Can you ID this wood?

[pcooper]

I made a pen out of a blank that came in a box of misc. blanks...all kinds of pretty wood, most of which I know by sight. This one surprised me though, is quite pretty, but I've no idea what it is. I can't seem to find any pictures online that look like it either. This is very soft, seems to be a very open grain, and is dirty brown in color. The picture might spark an idea, I would like to know if anyone has an idea about what it is. I can email larger pictures if need be. Thanks!!

 

[Skymaster]

kinda looks mahogany like

 

[Matt Furjanic]

Hard to tell with such a small example, but it looks like sapele to me.

 

[SubGuy]

+1

Hard to tell with such a small example, but it looks like sapele to me.

 

[pcooper]

I kinda agree with the sapele, however it's a lot lighter than other pieces of that I've used in similar size. I figure that at best I get a few guesses, unless someone has more of the same somewhere. I'd like to have more of it, but just one pen blank is all I got of it. The grain is very hollow, porous. Might even resemble a real tight cactus but nothing like cactus I've ever seen either.

 

[SubGuy]

Some sort of palm?

 

[Jeff]

These wood id questions are always fun. Hmmm...

This is very soft, seems to be a very open grain,

That doesn't fit sapele with a Janka hardness of 1510, which is just above hard maple at 1450.

Mahogany may be a good bet but that's a generic term so we have to be careful.

1. Honduran mahogany, Janka hardness 800.

2. African mahogany, Khaya species, Janka hardness 845.

How about Brazilian lacewood? Janka hardness 840.

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/lacewood, brazilian.htm

We may never get a positive id.

 

[danw]

koa?

 

[jcz]

My guess would be curly koa.

 

[batk30msu]

Some sort of palm?

Was the original blank very easy to get slivers from? That has been my painful experience with palm and I can see some palm characteristics in that pic.

 

[pcooper]

You may be onto something there, it is very easy to get slivers from, was very soft and light, felt like nothing in my hand. I didn't see a picture online of Palm, I'll do some digging there.

 

[pcooper]

Good suggestions, I found this after looking at the Koa suggestion, this one is Mango. The picture is kinda small, but it's a lot like what I have in hand.

 

[Jeff]

Yep, koa look like a pretty good bet. There are many pics for comparison.

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/index.htm#letterK

 

[pcooper]

Well, after a lot of looks, I betting on Koa too, I think I'll see if I can find more of it, and compare. I wish this piece had been marked in some way for sure, but was just in a box of 'goodies'. I like the look of it. The site Jeff gave is a good one for pics, THANKS!!!!:thumbs_up

 

[Jeff]

I betting on Koa too, I think I'll see if I can find more of it, and compare.

http://www.koawoodhawaii.com/1.html

http://www.exoticwoodsusa.com/order_Hawaiian_koa.htm

 

[KenOfCary]

I had some KOA Pen blanks that looked very much like that - a sort of Brendle color once Varnish Oil was applied. Made pen and pencil sets for my Niece and her Husband who lived in Hawaii for awhile. She even has a Brendle colored dog named Koa.

They looked very similar to the ones I also made out of African Mahogany so it really could be either. My first thought was Koa though.

 

[KenOfCary]

I think I got the pen blanks from either Penn States or Bell Forest, but I couldn't find them there anymore. I bought them on special.

Did find some at Craft Supply but I know I didn't pay almost $10 a pen.

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/1/-/2/8/-/5844/Turners-Choice-Curly-Koa-Pen-Blank?term=koa

These are much more reasonably priced.

http://www.woodturningz.com/results.aspx?k=koa