Post #552169 by Paipo on Sat, Sep 4, 2010 3:45 PM

I have a Fijian and a Samoan bowl and recently obtained some kava to take them for a test drive. Just waiting for the right occasion...I'm hoping to make the kava ceremony an integral part of my home tiki bar experience eventually. :)

Lots of good info here:
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-BucSamo-t1-body1-d3-d3-d3.html

Another site mentions the wood used for Samoan and Fijian bowls is a local hardwood called ifilele (Afzelia Bijuga, but a little further poking around reveals this species is highly endangered due to its popularity for souvenir carvers and only a few stands remain. Best bet is to find the the cleanest, roundest hardwood log you can locally...I would imagine anything heavy and densely-grained would work. Carving wise, wood ain't my area of expertise but I think those curved-back gouges would work well for making bowls.
I'd probably also go Fijian over Samoan if carving my own...have you seen how many legs those things have?