Allen Purplehart

Purpleheart references the color of the wood that comes from a tree native to tropical rainforests of Central and South America; from Guerrero, Mexico, through Central America, and as far as south-eastern Brazil. The trees are prized for their beautiful heartwood which, when cut, quickly turns from a light brown to a rich purple color. The dry timber is very hard, stiff, and dense. Purpleheart is correspondingly difficult to work with. It is very durable and water-resistant.

Most of Salt Shaker Woodworks stock of this beautiful and popular wood was purchased from a Mr. Allen. Mr. Allen was a woodworker himself until health issues forced him to stop. Like me, Mr. Allen spent years gathering wood for use in his shop but now needed to get rid of it. I bought all the stock he had, much of which was reclaimed, and some exotics like this Purpleheart. I was very fortunate to find Mr. Allen when I did. He had been trying to sell his stock for a while with no takers and was on the verge of dumping or burning it all.