Live Edge Wood Features

Whether you’re looking for live edge wood furniture or live edge wood slabs, you need to know what you’re looking at to make informed decisions. The grain patterns in wood are what makes them unique. No two pieces of wood are the same, and different species of wood offer their own unique grain patterns.

Here are the terms you can use to understand and describe the type of pattern you’re looking for.

• Bird’s Eye: A bird’s eye pattern is most often found in maple wood. The small circles in the wood grain appear to look like the eyes of a bird.
• Burl: A burl is formed when the grain pattern grows in a spiraling curve in opposite directions. Burls appear in walnut, maple, cherry, and many other species. It is a unique and sought after feature.
• Crotch: A crotch is formed when a tree branches out and forms a “Y” grain pattern.
• Curly: This feature appears like stripes across the grain and is most typically seen in maple wood.
• Spalted: When we rescue a piece of wood that is starting to be attacked by fungus, we often see where the wood grain has turned black, creating a beautiful contrast in white wood like maple.
• Quarter Sawn: Logs are cut into quarters and then each quarter is cut along its length. This type of preparation creates a straight, linear grain pattern.
• Wormy: When insects have chewed on a tree, they leave round holes in various patterns. Wormy wood has a unique pattern and is popular for creating rustic furniture.
• Knotty: When trees lose a branch, that round spot is engulfed by new wood as the tree grows. This creates a ring-like pattern in the middle of the grain, which adds character to a straight grain slab of wood.