Some of the exotic woods that we like to use at Pepper-Passion.
 African Blackwood: (Dalbergia melanoxylon) A member of the rosewood family, this rare and expensive wood grows in tropical Africa, and has characteristics more similar to Ebony than to its Rosewood cousins . African Blackwood is extremely dense and features heartwood that is dark brown to black in color with light cream colored sapwood.
Like the ebonies this wood is very hard, oily and brittle and resembles Ebony in appearance also. It polishes extremely well. This wood is more expensive than Ebony and available only occasionally by special order for mills.
 Amboyna: (Pterocarpus indicus) This is one of mostly highly prized and expensive "Holy Grail" burl woods extant. It originates from islands in Indonesia and surrounding areas. It is closely related to Padauk; however Amboyna specifically refers to red colored burl figured wood from the Narra tree, which excludes African Padauk.
Amboyna is usually red in color and has a very dense burl figure interspersed with curl and contrasting highlights. This truly is a spectacular wood and we are pleased to be able to offer Mills in this wood.
 Ancient Kauri: (Agathis australis) In New Zealand, trees are being unearthed from old peat bogs that have been buried for 30,000 to 50,000 years. They have a habit of popping to the surface and once exposed to air tend to rot quickly created a deep hole which is hazardous to grazing cattle.
Recently these old logs have been dried and processed into lumber that has some very unique properties. The beginning stages of mineralization leaves a wood that is lower in strength while remaining extremely abrasive to cutting tools. It does not cut cleanly and therefore requires quite a lot of sanding. The mineralization also creates extreme chatoyance if care is taken to sand to a very fine grit followed with a good topcoat finish.
The end result has the appearance of honey colored folded satin. If you are concerned about harvesting of tropical trees or simply want something very unique, this is the wood for you. We are able to offer mills in this wood.
 Bocote: (Cordia eleagnoides) This unusual wood grows in the West Indies and tropical America , and is has several varieties known by different names. Bocote is moderately dense, and varies tremendously in color with yellow to brown heartwood accented with darker brown or black streaks.
Bocote is oily enough to polish well. It is possible to polish this wood to an incredible high level of gloss, translucence and depth. We are able to offer Mills in this wood.
 Black Acacia: (Acacia decurrens) This wood originates from Australia and is related to the famous Koa wood from Hawaii. Koa has become expensive and difficult to obtain in recent years and Black Acacia is almost indistinguishable as a substitute. This species has golden or reddish brown heartwood with fine grain and often shows interesting quilted, curly or fiddleback figure. It polishes moderately well. We are able to offer Mills in this wood by special order.
 Black Palm: (Astrocaryum spp) This unusual wood grows in many parts of the world and yet is relatively unknown and hard for woodworkers to obtain. It is mostly gray to black in color with lighter streaks of white throughout. This wood is moderately dense and very hard, and takes a finish very well yielding a striking appearance. Availability varies so please call if you would like something in this wood
 Bloodwood: (Brosimum paraense This is one of the few truly red-colored woods. It originates from South America and is sometimes also known as "Cardinal Wood". It is dense with a very fine grain and has high mechanical strength.
With a uniform deep red color, fine grain and the ability to take a high polish, it offers many interesting design possibilities and often exhibits excellent chatoyance. We are able to offer Mills in this wood.
 Bubinga: Guibourtia demeusei) This interesting wood grows in equatorial Africa (primarily Cameroon) and has also been known as "African Rosewood" although it is not part of that family. Bubinga is moderately dense, and is known for its unusual red-brown color and interesting texture. Bubinga is only moderately dense and oily but polishes quite well.
 Buckeye Burl: Aesculus californica) This interesting wood grows in the USA and is noted for its unusual colors ranging from yellow to gray to blue. It also has numerous bark inclusions and voids that lends it a unique and rustic character. This wood is relatively low in density but finishes beautifully and has become one of our most popular woods.
 Cocobolo: (Dalbergia retusa) Part of the Rosewood family, this seductive wood grows in coastal areas of Central America. Cocobolo is hard, dense and strong, and has tremendous color variation including combinations of yellow, orange, red, brown and black hues. A disadvantage of this wood is that it is highly photo-reactive and darkens with time and sun exposure.
Even more than other Rosewoods, Cocobolo is dense and very oily. It is possible to sand this wood in 15 stages to 12,000 grit to achieve an incredible high level of gloss, translucence and depth simply by polishing with little or no surface finish. We are able to offer Mills in this wood and usually have Cocobolo in stock at all times.
 Coolibah: (Eucalyptus coolabah) Another stunning burl wood originating from the northern parts of Australia. It is dense and hard and similar to Jarrah with the exception that it is not as prone to splitting and often displays a tighter burl pattern. Color can vary from yellow/amber to deep red and some pieces resemble Amboyna.
