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Picana Negra (Cordia alliodora) is a South American hardwood from the same genus as Bocote, and some boards show similarly striking grain patterns. With its dark brown tones, black streaks, and fine texture, it offers both beauty and versatility. Weighing around 800 kg/m³, it’s well-suited for musical instruments, fine furniture, and decorative work, prized by craftsmen for its workability and smooth finish.

boxmaking, cabinetry, fine furniture, handles

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Locust - Black

A hard, durable, medium brown species found in the Central-Eastern United States. The grain is typically fairly straight, but the hardness does make it a little harder to work with.

Another recent addition to our species offering, we are little disappointed in the quality that was supplied, so please choose your pieces carefully.

Available in 4/4 and 8/4.

fencing, flooring, furniture, handles

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Yellowheart

Yellowheart is a neo-satine wood whose color can range from pale yellow to bright yellow to varying shades of gold. Sapwood is lighter and pale, but not always easily discerned from pale-colored heartwood. Its grains are typically straight, but can also by wavy and/or interlocked. Its typically fine (sometimes medium or in between), consistent texture takes on a luxurious look, revealing a deep natural luster, when sanded.

As far as working characteristics are concerned, Yellowheart is generally very cooperative for a fairly dense and durable wood. (Although sharp blades may be necessary with some interlocked-grain boards.) It glues and finishes very well. The wood holds its color well: slowly darkening, to a degree, as it ages, often giving it an even more striking appearance.

boatbuilding, cabinetry, carving, flooring, furniture, handles, inlay, musical Instruments, trim, turnings, veneer

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Zebrawood

Zebrawood is a tough, durable, visually striking West African wood whose heartwood base color -- which can range from tan to a dull pale yellow, to a muted off-white / almost gray hue, depending on specific region and conditions of growth -- is decorated by dark brown striping of varying degrees (ranging to almost black), hence its name. The striping is typically long and fairly uniform when the wood is quartersawn, but wavy and erratic when flatsawn.¬† Sapwood is easily distinguishable (by its lack of striping, naturally) and is usually a light, pale white color.Its coarse, open-poured texture combined with its wavy and/or interlocked grain patterns can make planing a challenge. (as well as finishing, if filling all surface pores is requisite.) For any sort of resawing or surfacing, blades and cutting tools should be at their sharpest to minimize tear-out.¬† The wood glues well and usually possesses a pleasant, moderate to high luster, which can make for impressive finishing.While flatsawn lumber can yield some quite dramatic aesthetic results, quartersawn lumber provides maximum (and sometimes much needed) stability. The species is known to be difficult to dry, with pieces sometimes warping during the kiln drying process. Tiny pockets of small void areas, also, are not uncommon along the darker striped areas -- especially among flatsawn boards.Zebrawood's trademark aesthetics have made it very popular with veneer mills around the world. However, great care is required when handling, to avoid it cracking.¬† The wood's popularity keeps it in steady demand, which makes it moderately expensive in spite of a generally steady supply in the US.¬† While its demand is based almost exclusively on its aesthetic appeal, Zebrawood is a strong, stiff lumber, once dry.

fine furniture, handles, turnings, veneer

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Wenge

Wenge is unique among the world's exotic woods. This tough tropical wood's distinctive deep chocolate color -- which can sometimes augmented by muted gold, orange, red or even burgundy tint -- is actually known as "Wenge" in the color spectrum nomenclature of various parts of the world (with paint manufacturers, etc.). Its grains are generally straight (though sometimes wavy or irregular) and are accenuated by overlapping black lines which typically decorate the board's surface.While being considered a strong, durable wood, Wenge's course, rugged texture makes it very splintery -- making some craftsmen hesitant to use it. It can be difficult to work, although is glues well and is considered a very dimensionally stable species.Exercise caution when working with this wood. Its splinters can be like little razors and when one pentetrates the skin, it is quite painful and the area can quickly and easily get infected, if quick action isn't taken to remove it (the splinter) and sterilize the area.Although most sources consider Wenge to be a dull wood with poor natural luster, our experience has revealed that a deep, glossy luster can sometimes emerge through fine-grit sanding of flatsawn boards. Its combination of relatively light weight, rot & insect resistance and impressive tensil strength has yielded the wood to a variety of indoor and outdoor uses, being particularly well suited for flooring in heavy traffic areas.

bows, cabinetry, flooring, furniture, handles, paneling, specialty items, veneer, walking sticks

