"Wood is universally beautiful to man. It is the most humanly intimate of all materials."

White Ash's heartwood is a light to medium brown color. The sapwood can be very wide and tends to be a beige or light brown.  The sapwood is not always clearly or sharply demarcated from heartwood. 

Some of Elbin Art's products may be made from all White Ash however some products may have a mix of White Ash along with another wood.  It looks great as the main wood for an Elbin Art product in combination with Sapele with the Sapele as a secondary wood or Inlay.  

Thermally Modified Ash starts as regular ash wood and through a specialized process, the wood is heated to high temperatures, altering its cellular structure to enhance the properties.  As a result of this process, the wood becomes a beautiful darker, richer-toned wood.   

Elbin Art has a limited number of products made with Thermally Modified Ash and those Elbin Art products have this wood typically used in combination with another wood.  

Cherry is a smooth-grained, reddish-brown hardwood.  It starts out a light pink and darkens over time to a rich reddish hue with a lustrous patina.  

Cherry wood is known for its excellent color, fine, and smooth texture. Its natural color improves over time and becomes more rich reddish-brown.  

Some of Elbin Art's products may be made from all cherry however some products may have a mix of Cherry with another wood such as Black Walnut which goes great together.

The color of hickory ranges from light- to medium-brown in the heartwood sections to a paler yellow-brown in the sapwood sections. Reddish hues are often seen, and the contrast between heartwood and sapwood can be used for dramatic effect. 

Elbin Art may use Hickory for a product either for the entire product or combine it with another wood species to add contrast to the wood in a particular product.  

Maple Sapwood color ranges from nearly white, to an off-white cream color, sometimes with a reddish or golden hue. 

Elbin Art may use Maple for a product either for the entire product or combine it with another wood species to add contrast to the wood in a particular product.  

Named for ambrosia fungi, which is found in association with ambrosia beetles. The beetles bore into the trunk of the tree, bringing with them the ambrosia fungi, which subsequently stains and discolors the surrounding wood.  The discoloration is centered around the boring paths of the beetles, and their entrance holes can usually be seen. 

Elbin Art fills in the small boring holes left behind by the beetle prior to finishing the piece.

Birds eye maple is distinguished by the appearance of small round knots throughout the wood, which can look like the eye of a bird. The number of birds eye patterns, or density, varies based upon the tree.  Elbin sources his Birdseye Maple from both the US and Canada.

The Elbin Art Birdseye Maple piece may be a lighter color piece of wood with these patterns or a piece of wood that is both lighter and darker with these patterns or a darker color wood with these patterns.    

Curly Maple gets it name because the ripples in the grain pattern create a 3D effect that appears as if the grain has “curled” along the length of the board. It’s also referred to as fiddleback maple.  Curly maple figuring is is a primarily horizontal pattern perpendicular to the wood grain. 

Elbin Art may use Curly Maple for a product either for the entire wood product or combine it with another wood species to add contrast to the wood in a particular product.

 Red Oak heartwood is similar to other oaks and coloration runs from a light tan to pink with a reddish tinge. The wood is predominantly straight grained and coarse textured.  

 Quarter sawn Red Oak does exhibit some fleck or “medullary ray” effect, although it is not nearly as pronounced as in White Oak.  

Elbin Art typically does not use Quarter Sawn Red Oak.

Heartwood of Flat Sawn Red Oak is a light to medium brown, commonly with a reddish cast. 

Flat Sawing lumber, also known as plain sawn is a saw method for cutting lumber that has minimal waste and also showcases a “cathedral” look of annual rings.  

Flat sawn lumber is the most inexpensive option and is the easiest to obtain. Generally 60-70% of the lumber from a log is flat sawn.

Elbin Art typically does not use Flat Sawn Red Oak.

Flat Sawing lumber, also known as plain sawn is a saw method for cutting lumber that has minimal waste and also showcases a “cathedral” look of annual rings.  

Flat sawn lumber is the most inexpensive option and is the easiest to obtain. Generally 60-70% of the lumber from a log is flat sawn.

Elbin Art typically does not use a lot of Flat Sawn White Oak.

Quarter Sawn White Oak is the same species as White Oak but the wood has been cut from the log at a different angle (quartered). Quarter Sawing makes it more stable than standard (flat sawn).

White Oak and has a finer texture with a dramatic flaking pattern that runs perpendicular to the grain. 

Quarter sawing Oak usually results in dramatic medullar "flake" figure that commands attention.  The "flake" is different from piece to piece.  

Black Walnut wood is dark, hard, dense and tight-grained. The color ranges from creamy white in the sapwood to a dark chocolate in the heartwood.

Although there are many varieties of walnut trees, the Eastern Black Walnut, also called the American Black Walnut, is the Black Walnut that Elbin Art uses on some projects

 The crotch is a portion of the wooden slab where patterns are left from two branches that have met and give the wood a feather pattern. 

The crotch forms when branches meet and form a “Y” shape and the tree is limited on its space to grow. With each year that a new ring is formed around the tree trunk, wood pushes into wood and the grain starts to fold into itself.  The result is a beautiful and unique pattern.

Black Limba is from Tropical western Africa.  Heartwood is a light yellowish to golden brown, sometimes with grey to nearly black streaks and veins.

Elbin Art typically uses Black Limba in combination with another wood, like Peruvian Walnut or Black Walnut.  

Bloodwood,  Brosimum rubescens,  is a beautiful wood from Tropical South America.  

The heartwood is a bright, vivid red. Color can darken to a darker brownish red over time with exposure to light.   The sapwood is a pale yellowish color.

Elbin Art uses Bloodwood as inlay and on some occasions as accents with other woods. 

