How to Identify Teakwood: A Guide to Identify Genuine Teakwood Furniture
Teak, is undoubtedly the most sought out type of wood across the globe. From a TV stand to desk and from a chair to outdoor patio furniture, we would all prefer our furniture to be made up of aesthetic teak. Apart from furniture, it finds purpose in a variety of elements across the construction and infrastructure industry. What makes teakwood so prioritized though? The video above is a bull’s eye view of properties of teakwood that make it so popular. In a nutshell, teakwood is easy to work with, has high strength, is prone to weathering and repels insects and fungi preventing any decay. These properties of teak — of long lifespan, strength and durability along with its warm tones make teakwood an expensive buy globally.
Save Yourself from Fake Teakwood Products
We certainly live in an age where a Google search for ‘furniture store near me’ or ‘buy teakwood’ solves our issues of sourcing. However, we tend to overlook the aspect of genuineness. The heavy demand and steep price of teakwood makes it an easy target to be sold in an unauthentic sense. It is common to come across low quality woods that are polished and overpriced to be misinterpreted as teakwood. The high price of teakwood furniture should not, thus be a yardstick to identify it. Here are some checkpoints you might keep in mind to avoid burning a hole in your pocket for products that are not genuine.
Color of Teakwood
The central core of a teak tree is the heartwood while the outer layers make the sapwood. It is important to check your wood before it’s stained. When new, the heartwood wood is golden yellow in color, with dark streaks. However, it darkens with exposure to air. The sapwood is yellowish white color. If your teakwood isn’t from Burma, there are chances that its heartwood is darker than golden. As a rule of thumb, the whiter the teakwood, the weaker it is.
Fragrance of Teakwood
Teakwood contains a typical oil that prevents it from decay and keeps the insects and fungi away. Unlike other woods that lose their oils after they are cut, teakwood retains most of its natural oils. The presence of this oil gives it a light and distinctive, leather-like aroma. This tip might not come in handy if you’re hunting for teakwood products for the first time, but if you identify its fragrance once, you will be bound to remember it next time.
Price of Teakwood
A bargain, too good to be true? You are probably being sold a low grade wood disguised as teak. Teakwood is bound to be expensive owing to its heavy demand and preferred qualities. So any seller who tries to sell you a teakwood product at a throwaway price, you are being cheated.
Grain of Teakwood
The section of rings that you see when you cut a piece of wood is its grain. Teakwood had a straight grain. You should expect to see a natural linear pattern of light and dark honey-brown colored long lines while inspecting its grain.
Weight of Teakwood
Teak is very dense. Therefore, it is natural for it to be very heavy and robust. If you buy a teakwood product, you should, thus, expect it to be heavy and bulky. It would be relatively heavier than a similar product that is made from another family of woods. So if you are able to move a massive couch on your own, there are high chances for it to b not made out of original teakwood.
Surface of Teakwood
Genuine teakwood is very smooth to touch. This might not be the easiest ways of judging its genuineness, but if you were to rub your hands on unpolished teak, it would not splinter or fragment or chip at edges.
There are organizations in place that aim at making certification for genuine teakwood easier, but it would not be wrong to predict that the timeline for that could be far-stretched. At SHAPE, we provide our clients quality checks before staining and polishing, at structural stages — where they can come by and see, feel and inspect the quality of wood themselves before the product goes ahead in its process of finishing.
