Where the wood comes from

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Titchtheclown

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Speaking of the larger well known factory built manufacturers; THEY DON'T CARE. I've been supplying koa to most of not all of them for several decades. Most of the people at the company might care, but collectively the market pressures involving a very profitable multi-million dollar product line overwhelms everything else. The public appearance of sustainability is the responsibility of PR and marketing departments. The amount of times I've been asked about how their koa is harvested is exactly zero.

Most of the smaller independent builders DO care. They seem to have more of a sense of responsibility about things. They also do more justice to the material on average.

My takeaway - I don't think koa belongs in a multi-million dollar product line. Maybe this is true of some of the other species mentioned.
 
JJohansen said:
The amount of times I've been asked about how their koa is harvested is exactly zero.

Most of the smaller independent builders DO care. They seem to have more of a sense of responsibility about things. They also do more justice to the material on average.
Click to expand...

They don't want to know because then they might know that it isn't good. What you don't know won't hurt you... I DO care and all of the koa I've used (at least for tops, backs and sides) has been salvage koa from demolitions. At least that was what I was told. True? Who knows for sure. I'd like to think so. The koa I use for bindings? Who knows where it came from.
 
JJohansen said:
Speaking of the larger well known factory built manufacturers; THEY DON'T CARE. I've been supplying koa to most of not all of them for several decades. Most of the people at the company might care, but collectively the market pressures involving a very profitable multi-million dollar product line overwhelms everything else. The public appearance of sustainability is the responsibility of PR and marketing departments. The amount of times I've been asked about how their koa is harvested is exactly zero.

Most of the smaller independent builders DO care. They seem to have more of a sense of responsibility about things. They also do more justice to the material on average.

My takeaway - I don't think koa belongs in a multi-million dollar product line. Maybe this is true of some of the other species mentioned.
Click to expand...

There are very strict restrictions on koa harvesting in the state of Hawaii. It is not possible to cut healthy trees, you can only take trees that are already fallen or those that are obviously diseased. Given the fairly small size of the islands this leaves a rather small amount of wood that can be harvested, and I have never seen a logging truck loaded with lumber as would be common in places that have active logging industries. It always makes me wonder where big guitar companies or big Asian ukulele factories get their "koa" from. I would not be surprised if the term was used quite loosely for anything that looks like koa, just like it's done with mahogany.
 
This is not a new subject, it has been talked about for the past 20 years. The article talks about Australian makers and yet little about Taylor, which produces many more guitars. Maybe that comes out in the book (More than likely).

Now I made a guitar out of a 2x4, Martin 00 size. Thought I would run some numbers.

5,385 Sq Ft./40' Cont.

2x4 = 500" cu. = 0.292' cu.

18,440 guitars per container.

1.2 million guitars made a year.

65 containers.

Heck, round up for dreadnoughts, 100 containers. That is a substantial amount but you could cut that in half for the plywood guitars made.
 
merlin666 said:
There are very strict restrictions on koa harvesting in the state of Hawaii. It is not possible to cut healthy trees, you can only take trees that are already fallen or those that are obviously diseased. Given the fairly small size of the islands this leaves a rather small amount of wood that can be harvested, and I have never seen a logging truck loaded with lumber as would be common in places that have active logging industries. It always makes me wonder where big guitar companies or big Asian ukulele factories get their "koa" from. I would not be surprised if the term was used quite loosely for anything that looks like koa, just like it's done with mahogany.
Click to expand...

No, that is just not true. There are no restrictions whatsoever on harvest from private lands.
 
Good article. One good thing about guitars and ukes is that one tree provides wood for many, many instruments. Compare that with the use of rare wood for furniture. I admire the private builders, like Aaron Keim, who use local, sustainable wood.
 
Jerryc41 said:
Good article. One good thing about guitars and ukes is that one tree provides wood for many, many instruments. Compare that with the use of rare wood for furniture. I admire the private builders, like Aaron Keim, who use local, sustainable wood.
Click to expand...

I think that rare wood use for furniture was a thing of the distant past. The vast majority of furniture nowadays is made of particle board, often with plastic veneer. Even in the 80s when I worked as a cabinet maker there was very little solid wood used in the shop. Even mundane things like a dining room set made of solid wood is not something many people even want or can afford in their homes any more.
 
merlin666 said:
It always makes me wonder where big guitar companies or big Asian ukulele factories get their "koa" from.
Click to expand...

Me too, because if you run the numbers there are a lot of "koa" instruments being produced from what looks like a limited supply. Perhaps the Big Boys are using Acacia confusa instead. Hey, ship to Hawaii then ship it out and bingo! Koa! I've worked with it and I had no problem with it. I actually rather liked it and it does work sorta like koa. Does it look like "real" koa? Sorta. Kinda. Maybe.

acacia-confusa.jpg

And then there are all the other Acacia's that could be passed off as koa. I'm not saying anybody is doing this, but... It would explain some things.
 
merlin666 said:
I think that rare wood use for furniture was a thing of the distant past. The vast majority of furniture nowadays is made of particle board, often with plastic veneer. Even in the 80s when I worked as a cabinet maker there was very little solid wood used in the shop. Even mundane things like a dining room set made of solid wood is not something many people even want or can afford in their homes any more.
Click to expand...

"Many people" does not include multi-millionaires, and they want exotic.
 
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