalized resin is the best for a high quality shine with the highest chi as well . The wood in my opinion is of little value its the resin that the spirit resided this is the essence of the tree . Much like cannabis is just plant material its the resin that's valuble , once extracted people just throw away whats left . So when it comes to buying sandalwood I look for old sinking crystalized resin deposits , all the outter wood is just kindling for a fire hah .
Sure smear your beads in sandalwood oil I do quite often on my mala beads , then they smell divine as well .

 

[tyson]

How is that possible? Do you think the wood was maybe not real sandalwood? How could actual sandalwood heartwood have essentially zero oil? Maybe the vendor just rubbed a little sandalwood oil into the surface of some random log they had!?

Not sure to be honest , but I got no oil … Id like to distill some of the Hawaiian that respected @Al Shareef Oudh is talking about above !

 

[Arsalan]

I have a chunk of the Hawaiian wood I think @tyson is talking about...lots of scent, both at room temp and when heated. very different from other sandalwoods I have tried...more “musky” & earthy...although looking at the wood it does not appear as oily as Indian sandalwood chunks...

 

[Al Shareef Oudh]

Yes with enough work you can make a bead shine up , really depends a lot on oil/resin content of the wood , fully resonated sinking material will shine up a lot more than less dense wood that contains little resins , the older material that has less oil and more crystalized resin is the best for a high quality shine with the highest chi as well . The wood in my opinion is of little value its the resin that the spirit resided this is the essence of the tree . Much like cannabis is just plant material its the resin that's valuble , once extracted people just throw away whats left . So when it comes to buying sandalwood I look for old sinking crystalized resin deposits , all the outter wood is just kindling for a fire hah .
Sure smear your beads in sandalwood oil I do quite often on my mala beads , then they smell divine as well .

Thanks for mentioning that, i saw Rai's post a few days ago and made a mental note to respond and didnt get to it till tonight, then saw your post. totally agree Woods can get to a good amount of shine simply by working them with finer discs. There after wool mesh can really bring the shine out. That is on any average hardwood. When we speak about woods with oil content such as sandalwood and oudh, that shine is even more due to the oils coming to the surface of the wood and sealing the micro pours to create a more smoother surface and therefore a higher shine as light will bounce off that surface better than a rugged surface.

I know some of the best prayer bead makers in the world who turn hard woods into beads shining like polished stones, like any art it comes to the skill of the craftsmen.

 

[Al Shareef Oudh]

Not sure to be honest , but I got no oil … Id like to distill some of the Hawaiian that respected @Al Shareef Oudh is talking about above !

I chased that wood through these guys (the aussie sandalwood harvesters)for months and they tried all their contacts to get some of those old stocks from Hawaii but no luck, either there is none left or those who have it dont want to part with it.

 

[Mr.P]

So what is that guy selling on eBay? Maybe some other species smeared with sandalwood oil (which would explain the glaze and Tyson’s zero yield). Maybe I am too suspicious by nature

 

[Andrew Salkin]

So I reached out to him and he's no longer "waxing" the ends of the logs - you can click the link above and see what he has for sale now. I think there is some heartwood listed and a circular cross section

 

[Andrew Salkin]

Anyone with a better sandalwood knowledge feel like getting the sample to inspect? RPP - you must have the most experience with sandalwood here - are you open to this?

 

[Singularious]

I am reviving this thread to ask if anyone has any experience with the latest seller of said logs on eBay?

Different user ID.

I'm curious, but trying to be cautious. Not sure of the rules here on posting links or handles, but would love some guidance.