c.1920 Unmarked Flamed Koa Ukulele

Update: This uke is actually made from flamed mahogany.

This uke sounds beautiful, looks drop-dead gorgeous, and plays very nicely. What more could you ask for? Oh yeah, crack-free top, and entirely original finish. And the whole thing is built from flamed koa. And the top, back, and soundhole are bound. And the fretboard has nice inlay down its length. Yeesh. The only unoriginal bit on this uke are the new tuners, which are Grovers modified in my usual manner, which have replaced missing wood pegs. I have no idea of the manufacturer except that I've worked on a number of ukes like this and they all have a similar feel. My bet is that they're either late 1910s or early 1920s as they're built more Hawaiian old-school style, though with a mainland (not Spanish) heel.

Very pretty curl and 3-dimensional wave to the grain.

Another view.

Nice old-style headstock shape.

I love this inlay on the neck. Original brass frets.

Lovely rosette is simple and tasteful.


Detail. Note there is no 12th fret and never was (the gap is too small). Curious, no?


Original bridge, also koa.


These colors are more accurate: this uke is a nice deep red-brown and the binding really pops out.


Oh, look at that flame!


And here's a closeup.


Neck's nice and tight.


Fun cross-grain on the neck.


Back. See that ripple?


New Grover pegs.


And more ripple-flame! Lovely!

Here's my major repair aside from setup and general restoration: there was an impact break on the back and I've filled it and sealed it all up and it's nice and stable now.

Silky!

I really can't get enough of the flame on the sides.

Nice tight seam join on the sides.


And there's that gorgeous back again.