hawiian wood source

[jssmith3]

Hi guys, I have been asked to stoke some pens in a new coffee shop that will be opening this summer and the theme is all hawiian stuff. I know that koa and I think mango come from there but is anyone aware of other wood I could use and a source for them?
Thanks,
Janet

 

[DCBluesman]

Hi Janet - Koa and mango are probably top of the list. Also macadamia and pheasantwood. You've got a few of these headed your way! []

 

[Dario]

Janet,

I carry lots of koa, and mango. Others that you may want to check are lychee, macadamia, and cinammon. I also have a few of these but a bit under sized.

I know BigRob also sell some hawaiian wood...and then of couse there is eBay and Hawaii []

 

[JimGo]

Macadamia is a REALLY cool wood, in my opinion. I have a pic of a pen I made from it in my album, and I think someone else here had it too.

 

[badwin]

You can try http://www.penblanks.ca
They have been excellent to deal with for me. They sell a lot of different types, including the ones mentioned but also Hawaiian Silveroak Lacewood.
Brian
http://www3.telus.net/public/goodwinp

 

[jssmith3]

Thanks guys, Dario would you email me about the ones you have that are undersized (like what size and how much are they). Brian, the site you refered me to is great, I will definitely check them out to order. Lou, your stuff was mailed yesterday. Jim, your macadamia pen is beautiful, I really would like to try that too. []
Janet

 

[KenV]

Janet, According to the folks at the Bishop Museum and the Botanical Gardens in Honolulu, most all the species in Hawaii were imported from other islands, and then from all over the world. There are a couple of wood vendors on the Web who sell wood grown there. Mesquite is quite common there too - it was imported for cattle feed and is all along the coast as a brush species.

Local turners were doing a lot with norfolk pine. Some very nice turnings.

The nut woods grown there are nice.

 

[arioux]

Hi,

Jimmy (Woodpenpro.com) is based in Hawai. He certainly can help you too.

Alfred

 

[jcarrell]

curly koa (instrument grade [6 curls per inch] is what you really want), curly mango, and kiawe (hawaii's mesquite) look really good...

good curly koa, curly mango and kiawe, all have great chatoyance, and that's what really makes a pen "pop"...in addition to the great curl, they also have very nice grains patterns

milo - the wood of the Hawaiian ali'i (rolyalty), both sapwood and heartwood, look really good...the heartwood is usually used for large wooden bowls or calabashes and has a rich look to it...i have a pen
where the sapwood and heartwood are half-n-half lengthwise on the pen and i think it looks really good

it seems that alot of the hawaiian woods are darker in color...

in my travels to the islands over the last 5 years, i have collected alot of hawaiian woods: koa (regular and very curly, and other variations), milo, saligna, ohia, hawaiian black walnut, kiawe, monkey pod, curly mango, opiuma, palm, red koa, koa burl, kona, ulu, spalted mango, piluaris, and a few others i don't remember their names...all these wood make really nice looking pens...and alot of folks like hawaiian wood pens

a good source of hawaiian woods is aloha woods on the big island, just outside of kona...especially if you can go there and rummage around for a few hours...too much great woods available and not enough money for the wood and shipping ;-)
http://www.alohawoods.com/

there are also a few folks from the big island that sell their "scraps" on ebay, which are great for us penturners and other small objects...search for 'curly koa', etc...

also, the book "Trees of Hawai'i" by Angela Kay Kepler, published by University of Hawaii Press, has alot of information in it..

another good source of info is the hawaii forest indudtry...they have a great poster showing alot of the hawaiian woods - http://hawaii-forest.org/


torne pluma...jeff c, in foat wuth TX
www.bubbasville.com
www.texaswoodshop.com

2nd annual texas penturners get-together, 04.15.2006...for more info, goto www.texaspenturners.com

penturners track at the annual texas woodturning symposium - SWAT, for more info goto www.swaturners.com

 

[laspringer]

Janet,
Don't forget Birds Eye Hawaiian Ironwood

Alan

 

[wayneis]

Another place to buy from is Hawaiian Hardwoods Direct at www.curlykoa.com Steve owns a saw mill on the big island and now ships his wood to Oregon for drying, selling and shipping. All of his wood is music grade (absolutly beautiful) and he has better prices than many. Another wood that I haven't seen mentioned yet that also makes a very nice pen is Robusto, especially if you can get it with curl. The last I knew they sold a really nice sample package, it gave you pen blanks of the different types of wood that they sell like curly koa, Lychee, Robusto, Mango etc.

Wayne

 

[Dario]

Janet here are some Hawaiian blanks as you requested.

The ones on the left are Mango...some have figure and some have a little spalting. Size is 7/8" x 7/8" x 5-1/2". I have lots of mango and can supply as much as you need []. I just milled these from a slab and not fully dry yet...but almost.

The ones on the right are undersized Cinammon as you can see they too have some curls and spalt. Size is 3/4" x 3/4" x 4-1/4". This is all the cinammon I have left.

These are lightly sanded and oiled.

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