sustainably harvested woods or not?

[jskeen]

I may regret even mentioning this, but here it goes. How many of the woods that we use do we KNOW are sustainably harvested, and which ones do we know are endangered or being depleted to supply demand for wood? The woods that I love most but worry about would be desert ironwood, pink ivory, ziricote, cocobolo, ambonia, rosewood, ect.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure there is little to no danger of us running out of bamboo, cherry, spalted oak, ect.

If I was the PC type, (which I ain't) which woods would I be looking for that have the most character without any danger of running out, and which ones would no self respecting, tree hugging, PETA, hippie type ever consider using?

 

[R2]

It's a moot point, is it not? I try to use recycled timber or I scavenge from people's prunings, the tip, already fallen trees etc.
This doesn't give me everything I want but that is of little consequence.
I only buy "foreign" blanks on rare occasions for special purposes.
I don't think we canever be sure of how well the timber we are using is doing as aspecies, but we can at least do our bit.

 

[DCBluesman]

The CITES treaty, to which the US and most other countries represented by the IAP members are signatories, is a good place to start. They have lists of threatened and endangered flora and fauna. http://www.cites.org/index.html Hugging trees is not necessarily a bad thing. [8D]

 

[badger]

There is a really good book I found that helps. I think it's called the Real Wood Bible. (yup, it's this one on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Real-Wood-Bible-Illustrated-Decorative/dp/1554070333/ ) It states wherever possible whether a wood is endangered or not.

 

[Rifleman1776]

For the average user, like us, there is no way of knowing whether that new blank you just purchased is from an endangered tree, an illegally imported tree or an approved sustainabily harvested one. When we are talking about African and South American imports, it is impossible to know what you have. Several reasons. A big reason is the ego of scientists who like to name 'new discoveries' after themselves. My friend in South America has found as many as thirty different names for the same species of tree, all given by scientists who believe, or claim, they discovered it. Another problem is that many woods bear a remarkable resemblance. Much of what is being exported as mahogany is not. Same with the wide variety of rosewoods. A certain tree, prohibited from export from SA countries, is illegally shipped north in vast quantities. Innocently, we buy this wood thinking it is a rosewood. It is hard and beautiful but highly hallucinogenic. And, there are rare or 'illegal' woods that are exported legally because they were salvaged during various construction projects. Some countries do a good job of protecting and controlling their exports. Australia and New Zealand come to mind. Japan is rigid with a couple woods as is India. But Africa and South America still are too subject to quick profits and bribery. Bottom line is, you just don't know and can't tell.

 

[Larry Gottlieb]

An important part of the enjoyment that I get from the hobby of pen turning is harvesting local wood, cutting and drying the blanks, and then turning them into pens.

I realize that not everyone can do this, but for many of us, there is free wood available.

Larry

 

[Rifleman1776]

Originally posted by Larry Gottlieb

An important part of the enjoyment that I get from the hobby of pen turning is harvesting local wood, cutting and drying the blanks, and then turning them into pens.

I realize that not everyone can do this, but for many of us, there is free wood available.

Larry

Larry, I believe that many, if not most, of us here do that. There is a lot of trading as well. In that sense, we are doing our part to utilize woods that might otherwise be wasted. But, there are many beautiful exotics out there and, generally, the only way to acquire them is to purchase.

 

[Tonto]

A way to help might be to include some information about certain woods so the folks who buy become more informed and perhaps advocates for conservation. This discussion is not limited to woods, the resin folks have some responsibility regarding solvents and other chemicals used in the production and manufacture of their chosen medium. Then think a bit about the snakeskins etc. I'm all for sustainability and responsibility. It's OK to utilize renewable resources. Tree hugging is great, so is the utility of wood and it's by-products. If we're smart, we'll have even more down the road. I would not knowingly buy wood that was endangered.

 

[badger]

There are also a number of woods that considered "under utilized" and a good option for us turners. This reduces some of the over use, and offers some variety.

For example, I discovered "tigerwood" and got a plank, it's generally sustainable harvested, and the plank I got was FSC Cert. Great color and striping, works and turns great. And it's not Rosewood, or another of the over forested species.

I'll go through my book and see if I can come up with a list of species that under utilized. I remember reading names like Chechen, Chakte Kok, and others.

badger

 

[thewishman]

Environ would certainly be an environmentally sound choice. I think it is recycled newsprint and is available in several colors. Dakota burl and corn cobs rank right up there, too.

Chris

 

[edstreet]

This is the reason I now make up wood info tags with my pens.

This is some of the tags I made up reently.

http://wetlands.simplyaquatics.com/v/Various-wood/tags/