A little help please...

[Doug Campbell]

Had a local guy up here give me a huge plank of this wood a while back and haven't been able to identify it. It has been sawn out of a hand hewn log from the looks of it. The plank is about 4'long, 1'wide and 4"thick, very dense stuff, must weigh close to a hundred pounds. No odor to speak of and is actually "blacker" than this pic shows...  

Any ideas?  Thanks
 

[TheBigRedArcher]

Curly Walnut?

[Izzy]

Could it be mohagany?

[kuch]

my first thought was koa but ...

[amar911]

Originally posted by TheBigRedArcher:
Curly Walnut?

That would be my guess too. If it is dense, then it isn't mahogany. Most of the flooring on the first floor of my house and a number of my rifle stocks have wood that looks similar to that, but the majority is definitely not as well figured. Walnut is dense, but it is not as hard as old growth oak or maple and will dent easier. You could easily test that yourself to get an idea of the relative hardness. Doug, you know as well as anyone what walnut looks like since you have spend lots of time around gun stocks and other walnut pieces. What do you think it is?    

Allan

[sticshooter]

Doug send me that piece and I can check it out and let you know    Its looks like curly walnut or maybe claro walnut. Not sure if that grows in montana?<><

[amar911]

Originally posted by kuch:
my first thought was koa but ...

It does look somewhat like a very dark curly koa, but koa is not a particularly dense wood and it is rarely that dark unless stained. Koa does have a reddish color and can have a grain pattern in some pieces I have seen that is similar to the wood here, but overall this piece doesn't look like koa to me, and from Doug's description of the weight, it is too heavy for koa. Here is a picture of a black walnut trunk that has been sawed in half and shows some similar grain and character in parts of the log. Of course, none of these pieces will look exactly the same.  http://www.gobywalnut.com/catalog/808c5-pi-3075.html?invis=0

Allan

[Jeremy]

My guess is black walnut, but it's hard to say w/o having it in my hands      That has a definite smell to it when you cut it though.

All the claro walnut I have is pretty light stuff... wild, but not very dense.

[kuch]

to me walnut has a distinct unmistakeable smell....and not dense...maybe a new stand of koa in tropical sw montana. i had a piece of stabilized koa that looked very similar....hence my reply

[Danny Rowan]

Bubinga?

[Lin Rhea]

My first thought was Koa till you told how heavy it is. Koa is fairly light weight. Looks like it's going to be a process of elimination. It is pretty though.

[Doug Campbell]

Out on the road for a few days sotyping on this phone is gonna be s&s...

Should have said b4, this stuff is dense enough it sinks in water... Rules out walnut and koa I think...

Appreciate the help

[SpikeMaster]

Looks like Shedua to me.

[Wolfkiss]

I would say Sapele.

[kbaknife]

Email that picture to Jessica Bybee at Alpha Knife Supply and give what info you have - especially about the density.
She KNOWS wood.

[kbaknife]

I did it - I emailed a picture to Jessica and had her look at it.
Since it sinks in water, her guess was something in the Acacia family which would include Black Acacia, Gidgee, Koa, etc.
She said there's some Acacia family that grows in southern California, which might account for it being so dense.

[kuch]

sw montana gidgee....now that sounds exotic