Wood Directory

Cedar

Cedar is the lightest wood in the directory. It reduces overall weight, which can make larger pieces easier to move and support longer handling, while its warm red-brown color, visible grain, and natural scent give it a distinct material presence.

Mahogany

Mahogany combines lighter weight with warm reddish color and grain that develops visible depth under finish. It is useful when a design should feel substantial without becoming tiring, and it works equally well as a full wood body, handle, or structural component.

Walnut

Walnut adds more body than cedar or mahogany while staying lighter than oak and the dense tropical species. Its chocolate-brown color makes it the darkest domestic option, and its moderate weight suits customers who want a grounded feel without moving into the heavy end of the range.

Jatoba

Jatoba is a heavy, tight-grained wood with a firm feel in the same design. In paddles, the added weight supports a more substantial result with fewer movements; in handles and other components, it can shift the balance toward a more planted, weight-forward feel. Its color ranges from warm orange-brown to deeper red-brown.

Availability and pricing vary by season.

Padauk

Padauk sits near the center of the weight range, adding clear substance without entering the heavy group. Its naturally vivid red-orange color gives the directory a strong warm option, while the moderate weight remains versatile across paddles, handles, and other wood components.

Purpleheart

Purpleheart combines substantial weight with a naturally saturated purple color. It gives paddles a strong, weight-forward feel and can add deliberate balance to handles and structural components. LVX heat-treats and finishes the wood so the delivered purple color remains permanent.

Canarywood

Canarywood combines midweight handling with one of the widest natural color ranges in the directory. Yellow, orange, pink, red, and brown may appear in the same board, making each piece visibly individual without requiring the weight of the heaviest species.

Color and figure vary significantly from board to board.

Chechen

Chechen is a heavy wood with strong visual movement. Gold, brown, red, and near-black lines can appear in the same piece, while the added weight gives paddles more momentum and can create a grounded balance when used for handles or structural components.

Bloodwood

Bloodwood is one of the heaviest species in the directory. Its fine grain and saturated red color create a clean, controlled surface, while the high weight supports substantial momentum in paddles and a distinctly planted feel in handles and other components.

Availability and pricing can vary significantly.

Osage Orange

Osage Orange pairs heavy weight with a naturally bright yellow-orange color that is unusual among dense woods. It adds strong presence and momentum to paddles while giving handles and structural components a durable, weight-forward character.

Zebrawood

Zebrawood sits toward the upper end of the midweight range. Its pale base and dark striping create the strongest graphic contrast in the directory, while the added weight gives the same design more substance without reaching the heavy group.

Bubinga

Bubinga is a heavy wood with a strong relationship between weight and structural performance. Its color ranges from pink-red to deep reddish brown, often with darker figure. It is useful when a design needs substantial material presence without moving into Bloodwood or Katalox territory.

Availability and pricing can vary significantly.

Wenge

Wenge is a heavy, near-black wood with pronounced grain and visible texture. It adds substantial weight while still reading clearly as wood rather than a uniform black finish, making it useful for dark pieces where material character and grounded handling both matter.

Katalox

Katalox is the heaviest wood currently used by LVX. In the same design, it produces the greatest overall weight and momentum—well suited to customers who want fewer, more substantial movements or a strongly planted handle. Color ranges from dark brown and purple-brown to nearly black, with meaningful variation between boards.

Availability and pricing can vary significantly.

Bocote

Bocote is one of the heaviest woods currently used by LVX, sitting close to Bloodwood and below Katalox in our shop stock. Its yellow-brown base and dark, sweeping figure make it one of the most visually distinctive choices, while the high weight gives paddles and handled pieces a substantial, grounded feel.

Availability and pricing can vary significantly.