On July 29, a gentleman from Albania contacted me through my Jayaruh Shaving Blog and wanted me to make him a special brush. We discussed what he wanted. I had to order a two-band badger from Virginia Sheng, but I had some very nice Brazilian rosewood for his handle, and I got started on the handle the next day. The knot arrived on August 22, and I set it. Today, I did a first lathering with it. It will be heading to Albania tomorrow. You can see the whole story here: http://jrshaving.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-making-of-jayaruh-313.html http://jrshaving.blogspot.com/2018/08/jayaruh-313-completed.html http://jrshaving.blogspot.com/2018/08/jayaruh-313-first-lathering.html
Beautiful piece of wood, and a very nice profile! I looked up the species wondering if it was similar to rose bushes. Not at all - it's a legume.
That is one fine looking brush, Brazilian Rosewood is very good looking. I had grips made out of that wood for my Colt Python.
That's a beauty, Jim. Brazilian Rosewood is my favorite. It's a perfect match to that lovely two-band Badger knot.
Knot from China, wood from Brazil, designed and crafted in the USA, shipped to a user in Albania... Your work sure gets around, Jim! Like Jim @jimjo1031, I have had pistol grips made out of that wood on revolvers. I also once assembled and owned a complete set of recorders from soprano to bass made of it. I eventually sold them to some actual performing musicians who would use the recorders instead of just leaving them in a display cabinet -- they were too gorgeous to waste on a woodwind dilettante like me... I expect that brush will be a highlight of its new owner's daily shaves.
You need to be very careful with most rosewood species, especially Brazilian, as they all fall under the protection of the CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species). I only know this because I dabble in guitar building where various rosewoods are highly valued. Brazilian is the ne plus ultra of woods for fingerboards, backs and sides of acoustic guitars but U.S. Customs have become extremely strict on its importation and exportation. From one guitar maker's website: Within the CITES framework, Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) is more protected, and its trade is more restricted, than other rosewoods. CITES-protected species can be listed in three different CITES Appendices (I, II or III) according to how threatened they are by international trade. Brazilian rosewood is listed on Appendix I (the most protected level), which means it’s banned from international shipments of any form unless it was legally removed from the forest before the ban took effect in 1992 (referred to as “Pre-Convention”) and then only with a permit. Other rosewood species in the Dalbergia genus were listed on Appendix II as of January 2, 2017. Those restrictions are not as stringent. We have heard horror stories of instruments - some very valuable and belonging to famous musicians - being confiscated because of a lack of documentation, and of course it's up to you to prove the wood's provenance not the Government. I'm pretty sure the Government is more interested in larger shipments than a single shaving brush and I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade but be careful out there! Oh, and by the way, that's a beautiful brush!
Great choice of handle material, and the knot compliments it perfectly. It doesn’t matter where you live everyone loves a jayaruh custom
Not quite the same as Ed Sullivan announcing the Beatles on his show on Feb 9., 1964, but then this is The Shave Den, not The Beatles Den .
