Anyone know where to find "violet wood?"

[angboy]

In browsing the internet looking at woods, I came across a site of woods from Guyana:

http://www.cimage-ltd.com/eng/guyane_e.html

The very top one that they show, the violet wood looks very pretty. Does anyone know anything about this wood, if it comes in pen blanks, where to find it, etc.? Thanks!

 

[Doghouse]

I beleive that it is commonly known as purpleheart.

 

[Darley]

well I see they have the PARTRIDGE WOOD too

 

[arioux]

Hi,
Here what i have on this wood
Name:
Purpleheart
Other names:
Amaranth, Nazareno, Violetwood
Peltogyne spp
Location:
Amazon basin, Colombia, Guyana, Surinam, & Vanezuela
Description:
This wood is best known for its unusual purple color and has exceptional bending strength (far stronger than Maple, Oak, or Teak) with a high tolerance to shock loading. It is highly desired by hobbyists and craftsmen who use this hard heavy wood in small projects. The trees grow to 150 feet with trunk diameters up to 48 inches. Purpleheart will slowly lose its color and turn to a rich-brown hue when cut due to oxidation.

You can find it almost anywhere on the net where they sell pen blanks. I have some in 1x1x6 but i live in Canada so postage could be an issue since i'm sure that many member in the states have some too. Turns well, have a kind of open grain. Will get back to it's purple color if you leave it in sunlight for a while. I use it a lot for perfume pens, women seems to like the color.

Hope this help you

Alfred

 

[angboy]

Thanks very much for the feedback. I like purpleheart a lot, but didn't realize they were the same. In the picture I gave the link to, I thought it looked a little more purple than purpleheart, so I was hoping it would be something that I might prefer over the purpleheart. But now I know!

 

[Tom McMillan]

Another wood with shades of violet is Kingwood, along with black to brown streaks. But, yup the one in the photo looks like purpleheart.

 

[woodscavenger]

My local woodworking store got a shipment of purpleheart about three months ago. I was shocked at the variety of colors. The colors ranged from brown to light purple to purple-I-thought-you-could-only-get-with-dye to deep rich purple to cranberry. It was quite variable.

 

[ctEaglesc]

PH is so common it is sometimes used for shipping pallets.

 

[CPDesigns]

I love purpleheart. Interestingly, if you heat the wood it turns a darker purple. Here's a pic of a Euro I did in purpleheart. The fade effect was done by burnishing the wood with a thick leather glove until it darkened a touch then moving back and forth a little to create the fade.

This one is purpleheart witha Red Jasper TruStone lamination. (Astute observers will notice the burn mark from the barrel trimmer near the centerband. It was this mark that gave me the idea for the fade)[]