Koa, grown & turned on Oʻahu.
Hawaiʻi’s own tree, found nowhere else. It comes through Kaleb’s shop now and then, when one comes down.
What it looks like
Koa is a medium golden to reddish brown with contrasting bands, ribbon stripes and curly figure. Its best pieces have chatoyance: a shimmer that moves across the surface as you turn it in the light.
On the lathe
Koa is stable once dry and turns, stains and finishes well. Bowl turners like it green. Its tannins can blacken the cut under a dull tool, and sandpaper has to be clean and sharp or the surface chars.
On Oʻahu
Koa is endemic: it grows only in Hawaiʻi. On Oʻahu it lines the Likelike and Pali highways, short and crooked rather than the tall timber of the Big Island and Kauaʻi. In the lowlands koa lives only 5 to 20 years, and wilt and borers bring it down, which is when the wood reaches Kaleb. Under Hawaiʻi law only Acacia koa may be sold as koa.
In old Hawaiʻi
Koa built the canoes, paddles and surfboards. It was not used for food bowls: the old sources say it left a bad taste, which is why milo and kamani were the calabash woods. A koa bowl today is best for serving dry things or for the shelf.
Questions about koa.
Not answered here? Call or text Kaleb on (808) 729-1560, or write to him.
Is koa endangered?
No. Koa is endemic to Hawaiʻi but listed as apparently secure. Harvest on public land needs a permit, and the normal supply is dead and fallen trees, like the ones that reach Kaleb.
Can I eat from a koa bowl?
Old Hawaiʻi didn’t: koa was never used for food bowls because it gave the food a bad taste. Use a koa bowl for dry things or display, and choose milo or monkeypod for salad.
Is all “koa” real koa?
In Hawaiʻi it has to be. State law allows only Acacia koa to be sold as koa, which rules out “Formosan koa” and other stand-ins.
Sources: Native Plants Hawaiʻi (University of Hawaiʻi); Little & Skolmen, Common Forest Trees of Hawaii (USDA); Bishop Museum Ethnobotany Database; The Wood Database; Hawaii Revised Statutes §486-119.5.
Turn a koa 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.