Purpleheart & Zebrawood Shakers

Two colorful woods: Purpleheart & Zebrawood. You choose which one gets salt and which gets pepper.

Purpleheart is a brilliantly colored hardwood from South America, Purpleheart is very popular for its deep purple color. Ideal for inlay, marquetry, and other fine articles. Occasionally the trees produce either fiddleback or a ropey mottled curl from interlocked grain. The color is a pale brown when freshly cut, darkening to deep violet purple with UV exposure in a few days. The wood has coarse open grain and is dense and durable, so much that it can be used for wharf pilings and truck floors.

Zebrawood is from equatorial western Africa, and is usually logged by hand with a hundred men or more on mountain slopes. One of the most appealing features of Zebra is the exotic appearance of the colorful grain. Black & golden lines make this an excellent choice for many projects. For ease in finishing, use a sanding sealer to seal the open pores. Zebra has interlocking grain that can produce beautiful iridescence in quartersawn boards! The wood is prone to checking and twisting if not properly cared for. Uses include: furniture, cabinets, architectural applications (veneer), turned articles, rifle stocks, and boxes.