great quick article on mahogany species


Eric.

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Looking at the chart "An overview of Mahogany" reminded me of something I keep meaning to ask here.  I had a neighbor from the Philippines and he used to refer to Philippine Mahogany by some other name, which I can not remember now.  But he would say what we call Philippine Mahogany wasn't really Mahogany.  The thing that always got my attention was he would say it with a tone of arrogance, like what ever type of wood it was it was better then mahogany.

Has anyone heard of it being referred by another name.

Edited by Chet K.
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Excellent article Eric. It appears most of the mahogany I've used over the years is indeed African (very nice to work). I thought so but nice to have it confirmed. I'm going out to the shop to inspect some pieces I obtained a few years back to look at that end grain for parenchyma. It may be that I still have some genuine in stock!

I do like sapele bearing in mind that interlocking grain can be a problem.

Thanks for posting this.

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==>he would say what we call Philippine Mahogany wasn't really Mahogany

Philippine Mahogany is a bucket for a couple of species... None of which are genetically related to 'genuine' Mahogany...

However, Honduran is now plantation-grown in many parts of Asia (including the Philippines). You can now get 'genuine' Mahogany with a Philippine source... So, Philippine Mahogany isn't Mahogany, but Mahogany from the Philippines is 'genuine'... Confusing, isn't it? :)

One limitation of the article is that it deals with taxonomy while ignoring source differentiation and new-vs-old growth. For example, 'genuine' Honduran Mahogany can be sourced from Central & South America and quite a few Asian-Pacific Islands --- they will all be genetically Honduran and sold as 'genuine' Mahogany, but they won't look the same... Confusing, isn't it? :)  Reputable dealers will label plantation-grown Honduran Mahogany as Asian or Plantation sourced...   Same goes for new -vs- old growth...

One further complication not addressed in the article: There are hybrid species (primarily hybrids of Spanish/American/Cuban Mahogany and Honduran) being plantation-grown... These are sold as 'genuine'. Fiji Mahogany is probably the best known...

Central-American Honduran has been export-controlled for almost a decade. The 'genuine' Honduran you see is probably a Pacific Island genetic hybrid and/or plantation-grown genetic Honduran. These will be similar in appearance to Central-American Honduran, but the color will be off and the grain structure will be more open. So if someone is selling 'Honduran' for only a few $/bf over African, it's going to be Asian-plantation-sourced.

Cuban is the gold standard and priced accordingly ($30/bf for Asian-plantation and Caribbean-sourced old-growth Spanish/Cuban is really out there). You can source American-Cuban (typically from southern Florida), but it's going to cost you... When we get to Honduran and the Cuban/Honduran hybrids, we're getting further from genuine Cuban and lower price ($10-$20/bf) -- but still way nicer than African...

On a side note: two years ago, I got a batch of Fiji 'genuine' hybrid ($18/bf) that looked really good.

Your best bet is to develop a relationship with a hardwood dealer and ask questions about sourcing... If you don't know where to go, ask a local cabinet shop where he/she sources hardwoods...

Edited by hhh
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