{"id":3821,"date":"2022-06-10T15:48:19","date_gmt":"2022-06-10T19:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/?p=3821"},"modified":"2022-06-10T15:48:19","modified_gmt":"2022-06-10T19:48:19","slug":"suriname-ironwood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/suriname-ironwood\/","title":{"rendered":"Suriname Ironwood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
There is very little published data about Suriname Ironwood so I will mostly be sharing my experiences with the wood, making this post different from most about woods I have worked with for the first time.<\/p>\n
The scientific naming of Suriname Ironwood is mildly confused with some sources, mostly vendors, claiming it belongs to the Swartzia<\/em> genus, a genus best represented in this blog by Katalox. However, academic sources show that the name Swartzia prouacensis<\/em> is a synonym for the more correct Bocoa prouacensis. <\/em>The wood is native to northern South America as implied by the common name, although its distribution is unlikely to be limited to the nation of Suriname, rather that is likely the most common commercial source of the wood.<\/p>\n As the name implies, Suriname Ironwood is HARD, in fact, it is ranked as the second hardest wood native to South America (since I know you will ask, the hardest of the South American woods is Schinopsis spp. aka <\/em>Quebracho) and is the eighth hardest wood in the world (the hardest wood in the world is Acacia peuce aka <\/em>Waddywood from Australia). These rankings for Suriname Ironwood are based on an estimated Janka Hardness<\/a> of 4,380. This measure is estimated from specific gravity as there is no reported tested value.<\/p>\n