Norfolk Island pine, grown & turned on Oʻahu.
The tall, tidy “pine” of Oʻahu’s ridges and yards, and the wood Hawaiʻi turns thin enough to glow.
Which tree it really is
Most of the trees called Norfolk Island pine in Hawaiʻi are, by the US Forest Service’s account, its close cousin the Cook pine (Araucaria columnaris), with a narrower, columnar crown. The two woods can’t be told apart, and neither is a true pine. Both came to Hawaiʻi after Western contact; there is no Hawaiian name for either.
What it looks like
Straw-colored to light brown, sometimes with a yellow or red hue, with a ring of reddish knots around the trunk. In Hawaiʻi’s humid air the wood picks up blue-gray stains and streaks soon after the tree is cut, which many turners prize.
On the lathe
It is soft (650 on the Janka scale) and cuts cleanly, and it turns, glues and finishes well, though the knots can tear out. The pitch is in the bark, not the wood. The Honolulu turner Ron Kent, who died in 2018, was best known for translucent bowls of Norfolk Island pine, turned thin and soaked in oil; one is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
As a bowl
Because it is soft, a Norfolk Island pine bowl suits fruit, bread or the shelf better than knives and forks. Turned thin, it glows when the light is behind it.
Nothing in Norfolk Island pine 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 Norfolk Island pine.
Not answered here? Call or text Kaleb on (808) 729-1560, or write to him.
Is Norfolk Island pine a real pine?
No. It belongs to the Araucaria family, and on Oʻahu most trees sold under the name are its cousin the Cook pine. The woods look the same.
Why are some Norfolk pine bowls see-through?
Turned very thin and soaked in oil, the pale wood lets light through. Ron Kent made the style famous in Honolulu; his translucent bowls are in the Smithsonian and the Met.
Can I use a Norfolk Island pine bowl for food?
For dry things like fruit and bread, yes. It is a soft wood, so it isn’t the one for tossing salad with metal tongs.
Sources: Little & Skolmen on Cook pine (USDA); The Wood Database; Ron Kent, AAW profile; Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Turn a Norfolk Island pine 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.