Holly (American)

American Holly, also called Christmas Holly, is one of the whiter woods available. It is difficult to dry and must be kiln-dried rapidly and correctly to prevent bright green stains from appearing. Once dry it is a fairly stable wood. It grows predominantly in the Eastern part of the United States. It can only be cut in the winter when the sap is down. This wood has a fairly fine grain, and is an excellent wood for turnery as well as color contrasting inlays and segmented turning work. The specific gravity averages around .61

UPDATE: The wood has been become rare on the market due to the difficulty in getting white pieces. For decades almost the whole country relied on just one individual who had the special skill and equipment to acquire holly and dry it white. He has now retired. On its own, Holly dries to a grey color with green streaks. It must be dried rapidly and correctly in a vaccuum kiln to get white pieces. Note that holly, when it is polished is at best ivory white with some grain showing. Sometimes it looks whiter when rough cut. We currently cannot replace these pieces and once out of stock we may be out for extended period of time.