Wood ID?

[Mike A. Smith]

Got this in one of those grab boxes of exotic woods. I think I've seen a picture of this stuff before but can't remember where. I didn't know this grain was inside, I really like it, but it's a little 'busy' for what I had planned for it. This is small piece (about 2") so the rings are pretty tight.

[mike fuson]

Mike, I'm thinking this is Wenge. But I'm no authority on the exotics.

[Jerry Allen]

Maybe zebrawood?

[John Shuk]

I'm thinking wenge too. Have to see the face grain to be sure.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Looks to tight of grain coloring for any zebra I've seen. Never seen wenge....

[Colin MacDiarmid]

I think its wenge, I have attached a photo of a wenge bowl,hope it works and helps

[Jim King]

It is a dead ringer for Black Ipe. Where did you buy it ??

[Mike A. Smith]

I'm thinking wenge too. Have to see the face grain to be sure.


It is a dead ringer for Black Ipe. Where did you buy it ??

Went ahead and made a pen out of it. Very open grain, had to do some filling with CA and sawdust. It came out of an exotice grab box from Woodcraft.

[Dick Strauss]

Mike,
could the pic be of end-grain lacewood?

[Greg Savage]

It Is Wenge........It should have a chocolate-like smell and nasty splinters!

[Jim King]

I will take a close up of a piece of black Ipe tomorrow at the same angle you took your photo. As I said it is a ringer for Ipe but I dont think Woodcraft has it in their grab boxes yet. Many of these exotics are impossible to tell apart without a chemical analysis or pore print.

I can assure you that the best experts in the world will tell you that experts really do not exist in tropical wood ID. I have been at it for a long time and have one of the best in the world working with us now for three weeks and he is so catious about being sure it can take a couple years or more to ID a wood.

The most important thing is your peice looks nice.