Mills are available in this wood by special order or through our limited editions page.
 Flamewood: (Dalbergia cochinchinensis) A member of the Rosewood family, this wood originates from Laos in SE Asia. It is rapidly gaining in popularity for its similarity in figure and color to Cocobolo, but with reduced severe allergic reactions that Cocobolo is famous for. Flamewood is less dense and oily, and lighter in color compared to its Cocobolo cousin and the color appears to be more stable over time. It is also slightly more expensive due to its limited availability
 Gaboon Ebony: (Diospyros crassiflora) This magnificent wood is famous and highly prized for its almost jet black color. It originates from several countries in West Africa. This wood is dense, strong and hard and has brown to black heartwood with occasional streaks of gray.
Ebony is hard and very brittle and unstable until completely dried. It is also notoriously abrasive to cutting tools. Spiderweb-like cracks in the finished product are common and may be regarded as a sign of authenticity. Ebony is extremely fine grained and with a gloss topcoat finish the results can be spectacular.
Ebony has become difficult to find and extremely expensive and as a result many traditional uses such as piano keys have switched to other woods. We usually have this wood in stock for Mills.
 Goncalvo Alves: (Astronium spp) This lovely wood originates from the rain forests of Brazil. It is light to medium brown in color and usually features darker markings or streaks. It is fine grained and of medium-high density and strength, and takes a beautiful finish. A great choice for those preferring a lighter colored tropical wood.
 Jarrah: (Eucalyptus Marginata) This stunning wood originates from Western Australia. The heartwood of regular figured boards often resembles American Claro Walnut, but the burl pieces I have seen are another matter altogether. The burl color is highly variegated with reds, browns and burgundy, and the finished pieces often resemble marble in texture and appearance. This wood is dense and brittle, and numerous surface cracks are common in the finished product and lend to the character.
We generally keep this wood in stock.
 Kingwood: (Dalbergia cearensis) Also part of the Rosewood family, this lovely wood is sometimes also known as "Violet Wood" and grows in Brazil . Kingwood is dense and strong, and has variegated combinations of violet, brown and black hues.
Like all Rosewoods, Kingwood is dense and oily and polishes very well. Kingwood trees tend to be small in size and this wood is becoming more expensive and difficult to find but we generally are able to offer pepper mills in this species.
 Lignum Vitae: (Guaiacum sanctum) Many woods that exhibit a specific gravity greater than 1.0 have variously been called "Ironwood" but this is the species most commonly associated with that moniker. It originates from the West Indies and Central America. The heartwood is amber to brown with darker highlights.
Lignum Vitae is considered to be one of the densest woods on earth. It is so dense, oily and strong, that it was commonly used as a metal substitute to make block & tackle or other applications where high strength and self-lubrication were required. As might be expected this oily wood can be polished to an extremely high sheen. We are able to offer Mills in this wood.
 Lacewood: (Cordwelia sublimis) This lovely wood when rift-sawn exhibits the exquisite figure that gives rise to its name. Most of the wood sold as Lacewood originates from Australia these days.
Lacewood is only moderately dense and not particularly fine-grained or oily but it does finish up very nicely and the lovely figure makes it quite striking. We are able to offer Mills in this wood by special order.
 Macassar Ebony: (Diospyros celebica) Also known as Kamagong or as Coromandel, this magnificent wood most commonly originates from the island of Celebes in Indonesia. This wood is dense and hard and has brownish-black colored heartwood with striped highlights in lighter tones of yellow, green or brown.
Like Gaboon Ebony, this wood is hard and very brittle and is notoriously difficult to work. Fine spiderweb-like cracks in the finished product are common and may be regarded as a sign of authenticity. Macassar is extremely fine grained but not so oily, and so it will polish to to a nice smooth finish but with only a satin level of gloss unless given a topcoat finish.
Macassar has in recent years become difficult to find and extremely expensive. The escalation of price and fast growth in the tropics should ensure that it will always be available to wood artists. Even with its high cost, this is a popular wood for our Mills.
 Marblewood: (Marmoxylon racemosa) This interesting wood grows in Brazil and Suriname and is sometimes mistaken for African zebrawood. Marblewood generally has wider spacing of the stripes, and heartwood that is more yellow-orange vs light brown for zebrawood. Marblewood is moderately hard and dense with coarse grain.
 Masur Birch: (Betula alba) This stunning wood originates from Sweden and is prized for its light color and excellent chatoyance. It also is unique in that log sections display a radial pattern of dark rays that extend to the surface creating a "flame stitch" effect. This wood is of medium density with fine grain and makes for a stunning finished piece. This wood is highly prized and prices are streadily increasing. We occasionally are able to offer Mills in this wood.
More Woods
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Gallery of Woods (A-M)
