Wow! Never seen anything like that. I'm curious about the rosewood handles. I tend to think of Dalbergus Nigra (sp?) Is that was generally used on the originals? Is that what you are using?
I'm curious about this as well. Where did the Dutch get the Rosewood from?
The Dutch were big empire builders and rivals to the English and French during the 17th century, and had many colonies and trading depots out in India, SE Asia (East Indies), and even Japan at Nagasaki (yeah, that Nagasaki). They lost ground during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, but Indonesia remained a Dutch colony until it was captured by the Japanese during WWII. They also had colonies in the Caribbean, though I don't know much about those.
Tropical hardwoods were also used in trade knives by the British, I believe, though written information on trade knives is surprising hard to come by. If making a repro scalper, Pau Ferro, Paudauk, or ebony are probably more likely wood choices than maple or walnut.
Remember that by the 18th century, there was extensive trade networks spanning the globe. That tea that ended up in Boston Harbor came from India or China, and Indian textiles - printed cotton fabrics - were common in the colonies.
