Five Woods and What to Consider When Buying

Maple, Hickory, Oak, Aspen, Pine, Cherry, Ebony . . . no, this is not a call from Treebeard to rally the troops against Saruman and Isengard. Woods, there are so many! What do all they mean? How are they different? What should you consider when you're buying something made of wood, whether that's from us, a piece of furniture, or anything in between? For this blog, we're going to take a deep dive into a few different woods, five to be exact, all of which are utilized and handcrafted into Wood Leon creations.

#1 - Walnut

Starting off with our most popular wood, walnut is a luscious darker wood, great for a more masculine-looking tie or tie clip, or even for an elegant, richer pair of wooden Wood Leon earrings. Generally, walnut is a dark brown, and comes from the tree that produces those tasty morsels you can pop in your granola. It's a harder wood, so you don't have to worry about damage from lighter abrasions. While there are numerous types of walnut, Wood Leon uses the good 'ole American black walnut.

Walnut is actually one of the more common harder woods (as opposed to softer woods) used in making furniture. If you're looking for a fantastic walnut Wood Leon tie to start off with, I recommend one of my top styles, simple and cool Kapo.

#2 - Cherry

In the opinion of Spencer Hughes, the founder of Wood Leon, cherry is the easiest wood to work with, which, in turn, makes it one of the best woods to engrave upon. Engravings show up the best on cherry by far than any of the other main woods used in Wood Leon ties (walnut, cherry, cedar, maple, and African mahogany). With cherry being softer and having smoother grains than walnut, it's easier to get it softer and smoother, helping to not get too uncomfortable when you and your sweetie are cuddling in the evening watching a sweet BBC Earth documentary. While it is not a hard wood, cherry is used in furniture, where it's quality to become darker and richer over time is a plus. In contrast to perhaps a wood like cedar, cherry gets richer over time and in the sunlight, accruing a nice reddish tan-brown. Cherry also goes well with other colors, like if you're wearing a darker or lighter dress shirt. Its color is generally golden with a little red, getting a deeper gold over time. Wood Leon uses American cherry, so make sure to have a nice big slice of Apple pie when you try this puppy on.

Notice the unique grain lines in this cherry Harambe tie.

#3 - Cedar

Perhaps the wood closest to my heart, cedar has personality, often with a lot of color streaks (generally blonde) going through it, more knots than other woods, and a unique scent. It's the lightest of the five woods featured in this post, which makes it nice when you're barreling down the streets of Ashgabat on a Ducati, fleeing the same operative that just supposedly confided in you the nuclear missile initiative of the underground Neo-Soviet Association, but for whatever reason tried to throw you into the Darvaza Gas Crater. Unlike walnut, cedar is very soft and will likely scratch easily (watch the fingernails). As far as color goes, it can start off as a deep red or pink and may grow weathered and grayer over time. Oiling the wood can help preserve its awesome, unique color and quality.

Cedar has a resilience to damage from moisture or temperature, which makes it great for furniture, also, and is also used in making guitars.

Check out this gorgeous Rustic Lux cedar tie from Wood Leon, with beautiful blonde streaking in the wood.

#4 - Maple

While you may not be able to grind it up and slather it over your flapjacks, maple wood has benefits. Among other things, maple wood has a fiddleback and/or quilted quality—when you look at a good cut of maple wood, you may notice a particular sheen, and even a holographic effect of sorts. At Wood Leon, there is a lot of laser engraving going on, and one nice thing with maple is that it leaves a light gold sheen rather than a black burn when engraved.

In addition to Wood Leon products, you can find Maple being used for basketball court flooring and baseball bats (Play ball!). It's the lightest in color of the woods used at Wood Leon.

Yo, Ladies! Check out these lunar maple earrings—great for a girls' night out! Heeeeeeyyyy! (Cue music)

 #5 - African Mahogany

Somewhat of a wilder wood, African mahogany is a darker wood, which, when cut, may have coconut-like hairs sticking out. It has a delicate, yet more cohesive grain. Generally brown in color, it has a unique grain pattern distinct from the aforementioned woods. Aside from being used in Wood Leon crafts, African mahogany is used in boatbuilding. So, gear up for your next voyage across the seven seas with a Wood Leon El Capitan!

We hope you enjoy picking out your next wood craft, whether that be a beautiful cedar tie for dad this upcoming holiday season or nice cherry wood dresser for your new home. Let us know in the comments below what creation or gift you would like to see next from Wood Leon using one of the woods mentioned or others in our shop!