Wood

I’m looking for specific woods to work with, hardwoods suitable for marine applications.

• Teak
• Mahogany (Honduran / Cuban / Sapele)
• Oak (English / European / White Oak)
• Iroko (also known as “African Teak”)

Identification

Teak

Golden-honey to dark brown with prominent, dark straight grain lines. The pores are medium-to-large and ring-porous.

Feel the underside of an unfinished drawer or table apron. Genuine teak feels greasy or waxy due to natural teakoil. Scrape an unpainted edge—it smells like old leather or tobacco.

Colour & Tone:

• Freshly scraped or freshly cut teak ranges from golden-honey to warm brown.
• It frequently displays dark grey, olive, or black mineral streaks running parallel to the grain lines.

Grain Pattern:

• Teak grain is predominantly straight and uniform with occasional gentle waves.
• Unlike oak, teak does not have bright medullary ray flecks running across the grain.

http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/teak.htm

Mahogany

There’s a few species/types of mahogany. genuine Mahogany (Swietenia), common marine alternatives like Sapele and and African Mahogany to name a few.

Visual Identifiers: Reddish-brown to deep amber tone. Look for fine, open pores that resemble tiny black or brown pencil strokes running parallel to the grain. In quarter-sawn pieces, look for a “ribbon stripe” shimmering effect (chatoyancy) as light moves across it.

The “Secret” Test: Mahogany is noticeably lighter in weight than oak or teak, yet exceptionally stable.

Pore Structure (The “Pencil Stroke” Test):

• Mahogany is diffuse-porous. Under magnification or close inspection, look for medium-to-large pores scattered evenly across the surface.
• On flat face grain, these pores look like tiny dark brown or black dashes/pencil ticks running parallel to the grain.

Colour & Aging:

• Freshly sanded or unexposed mahogany ranges from a pale salmon-pink to light golden-tan.
• With age and UV exposure, it oxidizes into a deep, rich reddish-brown to copper-amber colour. (Note: Pine or Beech stained with mahogany dye looks reddish on the surface, but raw wood underneath stays pale yellow).

Shimmer & Ribbon Stripe (Chatoyancy):

• Quartersawn mahogany and Sapele feature an interlocking grain. When light hits the surface at an angle, it reflects like satin or tiger’s eye gemstone—a optical depth effect known as chatoyancy.

Weight & Workability:

• Density: Noticeably lighter and softer than Oak or Teak, but denser and firmer than Pine.
• Smell: Scraping an unfinished section yields a mild, sweet, slightly spicy wood scent (unlike Oak’s sour smell or Teak’s leather scent).