Mahogany African Khaya Wood Veneer Information

African Khaya Mahogany veneer has pretty much replaced South American Mahogany in the North American commodity Mahogany panel world. The general concensus seems to be that despite being vulnerable there is little threat to its survival, at least in the immediate future. There are exceptions but they are the acception at this point not the rule. Ok heres the deal with African Mahogany. There are five species of Khaya Mahogany: grandifoliola, anthotheca, ivorensis, nyassica and senegalensis. Ivorensis is not only resposible for producing most of the swirl and crotch, it also counts for most of the African Mahogany production in general. Despite that, it is usually sold in a mixture with the four other Khaya species. The darkest and heaviest of the five is grandifoliola which you are more likely to find as lumber not panels due to its darker color and weight. The yellowish brown color that is present in the paler shades of American Mahogany is very rare in the khaya variety's. In general Khaya can have plenty of tension wood in it which can be caused by brittle-heart or soft-heart and most of the species are not great for steam bending. We have more problems splicing plain sliced than quarter ribbon. When we work with crotch we alway's soften and flatten the leaves first. Khaya displays more ribbon grain typically than American Mahogany. We pretty much always have plain sliced, quarter cut and crotch Khaya Mahogany in our inventory.

Qtr Cut Ribbon Mahogany	Figured African Khaya
Quarter Cut Khaya	Quarter Cut Khaya