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NOTE: there is rarely any "standard" or "typical" look for a wood so take what's in this table with a grain of salt the REST of the pictures on this page will give you a better overall feel for this wood

pearwood / Pyrus spp. of the family Rosaceae 3" x 3" flat cut, 2.5" x 2.5" quartersawn, 3/4" wide end grain, and a 1/4" x 1/4" end grain closeup. Diffuse porous with solitary "uncountable" pores (i.e. VERY small pores randomly arranged), growth ring boundaries often quite faint but generally visible even to the naked eye, rays not visible at 10X Reportedly there are about 20 species of pear that grow in North America, Europe, and parts of western and southeast Asia. Most are fruit trees, all are small by lumber standards, and at least one, the Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana) is a fruitless ornamental tree. Also, to remain technically correct, I should point out that Bradford pear is NOT technically just "Pyrus calleryana", it is a cultivar of that species and the formal name is "Pyrus calleryana var Bradford". My own use of just Pyrus calleryana throughout this site follows the common convention used by almost all wood/woodworking sites in the USA. The exceptionally fine, smooth, texture make this an ideal wood for carving, and since the tree is small this wood is pretty much limited to carving, turning, and small ornamental objects. Lumber and veneer production is mostly from the common pear (Pyrus communis) and the Swiss pear (Pyrus nivalis). The veneer, when steamed as it often is, takes on a brighter pink color than un-steamed. Reportedly subject to severe twisting during drying.

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 sample plank listed as pear / Pyrus spp.


end grain and end grain closeup of the sample plank directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of pear / Pyrus communis


end grain and end grain closeup for the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of pearwood / Pyrus communis --- HUGE enlargements are present.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of domestic pear / Pyrus communis --- 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 common pear / Pyrus communis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. Mark tells me that this sample has been steamed to bring out the color and that such steaming is common for fruitwood for that reason. As noted at the top of the page, I was already aware of this for pear but did not realize it was done with other fruitwoods.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of Chinese pear / Pyrus ussuriensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. The labeled side is raw but the 2nd side has been sanded to 240 grit and so shows details better and is a slightly lighter color.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


small piece and end grain. This sample, at least, is a delightfully smooth even-grained wood; I'll bet carvers love it. This was presented to me as French pear so presumably it is Pyrus communis


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


both sides of a sample plank of Callery pear / Pyrus calleryana --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was contributed to the site by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. NOTE: this is the base wood (/tree) from which the cultivar Bradford pear is cultivated. As explained at the top of the page, the samples of Bradford pear, which are technically Pyrus calleryana var Bradford, are listed on this site (see below) as just Pyrus calleryana.


end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above


both sides of a sample plank of Bradford pear / Pyrus calleryana --- 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 Bradford pear / Pyrus calleryana --- HUGE enlargements are present.


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 Bradford pear / Pyrus calleryana --- HUGE enlargements are present. The curl is very weak but it's there.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


both sides of a sample plank of Bradford pear / Pyrus calleryana --- 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


Bradford pear, donated to the site by Harold Stroud, whom I thank very much. Color is quite accurate although I had to turn the white sheet background slightly orange to get the wood to look correct. Like the French pearwood above this, this wood is very smooth and fairly even-grained (although less so than the French) and feels as though it would carve well. Although you can't particularly tell it from the pics, I fine-sanded this and it feels wonderfully smooth to the touch, and the end grain closeups directly below show the smooth grain and small pores.


end grain closeups of both ends of the piece directly above --- the color has a slight red tint where it should have a slight orange tint


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


the rest of the plank donated by Harold Stroud


end grain closeup of the piece directly above


a small, thin piece of Bradford pearwood / Pyrus calleryana and a HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of it


a small plank and a sliver of pear donated to the site by Roy Gobets, whom I thank. One side of the sliver has a deep patina and the other side is the relatively freshly cut side. There was confusion about whether this is Bartlett pear or Bradford pear and I'm not clear on which it is.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above but taken after the plank had been cut in half which is why it does not show the same cross-section


pearwood plank, specific type not known --- it's unseasoned, so I'll stick it in the garage for a couple of years and then clean the ends and get end grain shots. LATER: OK, it's now dry and I've done a full set of pics directly below


both sides of a sample plank of pearwood. HUGE enlargements are present. There is a slight pink tiny in these pics that is not in the wood. The single pic above of it unseasoned is closer to the right color, although it did darken some in the two years it was drying.

br>end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


first face and the end grain of a sample of pear / Pyrus spp. This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION B


the second face, before and after slicing off 1/8" showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep.


end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above.


