About Our Woods

As a Hawaiian-based artisan, our signature wood is the rare and exotic Hawaiian curly koa. Koa is known for its rich colors, grain patterns, and chatoyance, which gives the grain pattern an almost iridescent quality that seems to dance and change hues in different lighting.

Curly koa wood presentation box by Salter Fine Cutlery of Hawaii

For information or price quotes contact us:

Call Us: 808-883-0128

E-Mail Us: SalterFineCutlery@gmail.com 

Exotic wood presentation and display boxes by Salter Fine Cutlery of Hawaii

The distinctive characteristics of koa are widely sought after but hard to find; koa is a protected wood available only in scarce quantities. The older the specimen, the tighter the desirable "curl" of the grain will be, producing a nearly striped appearance for very tight curl.

Beautiful handcrafted Hawaiian koa wood steak set presentation box by Salter Fine Cutlery

We proudly offer a wide selection of koa, including our extremely rare, old growth, premium-grade Special Reserve collection. This wood is available in limited quantities for custom orders and is primarily used for our one-of-a-kind collectibles. 

Rare old-growth curly koa wood presentation box by Salter Fine Cutlery of Hawaii

In addition to koa, we offer a wide selection of rare, exotic hardwoods native to our Hawaiian islands and around the world. A few of our most commonly used woods are listed below; however, we are pleased to provide custom pricing quotes for any legally obtainable wood. Please contact us if you need additional information or assistance.

For additional photos of some of these wood ideas, please visit our Handle Material Samples page.

  • Bubinga
  • Cocobolo
  • Hawaiian curly Koa wood
  • Kiawe (Hawaiian Mesquite)
  • Lychee
  • Mahogany
  • Mango
  • Maple and curly Maple
  • Milo
  • Mozambique Ebony
  • Thuya Burl
  • Wenge
  • Ylang-Ylang (perfume wood)

Presentation Box of curly Hawaiian kiawe wood by Salter Fine Cutlery of Hawaii

Before beginning any project, Gregg carefully selects each piece of wood to ensure a pleasing aesthetic, along with coloration and grain for the desired effect. We use the highest quality woods available to achieve gallery, fine art-grade results. Our woods are kiln-dried to ensure lasting stability in the end product.

Every custom box made by hand Salter Fine Cutlery of Hawaii

Wood Finishing Process

All of our wood products are artisan-crafted with hours of meticulous handwork and minimal machine usage to produce results that are nothing short of stunning, as well as environmentally friendly. Gregg applies at least a dozen sealant and finishing processes to knife handles, and over twenty to boxes. 


Completely handcrafted processes on Salter Fine Cutlery boxes

Knife Handles

To make our knife handles suitable for repeated use in a cooking environment, they are first stabilized with special sealants to add protection against water, and then repeatedly hand-sanded and sealed using yet another high-grade sealants designed to help protect the wood while retaining the natural feel and color.

Each application requires overnight curing between coats.

Between each application of sealant, handles are once again hand-buffed and hand-rubbed to achieve a super smooth and polished finish.

We use natural oils for the final finishing step to produce a low luster that is very easy to maintain with periodic reapplication of oil. We offer handle refinishing or refreshing and repairs at nominal rates to our clients to keep your handles looking gorgeous for years to come. 

Every knife handle individually handcrafted to the highest standards by Salter Fine Cutlery

Boxes

Our boxes and other fine wood products take several days to finish using a gallery-quality, fine hand-rubbed furniture finishing technique. We do not use varnish nor any kind of machine buffing. Every stage of finishing is done completely by hand. 

Custom Koa wood presentation box made in Hawaii by Salter Fine Cutlery

For questions or to place an order, call or e-mail us:

808-883-0128

SalterFineCutlery@gmail.com