What Is Koa Wood From Hawaii

Koa has honored heritage in hawaii and is highly revered and sacred.

What is koa wood from hawaii.

Koa is widely considered to be the most beautiful and useful of hawaii s native hardwoods and along with monkey pod and mango it is the most common hawaiian species to be imported into the lower 48 united states. This native of hawaii is truly a monarch of the forest growing to heights of 100 feet. Koa acacia koa grows on the larger islands of hawaii. Visually koa has been compared to mahogany while in terms of working and mechanical properties it has been compared to walnut.

The word koa means warrior in hawaiian. The highest populations are on hawaiʻi maui and oʻahu its name in the hawaiian language koa also means brave bold fearless or warrior. Plain koa or koa that has no changes in color or figure can be purchased from 15 to 20 bf. Not only is this amazing wood native to hawaii but it is known for the deep rich colors and varied grain pattern.

Lightweight and buoyant koa was the perfect wood for kamehameha s warriors to make canoes as well as hand to hand combat weapons like the lei o mano made from a combination of. The price of koa may vary as much as any species of hardwood in the world. Koa exotic wood koa may be the most spectacular hardwood in the world. Trees at higher elevations contain the most figure while trees at lower elevations are more straight grained.

In hawaiian the word koa literally translates to warrior and the name comes from the wood s association with the warriors of kamehameha the great. Acacia koa is a species of flowering tree in the family fabaceae it is endemic to the hawaiian islands where it is the second most common tree. I know of no other wood possessing the chatoyancy or range of colors of koa. Koa wood is legendary in hawaii.

The spirit of the volcano lives in this tree and radiates from the lumber. The best koa acacia koa can be found specifically on higher elevations of the big island and take 50 to 70 years to mature. Chris allen of koa wood hawaii in kurtistown hawaii cost of koa wood. If koa is quarter sawn 20 to 50 bf.

The warriors of king kamehameha the great cr.