some Bartlett pear pics that Roy (see the sample directly above) sent. The first shows some nicely colored heartwood and the second shows how the planks looked after being bandsawn but not yet planed. Roy tells me the yellowish tint goes away after some exposure.


curly swiss pear veneer --- very smooth to the touch and with a pleasant curly figure


quartersawn Swiss pear veneer


quartersawn Swiss pear with minor ray flakes that you can see better in the enlargement


quartersawn Swiss pear showing some nice ray flakes


flat cut veneer sheet and closeup --- no designation other than "pear" was given but this looks exactly like the curly Swiss pearwood at the top of the page except that the curl is less pronounced.


veneer, flat cut and with a very slight curl and just slightly more color shading in the color than the very uniform pinkish color of the quartersawn veneer sheets above. Down below in the web pics section, there is a large batch of veneer sheets listed as all from the same vendor. These sheets are from that vendor and are noticibly darker in color than the pics he presents but that may be because it's a different flitch for all the others.

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The Wood Book pics


flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
pear (Pyrus communis) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for each of the 3 views

web pics:

pear end grain --- both levels of enlargement are present


log section


pearwood cookies


Bradford pear slabs with heart rot --- both levels of enlargement are present


curly Bradford pear log, split


Bradford pear slabs


end grain of a spalted Bradford pear log


plank with wet and dry sections


slabs


planks of European pearwood / Pyrus communis, all from the same vendor


planks of European pearwood / Pyrus communis, all from the same vendor --- I think the colors are a bit too rich on most of these


planks


planks --- I REALLY doubt the bright orange/gold color but I cannot say with absolute certainty that it is false


flat cut planks


plank


plank from a vendor whom I know distorts the color in his pics to make the wood appear more colorful than it is.


curly turning stock


two shots of the same plank


veneer


flat cut veneer listed as pear / Pyrus communis


curly veneer


burl veneer


crotch veneer


Asian pear


Australian pear --- both sides of a plank and the same plank moistened with alcohol


European pear


European pear, end grain


European pear /Pirus [sic] communis


slabs listed as European pear


figured planks, all from the same vendor and all listed as European pear / Pyrus communis --- the color on these is reasonable, unlike the sets directly below


planks listed as figured European pear / Pyrus communis --- the color on these is just silly


planks listed as European pear / Pyrus communis --- these were not listed as curly but they clearly are. Also, the color is ridiculous.


planks listed as pear / Pyrus communis


planks listed as Swiss pear / Pirus [sic] communis


waxed turning stock listed as figured European pear / Pyrus communis with with an impossible amount of orange in the color


curly Swiss pear turning stock with an impossible amount of orange in the color


European pear figured veneer


North African pear


Swiss pear planks


Swiss pear plank moisten (and with a dry corner)


Swiss pear turning stock


figured pear pen blanks


Bradford pear pen blanks


flat cut "figured" Swiss, but not much of a figure


mottled Swiss pear veneer

bookmatched pear veneer, left to right: flat cut figured, flat cut plain, quartersawn, quartersawn figured


quartersawn Swiss pear veneer


flat cut Swiss pear veneer


two large pieces of flat cut Swiss pear veneer


Swiss pear veneer, all from the same vendor


Swiss pear veneer sheet closeups with both levels of enlargement available --- these are from the same set as those directly above


Swiss pear veneer


Swiss pear veneer; color is very unlikely


Swiss pear, flat cut figured veneer


figured swiss pear with wet and dry sections


Swiss pear, quilted veneer


two large pieces of quartersawn Swiss Pear veneer --- not listed as curly, but it obviously is.


curly Swiss pear veneer, all from the same vendor --- as you can see, the amount of curl ranges only from moderate to light, unlike the heavy average curl in some species.


curly Swiss pear veneer sheet closeups with both levels of enlargement --- these are from the same vendor as the set directly above.


curly Swiss pear veneer


Swiss pear burl veneer, all bookmatched


pear crotch veneer


more web-pics of planks --- I'm dubious about the richness of the red/orange in these 3 pieces, but that could be just my inexperience.


pen blanks


spalted pen blanks


african pear; looks like a crotch area and/or with some spalting


bowl blanks listed as African pear


bowl blanks

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Bradford pear turning by Harold Stroud (who contributed the Bradford pear sample at the top of this page). This has been dried in alcohol and finished with tung oil and wax


Bradford pear box


Bradford pear mallet


Bradford pear pitcher with laminated handle


Bradford pear peppermill


Bradford pear platter


bowls


Korean pear bowls turned and photographed by Tom Pleatman, whom I thank for these pics and other contributions to the site. Big enlargements are present.


Bradford pear bowls


two views of a Bradford pear bowl


curly pearwood bowl