My kids officially refer to me as a “furniture nerd.” It’s fitting and I don’t mind the moniker one bit. Part of the reason I do what I do is that I love old stuff, especially furniture. Can’t explain it. I’m just wired that way. One thing that you learn early on in your training to become a furniture nerd is the weird wood words that describe certain types of wood used to make furniture. Walk with me through this one. It’s kind of fun.
MAHOGANY Has Some Really Weird Wood Words Including Crotch and Flame
When people who are not furniture nerds start working with me at Consignments Ltd., this first mahogany word tends to give them the giggles. I mean, who wouldn’t laugh when I refer to a piece as “crotch mahogany?” First, get your mind out of the gutter. But not all the way because crotch mahogany is named because it resembles the junction between two branches much like pants join at the crotch. In this area of a mahogany tree the wood becomes compressed and twisted, creating lots of digital markings in the wood. These flame or feather shapes are rare and highly prized, because you don’t find them in every tree. Consequently, furniture made of crotch mahogany can be hard to find and expensive.
And speaking of flame, of a similar ilk is flame mahogany. The difference between crotch and flame is that flame mahogany is cut from where a branch meets the trunk rather than the “Y” union of two branches. Flame is often even more expensive than crotch because in any one tree there is very little to work with.
And Then There’s Maple: Bird’s Eye and Tiger
Did you ever notice that some trees in Spring will make lots of new, little branches on their trunks? My Papa used to call these “suckers” and always maintained that they should be snipped to help the health of the tree. What the tree is trying to do with these little buds and branches is access more sunlight. But when the tree lacks the nutrients it needs to support these new shoots, it prunes these branches on its own. It stops providing to them and they fall off, often resulting in a pockmark on the interior of the trunk where the branch started. If a maple tree makes a lot of these marks it results in bird’s eye wood. The marks resemble the eyes of a bird. Multiple marks are rare, however, making bird’s eye maple rare, as well.
And then there’s tiger…Grrrrr. No. Tiger maple does not make a growling sound. But if a tree falls in the wood… wait a minute. Getting off track here. LOL. Actually, tiger maple is found in only sugar maple trees and it results from irregular growth patterns. A good year, followed by a drought year, followed by a flood year can lead to this tigering. But, as with Bird’s Eye, these markings are rare, making tiger maple expensive and hard to find.
So how about them apples? Four, weird wood words in one sitting. Interested in reading more? Check out my previous blogs like: Brown Wood Furniture: Hot Trend in Interior Design and French Style on A Budget.
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