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KATALOX

Swartzia cubensis

Swartzia cubensis of the family LeFabaceae (syn. Leguminosae) the legume, pea, or bean family

It is possible that there are other Swartzia species that are sold as katalox, but I have not yet pinned that down. This wood is very similar to wamara (Swartzia benthamiana) to which it is closely related. Katalox also goes under the names royal ebony and Mexican royal ebony but I find this subject to confusion since "royal ebony" is also used with Diospyros crassiflora (normally called Gaboon ebony).

This very hard, dense, heavy, Central/Latin American wood has a generally dark purple and brown heartwood that can show considerable color variation. It can be quite attractive and it takes a high natural polish, but it can be difficult to work due to the density and it is reported to sometimes have large movement in service. Sometimes has interlocked grain that can create an attractive curl in the figure. Finishing agents will turn darker pieces almost black, after which it can be difficult to distinguish from partridgewood due to the similar wenge-like, but very tight, grain pattern.

note that the following species on this site have some considerable similarities and are hard/impossible to distinguish by face grain appearance. The end grain, however, shows clear differences: katalox / wamara / queenwood

my samples:
NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K)
colors will vary under other lighting conditions


both sides of a plank of katalox / Swartzia cubensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. A couple of smaller sample pieces were processed from this plank and are shown directly below its pics.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


two face grain closeups showing (1) how the graininess of this wood sometimes makes it look a bit like panga panga and (2) how the purple looks up close. The purple fades to brown or purplish brown with time.


both sides of a sample plank of katalox / Swartzia cubensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This was cut from the longer plank directly above. The left side of the first face has been fine sanded and shows the grain details fairly clearly.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a plank of katalox / Swartzia cubensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This was cut from the larger piece directly above.


same sample as directly above but after having been left in a window for 6 weeks where it got about an hour a day of direct sunlight and many hours of indirect sunlight. As you can see, the purple has faded to brown substantially. This is normal for katalox.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of katalox / Swartzia cubensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. Like the sample piece directly above this, this piece was also cut from the larger plank up above both samples


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of katalox / Swartzia cubensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. Note that the first face was sanded to 240 grit and the second face was not and this accounts for minor differences in color between the two and the better resolution of the detail characteristics as seen in the first one. It also accounts for the dust in the pores on the first side.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of katalox / Swartzia cubensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of curly katalox / Swartzia cubensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of curly katalox / Swartzia cubensis --- this piece was contributed to the site by Mark Peet, whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. Because this was cut from the same plank as the piece directly above, which has full end grain pics, I didn't bother with end grain closeups for this one.


end grain and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above


both sides and end grain of what I used to have posted as mystery wood 109 --- both levels of enlargement are given. I initially thought this was panga panga but that was early days for this site and I was not yet adept at reading end grain. I now realize that it is clearly katalox.


end grain and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above



both sides of a big chunk of katalox and an end grain shot with each side. The presence of varying amounts of purple is common in this wood, including large amounts in some boards.


the same piece moistened with water --- the yellow in the sapwood is excessive but correcting for it causes the heartwood color to go off, so I've left it alone; the heartwood color is shown very accurately --- it's a very pretty purple.


both sides of a small plank, the end grain of the plank, and then a smaller piece cut from the original and moistened with water. Note how the freshly exposed side grain is significantly more purple than the longer exposed side grain of the larger piece



both sides of a plank and end grain for each --- the first pic shows a freshly sanded side (lightly sanded) and the 2nd pic shows a longer exposed side that is still pretty rough


a smaller piece cut from the plank direcly above and sanded further which brought out the color a little more, then the same piece moistened with water


end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above


end grain closeup of a sapwood section


both sides of a plank --- the 1st pic is of a side that has been sanded, lightly, and the 2nd pic is of a side still fairly rough


the end grain of the plank directly above and the end grain of a smaller piece that was just cut from the larger piece --- as you can see, the freshly exposed wood shows purple whereas the longer exposed wood shows none.


a closeup of the plank in the pictures directly above this, showing the wenge-like grain pattern that can occur in this wood


end grain closeups from a couple of pieces that were cut from one of the samples above (I've lost track of which one). At first glance, the pic on the left appears to be of a different wood, but close examination of the enlargement shows that it does in fact have the same structure as the end grain shown in the other closeups on this page.


END GRAIN UPDATES from directly above


two small pen turning sections and end grain --- I'm only 80% sure that the piece on the right is actually katalox.


end grain closeups of the pieces directly above


both sides of a small chunk --- although it's not very clear from the pics, this piece has a slight curl (the side grain pic below shows it a little better)


face grain closeup and side grain closeup


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of fiddleback katalox / Swartzia cubensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


high quality figured planks --- pic contributed by Todd Levy; thanks Todd.

web pics:

NOTE: some of the pics in this section are from the BogusColorVendor but are not so flagged because the apparently extreme variability of color in this wood makes it difficult for me to tell what might be realistic and what might not and although they are not an organization that deserves the benefit of the doubt, I give it to them anyway EXCEPT for the obvious gross exaggeration shown at the bottom of the page.


lumber stacks


planks and slabs --- some figured, some not; many of these were identified as katalox / Swartzia cubensis and some just as katalox


both sides of a katalox plank and both levels of enlargement are present


planks listed as katalox / Swartzia cubensis and with HUGE enlargements present


planks and turning stock, all from the same vendor, all listed as katalox / Swartzia cubensis and with HUGE enlargements present.


misc katalox / Swartzia cubensis, all from the same vendor and with what I think is likely very accurate color


planks and a closeup


plank and closeup


plank and closeup


both sides and a closeup of a plank


both sides of a set of planks


both sides of a set of planks


both sides of a set of planks


plank identified as Northern rosewood / Swartzia cubensis


both sides and a closeup of a plank


both sides and a closeup of a plank


both sides and a closeup of a plank


planks and a closeup


turning stock listed as katalox / Swartzia cubensis


cutoffs --- both levels of enlargement are present


turning stock


pen blanks


bowl blank


both sides and two closeups of a crotch plank


fiddleback plank and closeup


more fiddleback planks


fiddleback planks


curly katalox


scales


curly scales


pen blanks that have been oiled and waxed. The first set was listed as fiddleback and the second set was listed as mottled but I don't see either type of figure --- they just look plain to me but it is kind of hard to tell


figured planks


figured plank and closeup


figured stick


listed as "pomelle" but I think that's an exaggeration, unless the picture is really bad


both sides and a closeup of a plank labeled "golden katalox" --- the obvious mottle figure wasn't mentioned and I have no idea what "golden katalox" is (might be just sapwood, might be a whole different species).


burls


burl and closeup


burls



The pics in this section are from the BogusColorVendor and have what I'm confident is their usual incredibly gross misrepresentation of a wood. My own samples at the top of the page came from them, and this piece probably looks pretty much like my own sample.


plank


both sides of a plank


both sides of a pair of planks