Koa Burl?

Burl Source

Burl Source

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Dec 7, 2008
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Just a year ago if someone said "Koa Burl" I would have said "in your dreams". But I would have been wrong.
With the last batch of Koa I purchased my supplier included a couple Koa Burl cutoffs to show me what it is like.
The outer surface is similar to some of the redwood burls. Instead of pins poking outward there are inclusions going inward.
Looks like the first couple inches are a lot of small bark pockets followed by bizarre figure and coloring.
I thought it was kind of cool looking.
When I asked my Koa Guy, he said most of the Koa burls go to the bowl carvers.
But, I told him to let me know when he comes across more.
Koa Burl?......who would have thought?

kb005_zpsa1392406.jpg

kb006_zps20c4e36e.jpg

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I bet that would be cool flat-sawn just beyond the incursions.

Do you know if that's a root burl? How big are they?

Just curious. Love burl wood of any kind!! :thumbup::thumbup:

I hope you get some so I can see more....:)
 
Deweyknives said:
I bet that would be cool flat-sawn just beyond the incursions.
Do you know if that's a root burl? How big are they?
Just curious. Love burl wood of any kind!! :thumbup::thumbup:
I hope you get some so I can see more....:)
Click to expand...
From what I understand it will just be a bulging growth right above ground level when they occur.

Throughout the past several months some of the Koa suppliers are wanting $200 to $300 a board foot for good figured Koa.
You never even see the really good stuff. The loggers tend to keep it stashed until they really need the money.
Then, you don't haggle. You just pay what they ask and say thank you.

This is from the batch that I am drying. Looks like it will be pretty good stuff.
It might not look like much now because it is not dry and only sanded to 120 grit.
But when it gets stabilized and sanded finer, that is when the figure really stands out.

k005_zps72317835.jpg
 
KOa burl - way cool :cool:

I've only seen little pieces, although I've seen some bigger pieces that were more "birds-eye"

that last piece looks pretty nice already !

Bill Flynn
 
Boy - that's some fascinating stuff, Mark. That grain is out of this world! I had no idea that Koa trees even grew burls. Given the bark inclusions, I bet the yield on those blocks would be pretty small.

TedP
 
This just arrived from Hawaii.
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It is about 4 foot long. Should be able to get some good blocks from this slab. Too soon to tell but it looks like a good portion of the slab will yield blocks with bold figure on all 4 surfaces.
 
billf said:
Oh YEAH!
How did the guitar guys miss that piece?:p
Bill
Click to expand...
I got this from a logger/mill owner who supplies high end Koa to the guitar builders.
The slab has a couple weird bark pockets that go inside the slab beneath the solid looking surface.
It will take some creative cutting and a bit of waste. But there will be some great blocks.
 
I cut up the slab into double size blocks and had to sand a couple to get an idea what it will be like.
There are areas with different colors and the figure varies a bit, but it looks like it will be some of the good stuff.
ks004_zpscb4cca00.jpg
 
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