About snakewood...

Snakewood is one of the finest and most expensive woods of the world. It has a striking pattern reminiscent of snakeskin and is extremely hard. In the knife industry, snakewood is used to make exquisite handle scales.

So called for its characteristic snakeskin patterns. Wood is typically a reddish brown, with contrasting darker brown or black patches.

It comes from a small, relatively rare tree found in the forests of Central and South America. The bright side is that snake wood turns well and polishes beautifully. Snakewood is generally sold in small blanks and is best used in making items such as bowls, vases, knife handles, etc.