Buying Wood Sight Unseen

A while back I had a sale and told you guys that it was to raise money so I could buy a bunch of really good wood.
The sale did well and I was able to buy a bunch of really good wood. Mostly Koa.
This photo is a batch that I bought sight unseen.
It was expensive but the guy I got it from has never let me down.
I knew what he would send me would be good, but this stuff is great.
The photo shows 8, 2 foot long pieces that are dry and not sanded. Usually the figure doesn't stand out until the wood has been sanded and a finish applied.



Now I have to get these pieces cut into blocks and then off to K&G for stabilizing. The stabilized blocks should start showing up in the store in about a month.

Wow that's beautiful. I think I'd feel like a kid on Christmas morning opening that box up... That's normally how I feel whenever I get a package from you Should make for some amazing blocks, can't wait!

Because of your blocks I went from being indifferent about koa to really loving it. What can I say? I'm a convert.

-Steve

I went for years saying "I would never pay that much for any type of wood".
Now when I see real good koa I say stuff to myself like "maybe I could sell the truck".

Burl Source said:

I went for years saying "I would never pay that much for any type of wood".
Now when I see real good koa I say stuff to myself like "maybe I could sell the truck".

Click to expand...

Sounds familiar. A few years ago, when I first started buying on a very small scale for myself, local prices for premium curl koa were about $80-100 for a board foot. I remember grumbling when Martin (from Martin & McArthur, the premier koa furniture maker in Hawaii) charged me $100 for a 20+ year old board tat was not quite premium. Typical case of missed opportunities, had I bought more then, I could sell it now and struggle less with the rent...

That said, nice pieces you scored there, Mark. I'll be over on the Big Island next month and hope to find a little bit, but I am not in a position for large buys like that, just hope to catch a nice piece of local wood here and there. Main point is to relax for a weekend, check out the volcanoes etc.

Stefan

Stefan,
I can remember a couple years ago when one of the knife makers here said you had to be crazy to pay $80 a BF for curly Koa.

Aren't there any possibility to start growing Koa somewhere outside of Hawaii?
With all those prices going higher and higher Paypal would need to add kidneys as a payment option pretty soon.

Acacia Koa has been planted in California. But as with several other woods that grow elsewhere the wood tends to look different.
The Hawaiian varieties tend to have more of a metallic luster. This is just a guess but I think it is because of the volcanic soil and the climate.