Has anyone else besides me noticed...?

[Herb G]

That Afzelia & Afzelia burl has basically disappeared from the market?
I was looking around the other day, and found only 3 stores online that even had any for sale. I began cleaning out my basement a few months ago & I found a boot box ( big shoe box) full of blanks I bought many years ago.

I was curious as to what it goes for these days, and boy was I shocked !

A decent blank of regular Afzelia starts at $14, and only goes up from there.
The burl starts at $20 each, and the sky's the limit on prices for it.

That's ridiculous, if you ask me. I had no idea it was so rare & expensive these days.
So, has anyone else noticed this yet?
Also, what other woods have you noticed are getting hard to find, and/or too expensive to buy these days?
:bye:

 

[magpens]

Yes, I have noticed.

Other woods going the same way ... Amboyna ... Crepe Myrtle ... and there are more

I wonder what's going on ... can't be just a huge up-tick in penturner numbers !

 

[Talltim]

I believe there are a number of factors in this situation.

1. It can take a nice burl 30 to 100 years to grow. It only takes an hour with a chainsaw to cut it off. There is a supply and demand issue.

2. Many countries are realizing the value of their own products. For example Moroccan thuya burl. I know for a while and it still might be illegal to export thuya from Morocco unless you're a native Moroccan Craftsman selling your crafts.

3. The paperwork involved in importing and exporting has reached a level where many people don't want to bother with it anymore.


In the end though nothing beats a beautiful burl.

 

[PatrickR]

I purchased an afzelia burl block on eBay recently for about $60 and got 8 large blanks from it, some 2-tone. It's always better to cut your own. The uptick in cocobolo has been big. Decent hardwoods will never loose value.

 

[Herb G]

I have noticed that Bubinga has become more & more rare since they changed the CITES designation for it. I bought a bunch because I got a heads up from a friend of mine.
Now I don't have a major stockpile or anything, but I have noticed the price has risen dramatically since they changed the status of it.

Black & white Ebony has virtually disappeared in the last few months from the marketplace as well. Lots of woods are getting hoarded by people who think they're going to cash in later on.
They might be in for a big surprize if they make those woods endangered.
Look at what happened to Gibson guitars a few years back.

 

[Ankrom Exotics]

When searching for Afzelia Burl you might type in 'Makamong Burl'. That's its name in Asia and also the name many exotic lumber companies have started listing it as.

 

[Scott]

Interesting! I may have to dig around in my shop! Fifteen or so years ago I bought something like 500 pen blanks from an importer from SE Asia. I used some, I sold some, and the rest are sitting in a bin in my shop. I know there was some afzelia, some b&w ebony, and three or four other varieties. If I can find them, maybe I'll donate some for Bash prizes! I know I have some Thuya someplace, too! But that would be a much smaller box.

Scott.