Ash . pale & elegant, tough & dense. Often used for gardening tool handles as it bends but does not break. The ‘helicopter’ seeds that are such fun to watch are Ash seeds.
Hawthorne Hedge . porcelain pale, but very dense and heavy. Hawthorne’s sharp thorns make it both an excellent deterrent for intruders and a wonderful shelter for wildlife. A wood for those who may take a little longer to let others in, but with whom, once in, we feel safe and nurtured.
Pear . silky soft, highly flamed
Apple . silky soft, similar to pear flame
Cherry . warm brown/reddish tone. Deeper flame. When first cut, cherry looks a pale, pinkish brown, but it gradually darkens.
Padauk . amber coloured wood used for marimbas (tap to hear the vibrancy!), barns & fences. The orange hue fades with age into more mahogany brown. Watch the colour develop ..
Afzelia . the african mahogany, medium colour, dense, and a lightly interlocked grain. its seeds and bark are used medicinally, straight grain, this wood is by often used in shipbuilding, and cause Afzelia wood is so hard and strong, it is among the most valuable exotic hardwood species. used for luxury flooring & joinery, decking, stair rails, and large constructions such as velodromes. just in case.. it has excellent resistance to attack by termites (you never know when there’s a termite about..), remains smooth under friction, and shows only small movement with time. the dried wood has an intoxicating leather-sweet smell when planed. A pleasure to work with.
Mahogany . medium toned luxurious warm glow. The mahogany is a large, semi-evergreen tree with a canopy that casts dappled shade. It is a popular landscape tree as well as an exclusive cabinetry wood. HIPPOS kitchen worktops, two tables and doors are made of mahogany.
Teak . naturally oily so protects against changing climate, wider flame and chalky veins (which makes carpenter tools go blunt, it’s rock hard) €10,000 a cubic metre. The most expensive of all woods. No extra charge for you.
Opepe. very similar to iroko, medium colour. known as Alema in german. Even more dense than teak, very resistant.
We do not use Iroko because of its dangerous iroko dust. it clogs up the lungs when working on it.
Marble wood. Big bold stripe. Tiger roar. A rare and very hard wood. Could be used for guitar fretboard.
Beech. A wood for the bookish amongst you .. Hard and straight-grained, usually pale or pinkish brown in its natural state, beech polishes well and has the tiniest brown flecks. But that is not the whole story… In Celtic mythology, a Beech woodland and the actual tree were associated with femininity and is usually considered the queen of British trees, where oak is the king. Forked beech branches were also said to be best for divining (or water-finding).
The thin beech bark was often used by Indo-European people when writing works for religious purposes – in fact, the word ‘book’ originates from the Old Norse bók, which in its primary sense meant ‘beech’. The German word for ‘book’ is Buch, with Buche meaning ‘beech tree’.
Beech can also be bought steamed (more pink)which takes out the narual tension or twist in the wood, nice to work with and no difficult sawdust. Often used in kitchens and bakeries.
Oak. Famous for its mirror effect secondary reflections found near the centre of the trunk when it is cut in quarters.
Purpleheart wood (Peltogyne, Amarante)
Unbashfully lavender-coloured wood. When freshly cut, the wood is brown, but within 24 hours has cloaked itself in lavender. The colour appears when the wood oxidates, and, as with all woods it will morph with age and deepen. When exposed to Ultraviolet light it turns back to its original brown with a hint of its purple- signifying magic, mystery, luxury, royalty. The grain is cross-threaded and tough to work with but it is rare, luxurious and exceptional for fine inlay works and, impressively.. truck floors.
Wenge . darkest brown like 80% chocolate, very dense and strong with a discreet flame. We used a lot of Wenge onboard HIPPO for detailing and edges that were often handled and needed strength and beauty.
‘The Tree of Life’ Lignum Vitae (genus Guaiacum) is one of the hardest and most durable woods. It is The Most Dense Wood Traded – it will easily sink in water. Also known as Verawood in english. Naturally pale with a hint of green when freshly cut, it turns as black as ebony with age. Very dense & resistant, used for ships pulleys which cope with constant rope work, and power lines. Watch it develop over time. Gorgeous flame. For the patient and curious..
The Tree of Life wearing a yellow flower coat in Panama
The Tree of Life, wearing mauve in Guatemala
Ebony . We know how seductive and sensuous this flameless black wood is.
