c.1920 Unmarked Koa Ukulele Part Two

Well, here's how she came out! It's not as perfect as I'd like it to be, but I think it came out pretty well. The satin finish feels really nice on the hands and because of its thinness the tone has actually improved quite a bit from how it arrived... though it's also improved because it's setup properly, too! A bit under 1/8" at the 12th... nice and smooth, too, with the koa fretboard.

This is sort of a "ginger ale" colored koa uke... pale and golden up top, rich and warm reddish-brown on the sides, with a significantly redder neck.

Here's the headstock, and do compare it to the shots in the post before, because it's amazing how much grain popped out with the finish.

Some nice bits of figure in the fretboard, too. New nylgut strings.

And again, because the binding and inlay was cleaned up, it really pops out compared to before when it was super yellowed. I prefer the vintage look, but it's fun to see this uke in a state that it might have looked like when it was younger.

Bone saddle. Nicely contrasting bridge.

Side view.

Sides again.

I love these tuners -- polished back to health nicely, too. I've always preferred these narrow fine-quality Grover Champions to other bakelite pegs of the period and they look fabulous on this oversize peghead.

Back,

Fun, huh? Figure on one side, less on the other... very peculiar but a very pretty effect.

Here's a closeup... love it. For some reason the coloring of the koa on this uke makes me thing "eukalyptis."

Headstock again.

Long 3/4.

Here's the end-block join.

And the above-the-soundhole label.

Nice lines!