10. MOPANE (Colophospermum mopane)
This wooden has excellent acoustic qualities (plenty of potential right here), it’s extraordinarily dense, turns splendidly, and it might have attention-grabbing shade and grain patterns. It’s exhausting to seek out, often solely accessible in small chunks and turning blanks. Additionally, it’s fairly costly, and never too many individuals are ready to spend some huge cash on a wooden that they’ve by no means heard of, a lot much less pronounce. Too dangerous, because it’s a stellar hardwood!
9. PAULOWNIA (Paulownia tomentosa)
Among the many absolute lightest woods accessible, however not as styrofoam-soft as Balsa. It is usually probably the most steady woods with regard to humidity and has very low motion in service. It grows like a weed, and bushes are ceaselessly plantation grown.
The Japanese appear to make use of all of it up earlier than anybody else can get their arms on it. It’s solely truthful, because the wooden ought to merely go to the best bidder, and Paulownia is prized in Japan and used for all types of issues.
8. GREENHEART (Chlorocardium rodiei)
Greenheart is wooden of extremes. General, it’s in all probability the strongest wooden in the whole world (severely), with off-the-charts MOE and MOR and crushing strength. It additionally has distinctive rot resistance and weathering traits, particularly in marine environments. These things are only an ache to work with. It’s exhausting to attach, exhausting to say, and it’s additionally exhausting to discover.
7. CHAKTE VIGA (Caesalpinia platyloba)
Chakte Viga has nice acoustic/tonal qualities, it turns like a dream, it has a refined iridescence that provides sophistication to any piece. However better of all, items with orangish or reddish coloration may be discovered—and the color really lasts, which is greater than may be stated about another *cough, Padauk, cough* woods. It additionally goes by the identify Paela. It may be on the dear aspect for a wooden that’s unknown to many.
6. BURMESE BLACKWOOD (Dalbergia cultrata)
Is it shallow to like a fairly face? This wooden is attractive… that’s about it. The grain sample is completely distinctive and fairly tough to mimic or substitute with one other wooden—I suppose the closest competitors could be Pheasantwood.
It’s seldom accessible, and when it’s, it’s often costly. Individuals in all probability determine it’s an ebony knockoff of some kind, but it surely’s a completely totally different animal!
5. DESERT IRONWOOD (Olneya tesota)
When you’re a knife-maker, you’ve in all probability heard of this wooden earlier than. The remainder of the world doesn’t have a clue. These things is so dimensionally steady it’s nearly scary. It simply doesn’t transfer. It additionally has superb colours, graining, and is excellent for turning.
The tree itself grows very small and crooked, so items are very restricted, costly, and small. These things is greatest used for these super-special small initiatives you’ve had behind your thoughts.
4. PISTACHIO (Pistacia vera)
Simply have a look at it! It has all the pieces going for it: attention-grabbing shade with plenty of variation, and stripes that will nearly put a zebra to disgrace.
Individuals have a tendency to love their Pistachio bushes for, effectively, their pistachios. They don’t wish to lower them down since you need some wooden! That is going to price you…
3. BLACK LOCUST (Robinia pseudoacacia)
Why do we have to go to a distinct continent to get a tricky, sturdy wooden once we’ve received one proper in our personal yard? These things lasts and lasts, and in contrast to different domestics like Osage Orange, it’s really accessible in usable lumber sizes for a cost-effective worth.
I’m baffled as to why extra individuals don’t find out about and use Black Locust. Components of Europe have caught on, and have already begun plantations of Black Locust to supplant tropical hardwoods.
2. KATALOX (Swartzia spp.)
Some items may be nearly a darkish as true ebony, with only a trace of purple. Different items could be a extra reddish brown with black streaks. A lot depth within the Swartzia genus, there’s one thing for everybody right here!
It’s not too ceaselessly imported, and lots of boards have a ridiculous quantity of sapwood in them, so it’s a must to hunt for the perfect items. Maybe individuals assume it’s too good to be true to discover a darkish ebony-like wooden costing magnitudes lower than the actual deal. Imagine it.
1. MACACAUBA (Platymiscium spp.)
This wooden is uber-colorful, with many items having wealthy reds and oranges blended in with darker brown and black veins of exquisiteness. Some woods are liked for his or her shade, others are liked for his or her streaks and stripes. Macacauba has each. (And it’s cheap in addition.)This lovely wooden has languished underneath among the absolute worst names on the planet. (I don’t have a clue easy methods to pronounce Macacauba.) Different hideous names this wooden has suffered with embody Macawood, Hormigo, and Coyote. Just lately a advertising identify has surfaced calling it “Orange Agate.” I hope one thing works for it: Cinderella must get some well-deserved consideration.
Honorable mentions:
- Muninga (Padauk-relative with rock-solid stability)
- Boxwood (legendary for turning and carving)
- Laburnum (consider it as European Rosewood)
- Wamara (shut relative to #2 ranked Katalox)
- Sycamore (get away of bland with some quartersawn inventory)
- Texas Ebony (Ebony!? from Texas!? …kinda)
- Imbuia (appears to be like like a burl, but it surely’s naturally that superior)
- Sumac (olive inexperienced and striped, just like Pistachio)
- Buckthorn (beneath the bark lies some fine-grained, pinkish/orange wooden)