Wood ID and Does it matter

[knowltoh]

I acquired a couple slabs of wood from Central America. One was billed as Bocote and the other Cabbage Bark. I cut and turned a blank from each piece and they appear to be the same species to me. The Bocote I have seen does not look like these and I have not used Cabbage Bark before. My inclination is that they are both Cabbage Bark. I would appre3ciate your opinions on The ID of these blanks.

Secondly, does it really matter? People I give pens to will ask what the wood is, but I don't think it really matters. Very few people are familiar with any of the wood I use. They are happy with "it is from South America". How important is it to you that you have a definitive ID on the woods you use?

Thanks

 

[jsolie]

I haven't heard of Cabbage Bark before, but I have worked with quite a bit of bocote. That blank you have marked bocote doesn't look like any that I've seen before. I think you are correct in your inclination.

 

[mark james]

I got some Cabbage Bark a few weeks ago, but have not turned it yet.

You mentioned Bocote. All that I have seen DOES NOT look like your picture:

Bocote | The Wood Database - Lumber Identification (Hardwoods).

A beautiful wood, but much darker.

 

[Curly]

You are lucky in that the Forest Products Laboratory will identify up to 5 wood samples per year per US household for free. Better to get an expert opinion. :wink:

 

[thewishman]

You are lucky in that the Forest Products Laboratory will identify up to 5 wood samples per year per US household for free. Better to get an expert opinion. :wink:

What an interesting perquisite for citizens of the USA. I wish I had know of this earlier. Thanks, Peter!

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Wood ID matters to me, but not always to the people who get my pens. I find that the importance of details about the wood is inversely correlated to the price I am charging.

"Pretty" seems to be more than adequate for describing wooden pens I give away. I've never had anyone turn down a free pen because I didn't know what the wood was.

For insanely expensive wooden pens, I have delivered up to 20 pages of handwritten information about the history of the tree / pen / myself and anybody else involved in the creation. It seems to be appreciated and sometimes expected.

Ed