Kamani, grown & turned on Oʻahu.
A Polynesian canoe plant of Oʻahu’s shores, and a calabash wood with a figure that catches the light.
What it looks like
Freshly cut, kamani heartwood is distinctly white and red. It ages to a reddish brown, with a pronounced figure from its interlocked grain. The Hawaiian word kamani also means smooth, shiny and polished, as of kamani wood.
On the lathe
Kamani shrinks a good deal as it dries and can warp, so it wants patient drying. It turns well apart from a peculiar habit of snagging a chisel, which rewards sharp tools and light cuts.
In old Hawaiʻi
Kamani came with the Polynesian voyagers. Its hard wood was made into calabashes and poi bowls, prized because it gives no taste to food. The doors of the main floor of ʻIolani Palace have panels of kamani veneer.
Kamani or false kamani?
Two shore trees on Oʻahu share the name. True kamani has paired, glossy oval leaves and round fruit. False kamani, or kamani haole, the tropical almond, has big leaves that turn red and almond-shaped fruit, and its wood is considered inferior. Kaleb tells you which one a piece came from.
Nothing in kamani on the shelf right now.
Pieces come as the trees do. Ask, and Kaleb will tell you when the next one comes off the lathe.
Questions about kamani.
Not answered here? Call or text Kaleb on (808) 729-1560, or write to him.
What is the difference between kamani and false kamani?
True kamani (Calophyllum) has glossy paired leaves and round fruit and was a traditional calabash wood. False kamani, the tropical almond, has large leaves that redden and a plainer wood.
Can kamani nut oil be used to finish a bowl?
Not a food bowl. Kamani (tamanu) nut oil is mildly poisonous and should not be eaten, so Kaleb finishes food bowls with a food-safe oil instead.
Why is kamani wood hard to find?
It is one of the most valued woods in Hawaiʻi, but the timber is often unavailable. Kamani grows as shore groves and street trees rather than forests, so the wood comes up only when a tree comes down.
Sources: Little & Skolmen on kamani (USDA); Little & Skolmen on false kamani (USDA); Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry; Bishop Museum Ethnobotany Database; Pukui & Elbert, Hawaiian Dictionary.
Turn a kamani bowl yourself.
When it’s on the rack, you can choose it for your bowl on a class day, with Kaleb beside you for every cut.