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Padauk - African

African Paduak is a very strong, stable hardwood. It is known for its typically robust reddish-brown coloration (which darkens with age), although colors can range from a bright orange to a slightly muted burgundy often with highlights, grain lines and/or secondary colors ranging from brick red to a more purplish muted hue. The wood can sometimes be found figured (ribbon; striped; etc.), and it is well known for its deep chatoyance and wonderful natural luster. Grains are typically straight, though sometimes interlocked.The wood is considered very durable and also resistant to bug / insect / termite attack, which accordingly has seen it used in outdoor applications for centuries in its native Africa. Its working and finishing characteristics are decidedly favorable.

flooring, furniture, handles, specialty items, trim, turnings, utility lumber, veneer

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Palmyra - Black

Not unlike its coconut-producing cousin, Red Palm, Black Palmyra (perhaps better known as "Black Palm" in the US) is unique among exotic woods in several ways. First, it's tree is not categorized a hardwood or softwood tree, but as a flowering plant: Monocotyledon (or "Monocot"). Secondly, the tree is comprised of two entirely different layers: at its core is a soft, spongy cellulose mass; this soft core is surrounded by a protective body, comprised of dense, overlapping layers of interwoven fibrovascular strands. It is this hard, dense protective layer that is considered its wood.

While it is considered to be typically straight grained, because of its toughness the wood can be very diificult to work; splintering and tearouts are not uncommon. It is a dimensionally stable wood, but it requires sharp blades and precise-angled cuts to get acceptable results when resawing this wood.

boatbuilding, construction, flooring, furniture, handles, turnings, walking sticks

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Pau Marfim

Pau Marfim is a dense, fine textured, mostly straight grained hardwood which is generally a creamy white colorm but it can vary from a lemon color to a pale yellowish-brown, also. There is very little contrast between its sapwood and heartwood, although the heartwood can be decorated with darker streaks, occasionally. It is an extremely tough, durable wood, which has seen it utilized as a popular substitute for maple and birch and makes it an ideal choice for anything from flooring to tool handles.

The wood turns excellently, and it is easy to nail, crew or glue. It polishes to a smooth, fine finish, and is considered to be a very dimensionally stable wood.

cabinetry, canoes, carving, flooring, furniture, handles, oars, paneling, specialty items, turnings, veneer

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Oak - Red

Red Oak has a light brown heartwood color, with a reddish tint. Due to its basically light coloration, it is not always that easy to distinguish its sap from its heart. Like its many cousins, quartersawn examples display varying amounts of its renowned "ray fleck" patterns. Grains are typically straight, but with a coarse texture and large, open pores. The wood works, finishes and glues well. Its impressive strength, hardness and moderate price have made it a popular choice with furniture builders and cabinet makers.

cabinetry, flooring, furniture, handles, utility lumber, veneer

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Hickory

Hickory is perhaps best known for its pivotal role in "the great American past-time," as it remains the primary wood used in the production of baseball bats. It is also widely used as tool handles. Its heartwood is usually a light to medium brown, often with a reddish hue. Its sap is easily discernible, with a light cream to light yellow coloration. Although it is a non-durable wood, it is renowned for its toughness; it's considered to be among the strongest of hardwoods indigenous to the US.

Despite being a predominantly straight-grained wood (though sometimes wavy), Hickory is considered to be difficult to work. It has a medium texture, with open, medium-sized pores.

flooring, handles, utility lumber

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Granadillo

Granadillo is known throughout Central America as "the wood that sings." It has long been considered a quite viable "rosewood alternative," receiving greater attention and steadily growing in popularity since the exportation ban on Brazilian Rosewood, almost 25 years ago. Its density falls slightly under the mark of a typical rosewood, while not being near as oily. Granadillo is a quite beautiful wood. It has a base of brown-toned hues, highlighted by a variety of colors which can range from muted purples to reds, oranges and golds, Its pleasing aesthetics and great working and finishing properties make it a popular choice with guitar and furniture builders, alike. It has a natural luster and a high degree of chatoyance often emerges after finish sanding.

furniture, handles, inlay, musical Instruments, specialty items, turnings

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Ipe

Ipe is known throughout its indigenous Central & South American regions as an extremely dense, durable wood, but also one that is quite difficult to work. The wood encompasses a variety of different species of the Handroanthus genus, so aesthetics and grains patterns can vary dramatically. The wood can have a deep chocolate brown color with reddish tint, or sometimes a greenish tint accented by traces of green, yellow, orange and/or red color. Often, its aesthetics are enhanced by rugged, dark contrasting striping.

