We inspect and grade every single piece of wood in our catalog using these criteria. We endeavour to provide awareness and transparency on how we grade our woods so you can shop with confidence knowing you are getting exactly what you expect.
How We Advertise Our Grades:
Unique Item Listings:
We have thousands of pieces of woods in our inventory at any given time. However, we want to give our customers the chance to shop through our woods as if they were right here at our mill. All pieces of wood are are unique, and we select dozens of products a day to catalogue, photograph and make into a Unique Item Listing.
When we create a Unique Item Listing, we include our grading in the title of the product so you can see it at a glance.
Often you will see the grading in the title, formatted here as a full example:
Maple Flame Guitar Top, 4A Exceptionally Figured, 6.5mm (.25") Thick - Stock #
The structure for this listing title broken down is:
[Species] [Relevant Figure] [Wood Type], [Wood Grade] [Figure Grade], [Relevant Size] - Stock #
Not every listing will have all of these parts applicable, but they will all follow this general framework, which we've provided the information on below:
Relevant Figure:
We classify the relevant figure directly with the associated listing. This can carry across different species, softwoods, hardwoods, tonewoods, craftwoods, & more. Some listings may have no relevant figure, and others may have multiple relevant figures happening at the same time. Some examples of relevant figure types include but are not limited to:
Flame, Quilt, Burl, Birdseye, Burl, Bearclaw, Roasted/Torrefied, Colour, Pomelle, & More.
Some listings may only claim to have "Figured" instead of a relevant figure. This may mean that it has a figure pattern, but not consistent across enough of the piece to classify the figure type.
Wood Grade & Figure Grade:
We use a 5-step grading system in our tonewoods for wood grade & figure grade.
Figure grade only evaluates the figure, unrelated to wood grade. Wood grade is a determination of the overall piece, taking knots or defects, grain direction or pattern, tonal quality, & figure into the grading.
Why separate the two? Figure exists even when there are knots or defects, so we believe that figure should have its own grading class. We have many customers who are looking for the best figured pieces for their specific woodworking project, regardless of defects.
Wood Grade (Tonewoods):
1A | Pieces in this grade may have large, unavoidable defects such as knots, large bark inclusions, inconsistent grain direction, Low Figure Grade, and more can all factor into a wood receiving this grade.
2A | This grade is a bit like the island of misfit toys. Great looking, with just a bit too much oddity going on to bump it into a higher grade. Mostly clean piece, with possible small defects or inclusions present. Fairly consistent grain direction and pattern. Usually Figured or Highly Figured Grade, although some pieces with more figuring but unavoidable large defects can end up in this grade.
3A | Clean piece, with minimal to no defects present in the template area, and usually towards the outside of the piece or template area. Fairly consistent grain direction and pattern. Highly Figured Grade and Above.
4A | Clean piece, no defects present in the template area. Consistent grain direction and pattern. Very Highly Figured Grade and Above.
5A | Rarely present, everything needs to come together to receive this grade. Clean piece, no defects anywhere in the template area. Consistent grain direction and pattern. Exceptionally Figured Grade Only.
ELITE | We reserve this for the most outstanding, jaw dropping wood we have ever seen, no questions asked. We do not use this grade lightly. We use incredibly strict criteria before we even consider grading something Elite. If you see an Elite grade piece, it usually speaks for itself.
Figure Grade (Tonewoods & Craftwoods):
(No Figure Grade) | Having no figure grade always coincides with having no relevant figure. This does not mean the piece is of poor figuring or quality, it's simply that we can't classify it against other similar figures in the same category.
Figured | While consistent figure is present, it is either low surface coverage of the figure, or good coverage with very weak figure that is hard to see without different angles, lighting, etc.
Highly Figured | Majority coverage of fairly strong, consistent figure. May have some larger rashing or dead zones where figure becomes inconsistent or disappears.
Very Highly Figured | Majority coverage of very strong, consistent figure. Very minor rashing or dead zones may be present in this grade, however that is a rare exception depending on location and sizing.
Exceptionally Figured | It's all in the name! Absolutely exceptionally strong, consistent figure across the entirety of the piece, no questions asked.
General Listings:
General Listings are graded and sorted on general tonal quality, grain direction and pattern consistency, and aesthetic appeal. Most General Listings will have their grading explanation in each listing so you know how the grades are separated.
Premium | Self-explanatory, PREMIUM is the best available quality. We use this grade to set apart the best pieces from the rest if necessary, but not all products require this level of grading.
High Grade | For most products that are not Unique Item Listings, High Grade is the top grade available. This may take different forms for different species and wood types, but usually it means consistent grain pattern, good tonal quality, and overall aesthetic appeal.
Standard | The usual mid-grade quality. No aggressive or structural defects, maybe inconsistent grain and colouration, but overall a generic piece.
Custom | Pieces which may have wild grain patterns, minor non-structural defects, or just generally doesn't fall into conventional grading standards. These are not poor or low quality woods, just something more unique from our regular grading standards.