What Is Hawaiian Koa Wood

Koa wood is known for the.

What is hawaiian koa wood.

Koa has honored heritage in hawaii and is highly revered and sacred. The best koa acacia koa can be found specifically on higher elevations of the big island and take 50 to 70 years to mature. Prior to moving to hawaii 5 years ago i had no idea what hawaiian koa was. The word koa means warrior in hawaiian.

Not only is this amazing wood native to hawaii but it is known for the deep rich colors and varied grain pattern. 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. However hawaiian legislation restricts koa harvesting. Sawyers cannot cut trees at will.

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. Out of all of the hawaiian islands koa grows predominantly on the big island says chris allen of koa wood hawaii in kurtistown hawaii. Plain koa or koa that has no changes in color or figure can be purchased from 15 to 20 bf. Typically severe storms damage trees in the big island.

Having purchased a hawaiian property known to have koa trees on it i eventually learned that koa is a species of tree that produces wood with a high monetary value and unique color and grain pattern. Thus the supply of koa wood depends significantly on storm frequency. Koa may be the most spectacular hardwood in the world. 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.

The highest populations are on hawaiʻi maui and oʻahu its name in the hawaiian language koa also means brave bold fearless or warrior. By state law you can not cut down live koa trees and there are just not enough of them on oahu for harvest. Visually koa has been compared to mahogany while in terms of working and mechanical properties it has been compared to walnut. I know of no other wood possessing the chatoyancy or range of colors of koa.

The price of koa may vary as much as any species of hardwood in the world. Different parts of the island yields a distinctive hue to the color of the wood. The spirit of the volcano lives in this tree and radiates from the lumber. Rather only dead or dying trees may be processed.

At the low elevation the koa tends to be real blond and not have a lot of color or. Chris allen of koa wood hawaii in kurtistown hawaii cost of koa wood. This isn t just any tree but rather a special highly unique rare an. Koa wood is legendary in hawaii.

The warriors of king kamehameha the great cr.