No problem! The slice had a nice blue streak down the middle and that's the bit I used:) Good luck with your search.
Blue Mahoe
- Thread starter Nature Man
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- #42
I checked with him already. Thanks!
Here are a few pictures of Hawaiian Hau, when you cut it fresh it is green, it will darken to a dark purple color, I guess you could call it a blue color. I will try to cut some next time I go to the Hamakua coast. I will post a picture of the fresh cut Hau. Aloha.
Kalai
Beautiful! I had a piece that was a dark greyish blue. The fresh cut green sounds interesting
I just ordered several pieces of Hawaiian Hau from okcrabtree on ebay, so we shall see just how this color compares to blue mahoe! I will post pictures comparing the two. I also now have a total of eight 8/4 - 10/4 blocks of blue mahoe in my collection (thanks to santosedgardo and turners circle on eBay), so let me know if you need some more, Chuck.
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- #46
Looking for distinct blue. Picture if you have. Thanks for thinking of me! Chuck
Here are all the pieces - numbered 1 through 8. Number 8 is the block i originally had, which came from turners circle. The other 7 are all from santosedgardo in Puerto Rico. I included blue and green painters tape as well as purpleheart, verawood, and green poplar for some color scale.
Number 8 has the darkest and most consistently blue face, but as you can see on the end grain it's mostly not very blue throughout. The ones from PR are more striped, similar to the pieces i already sold you. As you can see, some parts are a nice blue, others are more green. The color is more consistent throughout the PR pieces. For some reason, the PR pieces are considerably lighter weight than the piece from turners circle... Not sure why.
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- #48
Thanks, but I’m going to pass this time around. If you come across any that is a more brilliant blue, let me know.
Will do!
I can see why someone would think Hawaiian Hau looks blue. It's pretty close in color to blue Mahoe. It's definitely more brown with a hint of purple, but it's probably the closest species I've ever seen to blue Mahoe.
Despite also being a Hibiscus, it really shares no other material characteristics with blue Mahoe other than color and density (going by hand feel). Blue Mahoe is soft to the touch and sands with ease (similar to walnut). Hawaiian Hau is rough and feels harder, though I've yet to work it. The pieces i have suggest it tears out easily too. The long grain seems closer to purpleheart to be honest. Blue Mahoe has a characteristic smell that Hawaiian Hau definitely doesn't have. The Hawaiian Hau smells like dirt to me, but I've noticed this with every single Hawaiian wood I've purchased from multiple Hawaiian sources. So i don't think it's the wood smell but rather something to do with storage and/or drying practices in Hawaii. Blue Mahoe is very flat looking and only shows a little chatoyance with ribbonstriped pieces. Hawaiian Hau looks to be heavily chatoyant, similar to mahogany, sapele, or birch.
I think this Hawaiian Hau is pretty cool stuff. The sharply demarkated sapwood really accents the dark heartwood well. The sapwood is very white, not unlike grade A Holly (just more open grained). It's unfortunate that this stuff is pretty much just as rare as blue Mahoe.
In the aerial photo, the 4 smaller pieces between #500 and #532 are all Hawaii hau. In the end grain shot, the stack on the right is Hawaii hau.
Despite also being a Hibiscus, it really shares no other material characteristics with blue Mahoe other than color and density (going by hand feel). Blue Mahoe is soft to the touch and sands with ease (similar to walnut). Hawaiian Hau is rough and feels harder, though I've yet to work it. The pieces i have suggest it tears out easily too. The long grain seems closer to purpleheart to be honest. Blue Mahoe has a characteristic smell that Hawaiian Hau definitely doesn't have. The Hawaiian Hau smells like dirt to me, but I've noticed this with every single Hawaiian wood I've purchased from multiple Hawaiian sources. So i don't think it's the wood smell but rather something to do with storage and/or drying practices in Hawaii. Blue Mahoe is very flat looking and only shows a little chatoyance with ribbonstriped pieces. Hawaiian Hau looks to be heavily chatoyant, similar to mahogany, sapele, or birch.
I think this Hawaiian Hau is pretty cool stuff. The sharply demarkated sapwood really accents the dark heartwood well. The sapwood is very white, not unlike grade A Holly (just more open grained). It's unfortunate that this stuff is pretty much just as rare as blue Mahoe.
In the aerial photo, the 4 smaller pieces between #500 and #532 are all Hawaii hau. In the end grain shot, the stack on the right is Hawaii hau.
@Nature Man Oakbrook have a whole load of blue mahoe rn. Colour varies a lot but some blues and also nice purples. Also a 23" piece if you do need longer than usual
Those prices are crazy. The bluest pieces look the same as the ones i just bought from eBay for much less money.
The bluest blue Mahoe I've seen so far has been from turners circle on eBay. The block i got from him isn't solid blue throughout, but i have another turning blank from him and it's dark solid blue throughout.
That's cool, I just remembered seeing a load somewhere. The slabs I got from Puerto Rico were about the same price as one of those smallish bits, and good for about 7 flutes! Turners Circle is a favourite of mine too.
I'm constantly browsing so I'll keep my eyes open anyway. I had in mind a rainbow flute in seven colours, so I have half an eye on a really good blue and indigo too.
Yeah I'm always on the lookout for blue too. The other colors of the rainbow are easy to get. Still looking for some really blue colored blue beetle pine, or any other species with blue staining
What do you use for green that stays green? I know they are out there but not common.
I don't know yet:) I have some Argentine lignum vitae that's actually got greener over time. The flute I made from another piece of ALV is more dirty olive with green streaks. I had a greenish greenheart but that's more dark olive too. The green and blue will definitely be hardest. I think hau will make a good indigo.
If you can find oak that has been stained by the elf cup fungus, it will stay green unless you wet it and let the fungus finish rotting the wood. The drawback is, the green stain tends to follow cracks more than spreading across the grain.
Also green can be found in swamp cured Osage. Paul Veerkamp used to have some but I haven't seen him on in a while.
Also green can be found in swamp cured Osage. Paul Veerkamp used to have some but I haven't seen him on in a while.
@SA-Motors mentioned having some blue pine - that will be on my wishlist for the next trade...
My spare Argentine lignum vitae has gone past green now, it's gone a dirtier shade. I see your point on stable greens
My spare Argentine lignum vitae has gone past green now, it's gone a dirtier shade. I see your point on stable greens
Actually, all my green wood has remained green so far lol. Not sure if any of these are supposed to fade, but so far they haven't. If i had to guess, greenheart might be most likely to go brown. Verawood actually gets greener over time.
Green poplar
Verawood/Arg. Lignum
Greenheart
They're beautiful! Guess I need to work out where I put my verawood then