Grains can be straight, irregular or interlocked; straight-grained pieces plane and turn well, although cutting tools and blades should always be at their very sharpest. Its texture can range from fine to medium, and it generally has a good natural luster.

construction, decking, flooring, handles, turnings, veneer

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Jatoba

Jatoba earned its nickname -- "Brazilian Cherry" -- from flooring manufacturers, as its natural color can often resemble the look of aged Cherry wood (medium to dark reddish-brown). Its resistance to rot and bug damage and excellent strength-to-weight ratio make it suitable for a variety of indoor and outdoor applications, although its density and typically interlocked grains can make it difficult to work and hard on blades.

boatbuilding, cabinetry, flooring, furniture, handles, specialty items, turnings

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Kingwood

Brazilian Kingwood (Dalbergia cearensis) is one of the densest rosewoods—second only to African Blackwood. Its rich, reddish-brown heartwood features dark violet to black streaks, while the pale yellow sapwood often creates dramatic contrast. The grain is usually straight, sometimes wavy or interlocked, with a fine, even texture and natural luster.

Due to its extreme density, logs are prone to internal checking and cracks, making clean, defect-free boards rare—especially in larger sizes. It’s exceptionally rot-resistant and impervious to insects, which, along with its striking appearance, makes it a favorite for fine inlays, custom knife handles, and turning projects. High oil content can make gluing tricky, and it’s tough on tools.

Although highly prized, Brazilian Kingwood is difficult to source in the U.S.—largely due to its listing on CITES Appendix II, which restricts international trade.

gun stocks, handles, inlay, specialty items, turnings, veneer

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Lignum Vitae - Argentine

Without question, one of the world's hardest, most dense woods, Argentinian Lignum Vitae is very similar to its namesake -- the world's most dense wood, genuine Lignum Vitae -- in appearance, working properties and physical characteristics. (Both are classified in the same scientific family, Zygophyllaceae.) It is a beautiful wood, with heartwood colors ranging from medium to dark brown, quite often featuring green highlights (sometimes in a prominent fashion) which become more pronounced as the wood ages and is increasingly exposed to UV rays. Sapwood is pale yellow. Its grains can be straight, wavy or slightly interlocked, and it has a smooth, consistent texture and an impressive natural luster that emerges with fine-grit sanding.While its dense, hard, heavy physical nature makes it rough on blades and sometimes difficult to glue, it turns very smoothly and is extremely stable and durable.When (genuine) Lignum Vitae first made it onto CITES' Appendix II list, Verawood became more well known and popular -- commonly used as a substitute. Now that it, too, has made it onto both CITES and the IUCN's radar, it is not an easy wood to access in the US, either.

boatbuilding, construction, handles, turnings, utility lumber

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Blackwood - African

African Blackwood is native to the seasonally dry regions of Africa, from Senegal eastwards to Eritrea and southwards to the northern parts of South Africa. Without question, the densest and most un-rosewood-like of the Dalbergia's (for our money, at least!), African Blackwood is a consistent favorite with acoustic guitar luthiers, wood turners, carvers and fine furniture craftsmen, alike. It remains one of the world's most coveted musical woods. African Blackwood often appears almost completely black, with its grains hardly discernible. (... thus the name. After sanding, a deep, very dark chocolate color emerges.)Given its trees' very small profile and the fact that they also commonly grow somewhat twisted (rather than straight up), finding long, straight boards of African Blackwood is a daunting task. It is so dark and dense, it's almost inconceivable that it is a true Dalbergia-genus rosewood. Expect exceptional pieces to command a premium, as prices have increased, while supplies have drastically decreased over the last several years.

carving, handles, inlay, turnings

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Boxwood

While the term "boxwood" has become quite convoluted over time, this species, Buxus macowanii, is considered a close cousin to 'the original boxwood.' (Buxus sempervirens). It's pale, creamy yellowish hues make it popular with wood turners and especially carvers, as Boxwood is renowned for its capacity to hold crisp, fine details and it has a smooth, very fine texture.Trees rarely make it much passed 20 feet in height and trunk diameters max out at only 6 inches in diameter. Not surprisingly, this limits its supply to primarily small, craft-sized pieces. The very small logs (if you can even call them that) it produces are often cracked, due to its tough, dense nature. Beware of other species, similar in color and density, being sold as boxwood.The Boxwood that we carry has been carefully air dried over many years and originates from South Africa.

carving, chess pieces, handles, musical Instruments, specialty items, turnings

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