Wood ID?

[keithbyrd]

Customer brought me this piece of wood from a hike to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro. Any thoughts on the type of wood? Its not heavy like a dense wood would be, but this is probably the hardest wood I have ever turned. It produces more dust than shavings!

 

[BoonareeBurl]

Customer brought me this piece of wood from a hike to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro. Any thoughts on the type of wood? Its not heavy like a dense wood would be, but this is probably the hardest wood I have ever turned. It produces more dust than shavings!

Does the customer have any more of that wood? Very cool stuff.

G

 

[keithbyrd]

The piece you saw is all there is!

 

[GaryMGg]

Could it be a form of Manzanita?

 

[leehljp]

I haven't seen that before! And I did a search of Kilimanjaro trees. The search kept trying to move me to plants.
You have a friend for sure. When I lived in Japan, friends from SE Asian countries always brought me some wood from the country where they worked. Great Friends!

 

[PreacherJon]

I have a friend that is a missionary/native in the Kenya area. I sent him a picture and he was pretty firm it is from an Acacia Tree.

 

[keithbyrd]

I have a friend that is a missionary/native in the Kenya area. I sent him a picture and he was pretty firm it is from an Acacia Tree.

Thats was on my short list but I could find no references for acacia in that area - thank you for taking the extra effort on this quest!

 

[keithbyrd]

I haven't seen that before! And I did a search of Kilimanjaro trees. The search kept trying to move me to plants.
You have a friend for sure. When I lived in Japan, friends from SE Asian countries always brought me some wood from the country where they worked. Great Friends!

Thanks Hank! I had the same experience searching for trees and non of the bushes I saw grew like that!

 

[mark james]

No clue for the ID, but I'm following with casual interest. Very cool blank.

 

[Darios]

Ran across this : https://empressfurniture.com/properties-of-tanzanian-timber/


From the hardness you mention, I wonder if it might be teak vis-a-vis

"the highest quality teak wood will have a golden brown colour. The real teak wood has a long, straight grain. The low-quality teak wood will feature larger knots"


But (assuming) it was found on the side of the mountain itself, this line about Podocarpus usambarensis makes it a possibility too.

"Podocarpus usambarensis is a tree growing in highland rain forests, in altitudes of 950-2,700 m. (ed note - Kiliminjaro goes up to 5800 meters) In Tanzania it is found in Kilimanjaro, Pare, Usambara, Iringa, Mbulu, Njombe and Uluguru .... There are two varieties in Tanzania: P. usambarensis war usambarensis found in highland areas"

Searching for that later term comes up with this : https://www.conifers.org/po/Afrocarpus_usambarensis.php

This line leapt out : "Bark dark brown turning gray with age, forming small angular plates, flaking."



And there's about 4 others on the original link, and the wood database has two listings for woods from Tanzania - https://www.wood-database.com/leadwood/ and https://www.wood-database.com/african-crabwood/

 

[keithbyrd]

Ran across this : https://empressfurniture.com/properties-of-tanzanian-timber/


From the hardness you mention, I wonder if it might be teak vis-a-vis

"the highest quality teak wood will have a golden brown colour. The real teak wood has a long, straight grain. The low-quality teak wood will feature larger knots"


But (assuming) it was found on the side of the mountain itself, this line about Podocarpus usambarensis makes it a possibility too.

"Podocarpus usambarensis is a tree growing in highland rain forests, in altitudes of 950-2,700 m. (ed note - Kiliminjaro goes up to 5800 meters) In Tanzania it is found in Kilimanjaro, Pare, Usambara, Iringa, Mbulu, Njombe and Uluguru .... There are two varieties in Tanzania: P. usambarensis war usambarensis found in highland areas"

Searching for that later term comes up with this : https://www.conifers.org/po/Afrocarpus_usambarensis.php

This line leapt out : "Bark dark brown turning gray with age, forming small angular plates, flaking."



And there's about 4 others on the original link, and the wood database has two listings for woods from Tanzania - https://www.wood-database.com/leadwood/ and https://www.wood-database.com/african-crabwood/

Darios - Thank you! I appreciate the efforts you took to do the research! It certainly sounds like what I have here! I will follow up on your research this afternoon!

 

[keithbyrd]

Well I read a lt of the descriptions of the various plants and trees on Kilimanjaro - based on what I read I rather go with African yellow wood or acacia. Because of the way it has aged and the reddish colors in the wood I am going to go with Tasmanian Acacia!
Thanks for all your help!
Will finish the pen post a picture in the next few days!

 

[Woodchipper]

Looking forward to the finished pen.

 

[keithbyrd]

Here is the final product from the Kilimanjaro Wood! The wood was VERY hard - but I think it came out with some awesome colors. The dark section on the cap has a lot of cracks that filled with CA.

 

[BoonareeBurl]

Here is the final product from the Kilimanjaro Wood! The wood was VERY hard - but I think it came out with some awesome colors. The dark section on the cap has a lot of cracks that filled with CA.
View attachment 358497View attachment 358498View attachment 358499

Sensational! Reminds me of a cross between desert ironwood burl and chakte viga burl. Makes me want to go to Africa!

G

 

[Jim15]

That's a beauty.

 

[KMCloonan]

Stunning! I love the deep rich color and burl-like grain.

 

[sorcerertd]

Wow, that's a pretty pen. I wonder what that curly section of that piece will look like?

 

[keithbyrd]

Wow, that's a pretty pen. I wonder what that curly section of that piece will look like?

Thanks - I am guessing it will look similar. Look back at the original piece (first entry) it seems to be that way all along the piece