I am particularly fond of the hardest of hardwoods, not only because of their color
and grain, but because of the way they work and smell during the sculpting process. Some of the woods have the aroma of
exotic herbs and spices - the Rosewoods, Padauks and Lignum Vitae being among the most notable. Several of the woods that
I choose to work with are so dense that they sink in water. With water weighing 62 pounds per cubic foot, anything heavier
will not float. The following are my favorite woods for sculpting and a note of information about each:
Native to India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, heartwood of East Indian Rosewood can vary from a
golden brown to a deep purplish brown, with darker brown streaks. The wood darkens with age,
usually becoming a deep brown. East Indian Rosewood is used as a substitute for Brazilian
Rosewood which is resticted to entry into the U.S. It is of moderate weight for a hardwood.
Native to the West Indies
and tropical Central and South America. It is also one of the
densest woods with an average weight of 79 pounds per cubic foot. It
has a resin in its grain that acts as a lubricant. It was used in
early shipbuilding for bearings and propeller shafts because of its
resistance to salt water. It was also commonly used for wharf
pilings. It has a very pleasant smell when freshly cut that reminds
me of nutmeg.
A wood familiar to most
people because of its black color. Native to ranges in central
Africa, notably Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Zaire. It is also a
very hard wood to find in sizes to sculpt, since most is used in
marquetry and other small flitch items. Originally used for the
black piano keys. It is a quite dense wood weighing on average about
64 pounds per cubic foot.
Native to
the Celebes Islands. It is dark black with streaks of yellow and
tan. It is also quite dense and slightly heavier that its Gabon
relative, with an average weight of about 68 pounds per cubic foot.
Because of its beautiful grain, it is used in marquetry and other
uses where small pieces pieces can be utilized.
Native to the west coast
of Central America. This is also on the top of my favorite list,
because of the smell from a fresh cut. To some people the dust is a
severe irritant, but fortunately not to me. It is part of the
Rosewood family and has a beautiful grain pattern. Another very
dense wood, weighing about 68 pounds per cubic foot.
Native to California and Oregon.
Heartwood can range from a lighter pale brown to a dark chocolate brown with
darker brown streaks. Color can sometimes have a gray, purple, or reddish cast.
Sapwood is nearly white. Wood from orchard trees that have been grafted with
English Walnut may have a colorful/streaked appearance near the graft, which is
sometimes referred to as “marbled Claro Walnut.” Claro Walnut is fairly light
for a hardwood.
Native to the Andaman
Islands in the Bay of Bengal. This is a wood that I like to work
with that is lighter than water. It is a beautiful red wood with
streaks of black in its grain. It also has a pleasant odor, similar
to Walnut, when being worked. It is used mainly in furniture making
and veneers. It weighs about 48 pounds per cubic foot.
Native to
Cental and South Americas. It has a very conspicuous flecking that
gives this wood its namesake. The wood itself is a medium to dark
reddish brown with grey or light brown rays, which resemble the spots
of a leopard. Leopardwood has the most pronounced figure and displays
the largest flecks when perfectly quartersawn. It is moderately heavy
and dense for a hardwood.
Walnut burl is simply
beautiful. Its uses are many and finding large pieces to sculpt is
getting hard. It is not particularly heavy, which means that large
pieces can be used (when found). Walnut has a wonderful smell when
being worked.
African Blackwood is
part of the Rosewood family, like Cocobolo mentioned above. It is
dark purple-brown with black streaks which predominate, giving it an
almost black appearance. The grain is extremely fine textured and
slightly oily to the touch. It is exceptionally hard and weighs 75
pounds per cubic foot.
