TFW Panabas

I spent some time at my local lumber yard this morning and had an illuminating conversation about hardwoods with an expert there. The subject of hardwoods has come up a few times in the conversation relative to Skall's abusive testing of the TFW Panabas. Here are a few things I learned about hardwood in the Philippines that may be instructive:

The Philippines has numerous indigenous hardwood species that are very good in terms of overall quality, some are quite beautiful. Several species are exclusively farmed for timber and appear to be quite sustainable, which is good news for the market and for the Philippine ecosystem.

Other species, however, like kamagong, aka Philippine ebony (a type of persimmon tree) are seriously endangered and are protected under Philippine law; you actually have to obtain an export license from the government in order for this wood to leave the country. Historically, the very finest indigenous hardwoods were often used to make handles for weapons and tools, but nowadays they are very expensive, not sustainable, and obtaining export licenses is a flaming nuisance. Therefore, the more sustainable hardwoods are primarily used for these builds in order to keep costs down as much as possible and to preserve native species.

If one takes a gander at the hardwoods BCI uses for their sword builds, kamagong is used quite frequently. It is mostly used to make small handles for short swords and knives. There is quite a bit of kamagong available in the Philippines today, but most of it was harvested some time ago. "Mahogany", on the other hand, is used more frequently. The trouble here is that it is highly doubtful that genuine mahogany, or genus swietenia mahogani, is used for these builds. That is because genuine mahogany comes from Honduras, Mexico and Cuba, all of which are extremely expensive and rare. African mahogany, also considered a genuine mahogany, is similarly threatened but is more commonly available. There are three or four other species that are on the periphery but are also considered genuine mahogany, such as Australian red cedar, but I find it doubtful that BCI imports these species. Therefore, BCI is most likely using one of two indigenous species commonly referred to as Lauan (Meranti) and Balau, which are part of the Shorea genus.

Meranti and Balau are nearly indistinguishable from genuine mahoganies, but they are not even remotely related to one another. Balau can be very heavy, it has a high density and is difficult to work with. There are four species of Meranti and they all have different qualities, but they are most commonly used to make floorboards and plywood. The wood is cheap, it's relatively strong, it's often quite attractive, and it is sustainable, but true mahogany IT IS NOT. Unlike true mahogany, which displays minimal shrinkage when it is subjected to changes in temperature and humidity, Meranti and Balau do not travel particularly well. Some of these species have a tendency to shrink, dry out and split.

To summarize, although BCI makes quality products with love and care and great craftsmanship, let the buyer beware when it comes to hardwood.

I left TWF out of this discussion because their descriptions often omit any mention of what type of hardwoods are used. If they don't make any claim whatsoever, then all I can do is speculate.