Japanese wood supplier?

[Lionheartx]

Hello there everyone! It's been a bit since I've posted but I wanted to reach out with a question. I am trying to find a supplier of Japanese wood specifically pen blanks but if i have to make my own from larger stock I will learn how to do that. I have come to find that I really enjoy working with Japanese woods as they turn so smoothly and just overall look stunning. For a while I was using Japan Wood Supply on Etsy for my blanks but it seems as though that store is no longer selling and while I have reached out via email I have not heard back. I would love to find another supplier of these woods (especially Sakura aka Cherry Blossom) as I may have an opportunity to sell some pens at an event that is themed for Japanese Culture in the near future. Thank you very much for any help on this one!

 

[leehljp]

Be careful. Many Japanese revere the Sakura and some can get insulted if offered something in sakura wood form. Maybe not here in the USA, but in Japan, you won't find many items made from the Sakura wood. I planted a sakura tree in my yard in the Osaka area back in the early '90s and by about 2003, something killed both a Japanese Magnolia and the Sakura tree (they were about 8 ft apart). I got a polite but stern talking to for turning the 4" sakura tree into wood. Nothing was said about the Japanese Magnolia.

My wife (American, but a bit sensitive than I am,) told me that I should have known better, and I should have.

Japanese in general are polite enough that they will not insult others, and particularly here in the USA. This means that you can use the sakura wood here, but just be aware of it.

Mulberry (Kuwa) is a prized wood for Japanese but you don't see much of it over there. Mulberry/Kuwa is the tree leaves that silk worms eat, from which the Japanese silk industry revolved around for a long time.

Japanese Ash (Tamo) is well liked too.

I used to know a whole bunch of their woods but time has put them way back in my memory.