Desert Ironwood burl: Olneya tesota: Desert ironwood is the classic handle material, dense, durable, fine grained and water proof. The color and grain is highly variable, from pale gold, orange, red and brown to jet black banding. The grain is incredibly fine which allows the wood to be polished to a fine glowing finish. This wood is dry and ready to use. This is high figure, dry burl material harvested in the Mexican High Desert.