how does ebonized boxwood look?

can somebody post a pic or something because i ordered a chess set from ebay. It was advertised as ebonized boxwood and i think it just regular boxwood.

Here's a link to a picture: http://www.pleasanttimes.com/images/777-Ebonized.jpg

Regular boxwood is light in color and usually used for the white pieces. It's ebonized for use as black pieces because it's cheaper than real ebony. I don't have experience with ebonized pieces but I've heard they look fine. One drawback might be if they get extended heavy use the ebonizing may start to wear off. By then you probably won't care. Any blemishes, nicks and dings just add character to what has become a comfortable old friend. At least, that's my experience with an old rosewood set I have.

regular boxwood is for the white pieces

ebonized boxwood is for the blacks

So you're saying you think you got two sets of white pieces!?

well i have white an brown prices

did i get jipped?

ps. ignore the queen and bishop my little brother probably messing around

looks like golden rosewood

Yeah probably golden rosewood. if you ordered ebonized you have a legitimate gripe. Not exactly a gyp, as gw is no worse than ebonized (black), but not what you ordered either.

Gyp Welsh Jew...gotta be careful with your words.

[edit: Yep Gomer_Pyle, golden rosewood=sheesham. Some like it fine (as I do) and others hate it, but the above example looks good, if you like light brown pieces.]

They look like Sheesham (Indian Rosewood), which might be the same as Golden Rosewood. I wouldn't say you were gipped but you didn't get ebonized pieces. It looks like House of Staunton generally sells ebonized boxwood and golden rosewood for the same price.

goldendog knows much more about sets than I do and I'm sure he'll be back around.

[edit: see I told you he'd be back :D]

so are they of same value? or should i open a case on ebay because i paid $150 for the whole set

Golden rosewood is valued slightly higher than plain ole ebonized pieces, usually. If you like the set as is why trouble yourself with a dispute process?

It looks like a nice set to me. Fine, normal looking pieces with decent knights and nice tall rooks. Good weighting?

yeah the weighting is excellent. i just don't know if i would like ebonized peices of this better. i guess golden boxwood matches better with the furniture but i will probably leave a negative feedback for the guy!

I just noticed, that's an HOS set? I see the logo on a1?

I'd say: Feel free to ask for replacement ebonized, all shipping at their expense, if you really want the ebonized. Don't pay a dime for their mistake. HOS charges plenty for shipping as is!

But either way, you have a nice set there.

well i ordered from a guy on ebay and appearntly he gets cheap sets from HOS and sell them at retail price on ebay. This set only cost him $110 because when HOS shipped there was a reciept in it. i will send him a message. if he asks me to pay for shipping i will just say no thanks but if he pays for it might as well get ebonized.

This is a pic from the House of Staunton website.  It shows the difference:

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/KingCart/faq.html

What is the difference between Ebonized and Genuine Ebony Chess pieces? 

Ebonization, the process in which Ebonized Chessmen is created,. In this process, Boxwood (the wood used to create the white pieces) Chess pieces are treated with a special stain to turn them jet black in color. When done properly, brand new Ebonized Chessmen are nearly indistinguishable from Genuine Ebony Chessmen. Ebonized Chess pieces are often referred to as faux Ebony, because it has the look and feel of Genuine Ebony at a fraction of the cost.  Over time, the Ebonizing can wear off on the sharp corners and details of the Chessmen, but it is easily restored using a black marker.

Looking at these, maybe I'm odd, but I prefer rougher looking wooden pieces that don't appear so shiny.

I'd like to find wood chessmen that are weighted and used for study, not tournament play. What height and weight would be good for this purpose? I have a plastic tournament size set that is triple weighted. Thanks. 

The lighting creates more glare in those pics than you'd be playing with. I agree fully that matte pieces are a real plus in practical terms.

These used to be sold by Susan Polgar. Excellent matte finish in a wood set. I'm not in love with the knight (big open mouth) or the rook (narrows too much, could be taller) but it looks like a good set. I'd like to see higher quality sets with this finish.

personally, I like the rosewood better then ebony.  if you look at most of the pics from professional tourneys - so do they

BUT

if you dropped 150 bucks and wanted black and white, then you ought to get what you paid for 

The brown wood sets are just a standard that FIDE decided on, I believe. I don't think the players really prefer brown over black pieces.

ah, gotcha