Elkhorn Cocobolo F-5

[Elkhorn1]

Just wanted to post a few photos of the latest Elkhorn F-5. It has Cocobolo back, sides, neck,and fingerboard,Western red cedar top,12 inch radius fingerboard,Waverly tuners with ebony buttons, hand engraved James tailpiece,fossilized ivory nut, and a hand rubbed spirit varnish finish. This was somewhat of a test to see how the hardness of the Cocobolo and the softness of the Red cedar worked together. The result is and incredibilly rich , full sounding instrument with a great tone all over the fingerboard. Enjoy the Photos! Thanks for checking this out. All best, Robb

[Dfyngravity]

great gooogaly mooogaly!!! that is stunning!

[JEStanek]

Holy smokies! That looks wonderful. The headstock inlay, normally called Torch and wire is all shell! I would love to hear that one playing some jazzy stuff. I can only imagine the tone.

Jamie

[harrykat]

hey robb,
that is one awesome looking mandolin and i'm sure it sounds great! my F model #4 sounds better everyday. it has a deep woody chop and the notes really pop out of it. whoever gets this beauty will be greatly pleased. keep up the good work

[Chris Biorkman]

Nice!

[John Malayter]

Really nice, wow is that neck angle huge or is it me.............?

[Brad Weiss]

sheesh, virtuosic building there. I love the tone of most cedar soundboards.

[Joe Mendel]

That is pretty!!!!!!

[leathermarshmallow]

Awesome!

[red7flag]

Stunning is the word. The figure on that colobolo along with a complimentory finish makes for a great looking instrument. Would love to hear that baby if you can post an MP3 or video.

[mdlorenz]

humina humina

[billhay4]

Nice! How was the cocobola to bend?
Bill

[Bill James]

Very nice Rob!

[Mandolusional]

Looks great, that side wood has some beautiful stripes, and nice work on that torch and wire!

[Charles E.]

Very nice, how was that Cocobolo to carve ?

[Rick Turner]

Well now, that just went onto the list of instruments by other luthiers that I'd like to own! And it's not a very long list...

[Ken Olmstead]

Holy frejoles! Man that is flippin' gorgeous!! Very nice work! I LOVE DIFFERENT!!!

[Skip Kelley]

Robb, That mandolin is awesome! I love cocobola! To me it is one of the most beautiful woods available. Nice work!

[Trey Young]

that is one fine looking mandolin Robb, really dig that torch and wire inlay.

[westslope]

Thanks for telling me the pictures were up Robb. That is beautiful.

Tom

[Elkhorn1]

Thanks for all the positive comments about the Cocobolo mandolin. It was definatey a challange to work the stuff; it is really a dense wood and sometimes it was like working steel! It really was worth the effort as the end result was great. Thanks again to all who commented. All best, Robb @
elkhornmandolins.com

[laddy jota]

It appears that you are taking a different approach on the carving of the back. I don't see any recurve. Am I seeing correctly? Maybe this is a compromise to the hardness of the cocobolo or just a preference? I made a wenge mandolin once and I know what a tortuous task it is to carve some hardwoods.

[Elkhorn1]

The back of the mandolin definately has a recurve, it's just that I'm a little better at building than I am at photography. The lighting and the way the grain runs just makes it hard to see. I'll see if I can find a better shot. Robb