How Teekri Wood Can Help Save Endangered Wood Species

This is How Teekri Wood Can Help Save Endangered Wood Species. In this post, I’ll introduce you to Teekri Wood, and show you several great reasons why this engineered wood can help save our protected and endangered wood species. Enjoy.

The Problem With Natural Exotic Hardwoods

As a woodworker, I love using the exotics. The bright, colorful, and amazing looking pieces of wood that come from far away places with interesting stories. The big problem with these types of wood however is that they are running out faster than they are being replenished.

For some species, it’s a crisis. For others, it’s a slow but steady path to being endangered, then possibly even extinct or so regulated that you will never see it again. Both are not good outcomes, and it can one day severely limit the types of wood available to woodworkers.

This is where Teekri wood comes in, and can be a possible solution to the eventual scarcity of so many of the woods we know and love. It’s different for a lot of reasons, and even though it’s made from wood and looks like the exotics you are used to working with…the similarities stop right there.

See Also: 11 Easy Ways to Conserve Resources as a Woodworker

How Teekri Wood is Different

Teekri wood is very different from natural wood. Though it’s made from real wood, and by volume is mostly real wood, it’s actually a lot more. Teekri wood is a composite made from natural wood and colored resin. The two are brought together in an incredible manufacturing process, making the best engineered wood ever.

This union of nature and science is present in each Piece of Teekri wood. Not only do you get the same feeling as when you work with wood, but you also get the same look. That is because Teekri can be made to look like nearly any existing exotic hardwood.

Having visited the factory in India and having worked alongside the artisans and engineers as they produce this wood, I know that it’s only a matter of time before they can create almost indistinguishable replicas of every exotic wood species on earth.

However, those aren’t the only reasons Teekri can help save the forests and jungles of the world.

See Also: Teekriwood from India

Teekri is Made From an Abundant Wood Source

Even though Teekri is made from real wood, it’s made from Birch, which is an abundant source with a very long lasting supply. 

All Teekri Birch is FSC certified Plantation Birch, which is grown just for the purposes of being used in manufacturing and industry. No wild trees are ever used, and FSC is the highest ethical certification you can get when working with natural wood.

Rather than using something more rare, or difficult to source, Birch covers the real wood ingredient in Teekri Wood in a way that keeps the spirit of wood alive in the blanks, but does not contribute to the loss of rare and protected forests and jungles.

Not only that, but since Birch has such a neutral color, the craftsmen in the factories have a much easier time dying it to target certain colors. The wood picks up the dye really well too, and the colors that they are able to achieve are bright and well saturated.

See Also: Teekri Wood Wedding Ring Project

No Exotic or Endangered Wood is Cut for Teekri

No matter the color, style, or design, no exotic wood or endangered wood is ever cut and used in the production of Teekri Wood. None. This is a very important part of the process, and something that the owners care very much about.

It’s not about taking something already rare and making it rarer by turning it into an engineered blank. It’s about taking something abundant and making it look like something rare. Also, it’s about giving the wood a look that is difficult to distinguish from the natural equivalent.

This is where the Teekri designers shine, and where you can get the same look for in some cases even less cost than buying the natural version.

See Also: Wood and Metal Teekri Ring

Teekri Can be Made to Look Like Nearly Any Species

One of the marvels of Teekri is the ability of the designers to make it look like natural wood species. There are versions of Teekri that look like Gaboon Ebony, Bocote, Rosewood, Snake Wood, and even more of the exotics that you love to use.

Also, in the case of some of the really high end stuff, you can actually get the same look from Teekri Wood in a price tag that is less than you are used to paying. On top of that, you will also get several advantages that only working with an engineered wood can provide.

These advantages are some of the biggest reasons to use Teekri Wood for your projects. Not only will your Teekri not cause harm to existing wood supplies of exotic hardwoods, it will have additional properties that make the wood a real pleasure to work with.

See Also: How to be a Modern Renaissance Woodworker

Teekri in Many Ways is Better Than the Original

There are a lot of ways that Teekri Wood is better than natural wood. Here are a few to give you a taste, and I’ll be writing more about them in another post.

• Teekri Wood is dense, and the weight gives the wood a high quality feeling.
• Since the color goes all the way through the piece, there is no need to use stain.
• The epoxy creates it’s own finish, so all you need is a light buffing and the wood looks finished.
• The resin in the Teekri Wood stabilizes the blank. It will never warp, bend, check, or split.
• The wood will never shrink or swell in humid conditions.
• Repairs are a simple matter of sanding, then a light buffing, and the job is done.

You Can Use Teekri and Not Feel Any Guilt

Another really nice thing about Teekri Wood is that you can use the product without feeling like you are contributing to the extinction of rare species of wood. Some woodworkers are more cautious about this than others, and this type of wood gives you more options.

It’s really nice to work with a piece of Teekri Wood that looks like Snake Wood, but costs less, has better properties, and doesn’t make you feel like you are using the last of something and causing the rest of the world to miss out. It’s a real feeling for a lot of people, and thankfully with Teekri you won’t have to feel that way.

Not only that, but you can build as many projects as you like, and even make and sell things that have the same look or even a better look, but with none of the guilt. No matter how cautious you are about your wood choice, it still feels good to know you are doing the right thing.

See Also: 19 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Woodworking

Your Action Assignment

Now comes the bad news. As of now, Teekri Wood is not available to the public. I am working to change that, and hoping that the owners decide to create a line of blanks that become available to the woodworking community.

If you are interested in learning more about Teekri Wood, you can check back here often, because I will be creating several more posts about the wood. I have a small but exclusive supply that the group was kind enough to send my way, and I’m really excited about working with it.

You can also see their jewelry line that they made exclusively with Teekri Wood, and see what some creative and brilliant artisans are making from the wood.

So, that being said, look forward to more educational stuff on Teekri Wood, as well as several projects that I am going to be making as well. There will be complete step by step tutorials for the projects of course, and you will be able to make everything following along with me.

If you have any questions about How Teekri Wood Can Help Save Endangered Wood Species, please Post a Question and I’ll be glad to answer them. Happy building.

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