Mystery wood identification please.

[safta]

Is there any chance of identifying this wood, and root strings? Any help will be greatly appreciated. The only details I know are from a friend in Warrenton, Oregon who sent me this wonderful gift. Two of the blocks he says is believed to be myrtlewood from his area. The other block is unknown species and origin. To me all the blocks look the same, with very similar color,figure,weight, and hardness. They are all very curly and tight grain, with tight groups of eyes in some areas. The pictures are nearly perfect in regards to correct color.

The root strings have almost an antler texture to them, they are extremely hard, and very close to walnut in weight. The figure is very tight and random. He says they are absolutely from the Oregon region as he cut them.

 

[Burl Source]

Looks to me like Redwood blocks and manzanita trunk sections.

Myrtle wood will have a creme color with a hint of olive coloring. Also a distinctive odor when you sand it.

 

[Larry D. Davis]

I agree, Mark. The root cuts are redwood but the other photos don't show enough true color and clear image for me to guess.

 

[joe-bob]

Myrtle wood will have a creme color with a hint of olive coloring. Also a distinctive odor when you sand it.

Smells like pepper.

 

[KnifeMaker.ca]

I agree, something in the redwood family like redwood, sequoia or similar. Having said that, didn'r he say it was hard? Redwood is pretty soft till stabiulized. It isn't manzanita cause I don't see any significant cracks. Rabbits are born pregnant and Manzanita is born with cracks.

I'm stumped from the description, but you could send them to me and I could tell more from how easy they are to work with. Nice score!

Rob!

 

[safta]

Thank you gentlemen for the help. I believe the blocks had some kind of stain or sealant on them. I flat sanded them to 400 grit and cleaned them up with compressed air. The reddish color was only on the surface, the color is much more brown now. I took individual pictures of each dry, if you'd like me to mist it I can take more pictures like that as well. Rob is correct about it being hard, my fingernail burnishes it instead of scratching it like the unstabilized redwood I've had. There are no cracks in the root wood, the texture is very difficult to describe it has a stringy appearance on the surface, where any space that occurs between the strings is a small dip. It is very solid under the surface, no checks, voids, or cracks.

 

[Larry D. Davis]

All looks like redwood.

 

[safta]

Thank you very much for the help Larry.