Mahogany Identification

[Bob Coleman]

So I bought this board today at a flea market - $3

Its mahogany, but I don't know anything about any type other than Honduran/genuine/south american.

Can anybody ID it from the pictures? What does one look for to differentiate the types?

Thanks!

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[Dan Bowman]

based on the color, the ribbon and the tearout, I'd say African mahogany

[J.R. Rutter]

based on the color, the ribbon and the tearout, I'd say African mahogany

Agreed - Khaya

[glenn bradley]

+1 on African. I'm no expert but I did (no, not "stayed in a Holiday Inn Express") make a few items out of African mahogany and it looked like that ;-)

[Jim Tobias]

It's unanimous(so far), african mahogany!!

Jim

[John Coloccia]

It could also be Sapele but it's probably Khaya.

[Dan Galcik]

African Mahogany is my vote as well. I have several boards and your pictures are what mine look like.

[Peter Quinn]

I've seen a lot of both African and South American at work, I'd guess what you have there is African, but both can look like that example, so I wouldn't be 100% sure based on a visual. But the smell of African when cut is distinct. It has a camphorous almost toasted cinnamon smell that SA mahogany does not. Can you send a whiff of a fresh cut through the computer? Try slicing an end and giving it a sniff. If it smells a bit like cinnamon or allspice, its almost definitely African.

[Bob Coleman]

Alright, thanks everyone! I will go with African.

[Paul Grothouse]

It is African, you can tell by the interlocked grain, it creates the "fuzzy" ribbons. It is not Sapele or South American "Big Leaf" mahogany.