Bolivian Rosewood, also referred to as Pau ferro, is a beautiful wood from tropical South America (mainly Brazil and Bolivia).   While the wood is not technically in the Dalbergia genus, pau ferro (Machaerium species) is botanically very closely related to true rosewood.  

Elbin Art typically does NOT use it as the primary wood for a product but does use it on occasion for thin accent strips or inlays on products with some of the other woods Elbin Art uses for the majority of a product. 

Canarywood grows across South America from Panama to Southern Brazil.   Its heartwood can range from pale yellow to pink, orange and dark  reddish -brown.    

Elbin Art typically does NOT use Canarywood as the primary wood for a product but does use it on occasion for thin accent strips or inlays on products with some of the other woods Elbin Art uses for the majority of a product. 

Ebiara is from West Africa.  Known for its dark-colored grain & light-colored sapwood.  Can range in color from golden yellow brown to deep reddish brown with dark streaks or stripes.

Elbin Art  uses Ebiara in combination with other woods on certain products.  

 Goncalo Alves is native to South America and ranges in color from light to deep reddish-brown.  Also sometimes refered to as Tigerwood.  Color tends to darken with age. 

Elbin Art typically does NOT use Goncalo Alvesas as the primary wood for a product but does use it on occasion for thin accent strips or inlays on products with some of the other woods Elbin Art uses for the majority of a product. 

Jatoba, also called Brazilian Cherry, is a beautiful wood from South America.  The heartwood is a varies from a light orangish brown to a darker reddish brown. The color tends to darken upon exposure to light.     A sample photo is currently not available however will be in the future.  

Elbin Art will sometimes use Jatoba for inlays as well as for larger sections of his functional wood art.  

Leopardwood is a unique beautiful wood from Central and South America.   The wood has unique flecking that gives this wood its namesake. The wood itself is a medium to dark reddish brown with grey or light brown rays, which resemble the spots of a leopard. 

African Mahogany is a beautiful wood from Africa.  The heartwood ranges from pale pink to a deeper reddish brown, sometimes with streaks of medium to dark reddish brown. Colors darken with age. 

Elbin Art will sometimes use African Mahogany for inlays as well as for larger sections of his functional wood art. 

Spessart Oak comes from a very regulated forest in Germany (There are only a few log sales per year in the Spessart forest).   

The Quarter Sawn European Spessart Oak  that Elbin uses has been cut from the log at a different angle (quartered), making it more stable than flat sawn and it also many times has the dramatic flaking pattern that runs perpendicular to the grain. 

Olive Wood typically has beautiful grain patterns and can vary dramatically from piece to piece. Elbin Art Products made from Olive Wood are higher priced products than other wood products. 

Depending on the product, it may also take additional lead time due to the way the tree grows, there may be cracks and voides that need to be filled with Epoxy Resin requiring a longer cure time and additional finishing after it has cured.  

Padauk is reddish orange when freshly cut, it matures over time to a bright red with darker red and purple streaks.   It comes from Central and tropical West Africa, extending from south-western Nigeria to Zaire. 

Elbin Art typically does NOT use Padauk as the primary wood for a product but does use it on occasion for accent strips or handles on products with some of the other woods Elbin Art uses for the majority of a product.  

Purpleheart (Peltogyne spp.) is a medium to hardwood with tight, fairly straight grain and moderate to coarse texture. Bright purple when cut, it darkens to a deep purplish brown.  Purpleheart is native to Central and South America.

Elbin Art typically does NOT use Purpleheart as the primary wood for a product but does use it on occasion for thin accent strips on products with some of the other woods Elbin Art uses for the majority of a product.  

Redheart is a beautiful wood from Southern Mexico to southern Brazil and Paraguay.  

The color of the wood can be a very bright, watermelon red—though color can vary in intensity and hue from board to board: anywhere from a light orange/pink, to a darker brownish red. 

Elbin Art will use it on occasion for inlay.  

Sapele is a beautiful wood from Africa.  the heartwood is a golden to dark reddish brown. Color tends to darken with age.   Sapele grows with an interlocking grain pattern where the fibers twist around the tree as they grow.   

Elbin Art will sometimes use Sapele for inlays as well as for larger sections of his functional wood art.  

 Iroko is a West African hardwood often called African Teak due to the similar yellow brown color of the two species. Iroko wood comes from Africa, whereas old growth Teak comes from Southeast Asia.  

Elbin Art will sometimes use Iroko (African Teak) for inlays as well as for larger sections of his functional wood art. 

Plantation Teak is plantation grown and harvested to preserve the natural teak trees which are becoming endangered today. The heartwood is a uniform golden brown without markings. Grain is usually straight to slightly wavy. Texture is coarse, uneven and oily to the touch, sometimes with a white glistening deposit. 

Elbin Art has very limited supply of Plantation Teak on hand and when used, typically uses it in combination with other woods.

 Peruvian Walnut is a beautiful wood from Southern Mexico, Central and South America regions.     It may also be referred to as Tropical Walnut or Nogal (Spanish word for Walnut). 

The wood tends to be darker than black walnut species, with a deep chocolate brown color, sometimes with a purplish hue. 

Elbin Art uses Peruvian Walnut for inlays as well as larger sections of some of his products.  

Wenge is from Central Africa.    Heartwood is medium brown, sometimes with a reddish or yellowish hue, with nearly black streaks   

Elbin Art typically does NOT use Wenge as the primary wood for a product but does use it on occasion for thin accent strips or inlays on products with some of the other woods Elbin Art uses for the majority of a product. 

Zebrawood is a tough, durable, visually striking West African wood whose heartwood base color — which can range from tan to a dull pale yellow, to a muted off-white / almost gray hue, depending on specific region and conditions of growth — is decorated by dark brown striping of varying degrees (ranging to almost black). 

Elbin Art will use Zebrawood in combination with other woods on a product.