What's so special about koa anyway?

Well its rare, and its getting rarer.  Its also beautiful.  Koa: Acacia koa is an endemic native hardwood tree found on all of the major hawaiian islands, though it's scarcity is becoming apparent.  Listed as a threatened tree by most forestry and hardwoods guide books it is not technically endangered, however The Sierra Club notes "that native koa forest ecosystems have shrunk to less than ten percent of their former area. The exploitation of koa forested lands for urban development, ranching, koa and hapu`u logging continues. The severe impacts of introduced weed and animal species are escalating. The remaining koa forests represent a last haven for many rare, threatened or endangered species of endemic birds, insects and plants."

So the big deal is this:  there is a serious disconnect between the consequence of the demand from typically sourced Koa, and the effect that this demand has on the native ecosystem. Woodworkers will tell you, that the market demands Koa.   Furniture, instruments, bowls, and interior flooring and trim drive an insatiable market for this product that is largely supplied through trees cut down in ranch pasture areas that were once the majestic dominant species of bygone native forests.  Cattle and other herbivores ensure that no keiki trees grow up in their place, and the lifecycle is broken.  The ecosystem further contracts and another table or dresser hits the market. 

We have just milled a selection of koa reclaimed from a few removed diseased trees at a residential property in Kamuela.  We have approximately 500 board ft to offer in mostly 8/4 thickness.  Below are the photos.

As well we have just milled a small crotch base of a relative of the koa, the Acacia Koaia, native and endemic only to the Kohala Mountains.  Koaia is much denser and typically darker than Koa.

Koaia (in stock)

Curly Koa ( in stock)

Koa ( In stock and just milled) SOLD

Curly Koaia ( in stock and just milled)

Thick slabs, board shorts and rubber boots....

 We've recently received a bunch of requests for large thick slabs for everything from fireplace mantles to bar tops to table tops, and fall is the season for large slabs, thick slabs and unique slabs.  So we milled them thick and thin and everything in between.These are just in, fresh off the mill and are quite the spectacle.  Monkey pod slabs 26-36 inches wide and just under 9ft.

Cypress slabs 26-50 inches wide and up to 12 ft.  Milled recently at 9/4 and 13/4 or 2-3+ inches thick. SOLD.

October has started out fruitful,

We've just milled the following:
Opume' ( a thorny relative of the tamarind,  dense with beautiful light and dark rich brownish red grain)
Coconut palm ( red variety)
Tulip wood ( beautiful white wood with lots of bee's wing figure)
Monkey pod ( everyone's favorite)
Silky Oak  ( one of my personal favorites)
Avocado ( beautiful pale creme wood with darker highlights and lots of figure)

And of course its worth noting, that all of these woods have been saved from the landfill (which in Hawaii county is comprised of 40% green waste).  We view this effort as a win win:  wood for us,  taxpayer subsidized tipping fees reduced everyone else.

Below are some photos:

Tulip wood

Opume'

 Coconut palm

 Avocado 

Kamuela's Majestic Cypress taken down by unprecedented high winds

 At 2am on Monday morning June 18, 2012 a series strong trade wind gusts of 80+ mile and hour ripped through Kamuela town and took down dozens of trees.  Most hard hit was the nearly 100 year old tree line at Konokohau rd. at the base of Pu'u Hokulua. Houses were damaged, cars were flattened, and the landscape was altered permanently.  A long line of tall beautiful cypress has come down having reached the ends of their lifespans.  Most of the trees simply uprooted given their shallow root systems, systemic heart rot, and wet soft soil from weeks of heavy trade wind rains.  Whats left?  Damage, detritus, chips, firewood and logs.   Big beautiful cypress logs ready for the mill.

One man's tree is another man's treasure

 Cryptomeria Japonica: : "Sugi" is the national tree of Japan, commonly planted around temples and shrines, with many hugely impressive trees planted centuries ago. Sargent (1894; The Forest Flora of Japan) It is also extensively used in forestry plantations in Japan. The wood is scented,  and often reddish-pink in colour, lightweight but strong, waterproof and resistant to decay. It is favoured in Japan for all types of construction work as well as interior panelling, etc.  In japan,  exemplars on Yakushima island have grown to 53 ft in diameter and have an estimated age of between 2000 and 7000 years old. In Hawaii Sugi is desired as a fragrant panelling and furniture wood with a spicy almost peppery aromatic fragrance.  We have recently milled a few trees including a much younger exemplar multi-trunk tree that was removed along the highway. Interestingly the multi-trunk specimen we milled is abnormally very very dark making it very unique and unusual. The tree was on a fence line and we suspect that the tree drew up iron from the fencing material and as a result is a beautiful dark purple color. Come check it out!!

Wind Fallen

Not all trees are felled,  some literally fall from the sky.  Many of the trees that we mill are wind fallen and often have to be removed due to the fact that they have damaged people's properties. This particular tree was sick, suffering from a fungal heart rot carried by nemotodes, and unfortunately fell onto the Waimea park's tennis courts. We salvaged it from the landfill,  reduced some hauling expense and saved quite a bit of fuel for the County of Hawaii. We will see what it yields.

Cypress, The under appreciated aromatic hardwood

Okay, its not technically a hardwood, but its harder than mango.  It has the tensile and compressive strength of Douglas Fir, & the rot resistant properties of cedar. This blonde wood is often curly, always fragrant, and not native or endemic, but readily available.  We like it for its character, incredible stability, and wonderful smell. Currently we have a ton of it in 8/4 4/4 5/4, planks, slabs, shorts and live edge boards.  We have over 1000 board ft. Kiln dried in stock and another 2000 BF drying.

"Miller Time"

Every Keawe has its thorns and this one had a curl for every thorn

This Keawe tree was salvaged from a backyard in Keauhou. The Neighbors complained that it dropped leaves into their pool and spoiled their view. The owners lamented that the tree was of historic value as it was growing along the trail at Ka pa nui o Kuakini ("The Great Wall of Kuakini"). It is rumored that the tree was planted in the late 1800's to force the trail users to wear shoes. In the end it was taken down, but not forgotten. This tree was over 3ft. in diameter at the base, towered over two houses and was a complicated removal. It yielded a mountain of 4/4 shorts,  4/4 planks and 8/4 slabs. All material is surfaced and kiln dried. As you can see it all has character and curl. Prices start at $10.00 a board ft.