[Ashbys]

Have someone asking me to carve a piece of Koa , I know nothing about the wood , does it splinter eaisly or is it an extreamly hard woood to carve?

Thanks for the help
Ash

[Colin_Partridge]

Ash,
I once had a piece of Koa wood it was given to me they said it came from Hawaii. As I remember it was quite hard so it should take great detail. The piece I had was a real light color wood I dont know where it went but I never did get to carve it. Maybe someone here has, contact Rick at Little Shavers I think Rick has made knife handles from just about any wood going.
Colin

[Ashbys]

Thanks Colin. Yes I was told it was from Hawaii, and from the grain structure it looked to be possibly in the hicory range. Will do a bit more research today. Thanks Mate.

Ash

[wade clark]

Ash,
I was told recently that it's a protected tree and it requires a permit to even harvest one blown down. I recently saw some beautiful carved picture frames of Koa, that were 20 years old. It had a rich color and I believe a tight grain. The owner had them built in Hawaii to frame bird paintings. She said the frames were worth a great deal because of the unavailability of Koa.
I don't think you can legally buy Koa today, so great find! What do you plan to carve and how much do you have?
Wade

[Ashbys]

Wade,

They are a controlled Harvested tree. But it is avaiable. Looking at another guitar.

Ash

[kana]

The ancient Hawaiians actualy made their weapons out of them due to the woods strength and their lackof mettal. (http://www.mythichawaii.com/weapons.htm)
The ancient hawaiian warriors were even called Koa because of this.

[Pyrographer]

I haven't carved on but we do carry KOA spoon blanks and we have lots of people who are carving them. It's protected and hard to get and it's a bit more expensive but it is available. We get our blanks and burls from a local sawyer who is able to get many of the protected woods but they are not as readily available as many other woods.

Nedra

[papasar]

Ash,
Just an aside. I spotted a carved bowl shaped like a leaf at a garage sale and immediately thought it might be Koa even though I only saw pictures of it. It is about 18 inches by 12 and 6 inches deep. Got it for a dollar. Turned it over and sure enough it came from Hawaii. Its Koa alright and I was told to get a chunk of wood this size would be about $250. I love it and keep it in my office full of goodies for my co-workers.
Absolutely beautiful grain that runs from light honey to orange to dark brown.
Bill K.

[Ashbys]

Bill ,
That is awesome!

I have looked for a few pieces, but After doing some research on the Koa, a lot of questions poped up.

The wood is extreamly hard, so the first line would be ok no proplem , use power ..

check wood toxicty for the dust ..... OUCH !

Koa dust is a major concern to be considered.

So I went to the person that asked for the wood , and asked if we could do something a bit different , so I am in the process of setting up to be able to do the carving in a more controlled enviroment . He is suspose to get the wood and then get back with me . So I guess we will see.

But I do love the wood grain. There are a few others out there I hope to play with should the chance allow. And I think I should be set to try in a couple more weeks if it works I will post it.

Ash

[menehune]

I carved on some small pieces I "aquired" while living on the Big Island. It carves and holds detail beautifully, but is about the same density as black walnut. Dulls tools fast, but the end results are worth the effort.