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Wood

I have a lot of different types of wood I make my rings out of, 16 different kinds to be exact. There are some woods that I like to work with more then others. By far my favorite wood is Guayacan for many reasons.

Guayacan is quite possibly the most amazing wood in the world. It has been used for centuries to cure illnesses and is prized for it's self lubricating properties. It has been used heavily in maritime application. The shaft bearings for the USS Nautilus were actually made of Guayacan. Which means because of the woods natural self lubricating properties that you could wear a guayacan ring in the shower, or anywhere for that matter. If someone asks me to make them a wood ring that will last them forever I would make them a guayacan ring. I love it both for it's strength a the amazing colors your get out of the wood. The color also varies widely between each piece of wood that I get. I've had pieces that are solid dark brown and others that are light brown and everything in between. It also has an amazing smell when you work with it. When I work with it it feels more like a plastic then it does a wood. If I could only work with one type of wood I would definitely pick Guayacan.

Other woods that I love to work with are Pink Ivory, Ebony, Mopani, Osage Orange, Chakte Viga, and Redheart. Even though Redheart smells like burning rubber when you sand it.

Some of my least favorite woods to work with are Ziricote and Purpleheart. Both woods are just terrible to saw and sand. They are tough which is good for a ring but the wood is just too stubborn to be sawed and sanded into shape to make it worth it. These too are some of my least selling wood rings thankfully, because I would hate to have to make a bunch of them.