Post #470157 by Aaron's Akua on Sun, Jul 19, 2009 5:24 PM

Seeks, yeah those were some interesting day trips. Super cool to meet some real Hawaiians and trade stories with them.

Ben, I agree. I felt like I scored just on meeting this fellow and spending an hour or so talking with him. You don't often meet someone that's been around and carving for so long. If he's really been carving for 50 years, that's longer than I've been alive. And by the looks of that mallot, it's looks quite possible. I wish I could just take a month off work & go hang out & carve with Uncle Larry on Waimea beach... :) POP Okay, daydream over!

SurfinTiki, Yeah I'd love to see that bowl when it's done.

Thanks, BD!

So what gets me about Hawaii is all of this awesome wood laying around. It's no problem to get wood over there. Everything grows like crazy and I guess all you've got to do is hook up with some tree trimmers. Monkeypod, Milo, Hau, it's all pretty easy to get. Unfortunately the airlines are charging a bundle for checked luggage, so it's hard to bring back. Here's a monkeypod tree out in a parking lot. There's tons of these trees around the island:

I was given this piece of Hau (Wild Hibiscus) by a friendly Tongan carver a couple trips back when we stayed on Maui:

I didn't know what the tree looked like till we had some pointed out on a tour on this trip to Kauai. After that I noticed it growing just about everywhere, along rivers, roads, etc. so I had to get some pics. It's more of a really big bush than a tree, but it grows pretty tall and some decent diameter pieces can be found.

A close up:

Another nice score - Koa. I saw this place one day while we were driving around.

Notice the sign above the door: "Koa Lumber - Short Lengths". Okay then, quick U-Turn!

I learned some about the different grades of Koa. Here's a sign that explains it all.

The top of the line is "Ultra Premium Curly", but it costs an arm and a leg. The grain is wavy and translucent with a beautiful 3-D effect when you look at it from different angles. This rocking chair is made from Ultra Premium Curly.

A little rich for my blood, but they had these prepackaged boxes of "Bargain" and "Super Bargain" Koa that were ready to ship. I picked up a box of 8 pieces for $31.41 + $10 shipping, and it arrived home the same day we got back. Some boxes were $25, some $ 40 or $50 depending on the board foot and the grade of the pieces. What I got wasn't premium Koa, but it ain't no pine either! Beautiful color and grain, just not the super bitchin' curly stuff.

I also picked up one nice board of the Premium Curly for a special project. That piece we brought back on the plane.

I talked to the manager and learned that you can just call them and they'll review the list of boards, sizes, etc. with you over the phone if anyone here is interested. Contact Candice Agustin store manager at The Koa Store (800) 245-7917. It's in Lihue, Hawaii. Unfortunately this would be "sight unseen", but all of the pices were good and seemed pretty straight up in line with the grades listed on the sign on the wall.

Okay, I'm ramblin' again! Thanks for the replies...

Aaron