The Best Woods for Handcrafted Wooden Rings (A Complete Guide)
Organic, artistic, elegant, meaningful jewelry with a grace borrowed from nature – yes, we are talking about wooden rings! Wooden rings are suitable to define any memorable occasions of your life, may it be your engagement celebrations, celebrating an anniversary, or some fun achievement. The wood you choose will make long-lasting impressions as the artist carefully and mindfully handcrafts your one-of-a-kind ring. That’s one of the neatest things about a wood ring! The grain on every ring is unique, making no two wood rings identical.
Selection of the right wood is an important step towards choosing your well-crafted wooden ring. Our complete guide will help you choose the correct wood for your ring by providing introductory information about different types of woods we use for our wood rings, and the guide will also introduce you to key qualities of the wood that make it the right choice for making a wooden ring from it.
Selecting the right wood is an important first step in choosing your wood ring. Our complete guide will help you choose the best wood for your ring by introducing you to the six woods we use at My Roots for our handcrafted wooden rings. This guide provides you with basic information, key qualities and various meanings for each wood.
Ebony, Koa, Purple Heart, Zebra Wood, Padauk, and Maple are the six different types of wood that we use to carve My Roots handcrafted wooden rings. If you want to study each wood in more detail, or are curious to know their properties, care, strengths, and what each wood type symbolizes; then click on the link provided for each type of wood below for a deeper dive.
Qualities That Make a Wood Ideal for Handcrafted Rings
Wood is a versatile material, but not all woods make great wooden rings. Certain woods have properties that make them better suited for being made into a wood ring. For example, while bamboo is a very durable wood, used in many kitchen utensils given its qualities, those same qualities make it difficult to carve into a ring.
The following are the important qualities to look for when considering wood options for a wooden ring.
Durability
A piece of jewelry like a ring should be durable and long-lasting especially if worn daily. Rings get exposed to regular wear and tear, encounter various types of surfaces and atmospheric elements, and should be scratch-free and not prone to cracking.
So, you may be thinking, “well that’s easy, choose a hardwood!” However, it’s not that simple. If a hardwood that lacks flexibility, or workability, as discussed further below, it’s not a great candidate for wood rings.
Woods like Zebra Wood, Ebony, and Purple Heart offer excellent flexibility with durability and elegance.
Workability
Flexibility and the ease of manipulating the wood must also be considered when choosing the right wood for your ring. The harder the wood, the harder it is to shape for a ring. Thus, finding the balance between flexibility combined with hardness is essential.
For example, Maple wood is known for its perfect balance of hardness and flexibility that enables an artist to carve simple and complicated designs and gain smooth finishing.
Sustainability
Environmentally friendly, continual availability, and an ethical approach are all factors we consider when choosing our woods. All the woods we source for crafting wooden rings are mindfully harvested and managed in a way to minimize the impact on the environment.
For example, all of our Koa wood is sourced from fallen trees in Hawaii. This is a practice in line with both Hawaiian culture, and environmentally friendly practices.
Don’t worry, all the woods we cover below have been preselected to check the boxes for the three qualities discussed above. We’ve got you covered! The only decision you really need to make comes down to aesthetic appeal.
Aesthetic Appeal
Apart from design and durability, the aesthetic appeal of any jewelry is equally important. It includes its quality, shine, color, and finish. These qualities allow the wearer to showcase the rings with style and elegance.
Each type of wood has its own quality and appeal. For example, Koa wood carries reddish tones, Ebony wood is known for its dark shades, Padauk wood allows the wearer to flaunt eye-catching hue shades, and Zebra Wood as its name suggests holds a marvelous striped pattern. The unmatched variety ensures a range of patterns and styles that can be made available to make a statement and appearance with style and elegance!
With these qualities in mind, let’s explore the seven types of wood we use in our handcrafted wooden rings.
The 6 Best Types of Woods for Handcrafted Rings
Now that we have a baseline for the qualities that make a wood ideal for handcrafted wooden rings, we can identify which woods qualify and discuss why they are a good fit.
Are you ready to discover the six best types of wood we use to make our handcrafted wood rings? If so, keep reading!
Ebony
Ebony is one of the most admired and in-demand woods because of its dark, jet-black shade and rich and exquisite texture. Because of this highly rare quality, the finish and shine of the wooden rings are long-lasting. The perfect balance of flexibility and hardness provides exceptional durability to jewelry created from Ebony wood. The texture and dark shade make it a universal wood to be paired along with different inlays. If you are in search of a classy, bold, and beautiful look with a unique design then rings made from Ebony wood are for you.
Ready to shop for your Ebony wood ring? Check out our Ebony wood rings!
Want to learn even more about Ebony before making your decision? Check out our in-depth article on Ebony wood.
Koa
Koa wood is mostly found in the Hawaiian region. It is known for its reddish-brown shade and exquisite grain patterns. Koa wood has a unique property to reflect light and has a medium density that defines its glittering and sparkling effect. It represents strength and courage and is light in weight, durable, and provides extraordinary comfort in wearing. Generally, it is used for making wedding or engagement rings.
Ready to shop for your Koa wood ring? Check out our Koa wood rings!
Want to learn even more about Koa before making your decision? Check out our in-depth article on Koa wood.
Padauk
Padauk wood has a unique quality of changing color. It is available in a reddish-orange hue that gets converted to reddish-brown over time. It is resistant to decay and its smooth texture provides a soft surface to carve exceptional designs on it. If you are looking to make a bold statement with elegance and durability, then Padauk wood is a great choice. Like wine, jewelry made from Padauk wood gains elegance and richness over time.
Ready to shop for your Padauk wood ring? Check out our Padauk wood rings!
Want to learn even more about Padauk before making your decision? Check out our in-depth article on Padauk wood.
Purple Heart
As the name suggests, the wood is purple in color and gradually changes to dark brown because of the presence of natural compounds that contribute to its uniqueness. This uniquely and naturally colored wood is available in Central and South America. Durability and resistance to regular wear and tear make it the most popular choice among jewelry enthusiasts. Its exceptional dark and vivid color shade allows it to be paired with lighter wood or stone inlays to discover exceptionally stunning designs and patterns. Are you planning to make a bold statement with a unique color? If so, go for Purple Heart wood.
Ready to shop for your Purple Heart wood ring? Check out our Purple Heart wood rings!
Want to learn even more about Purple Heart before making your decision? Check out our in-depth article on Purple Heart wood.
Zebra Wood
The striped pattern and bold, unique look allow Zebra wood to stand out among other options. The striped pattern in Zebra wood is formed through alternate light and dark shades. It is found in the regions of West Africa and is highly durable and strong. It also has a rough texture that defines its uniqueness. Jewelry made from Zebra wood can be worn regularly as it is strong and can withstand regular wear and tear. If you are looking forward to making a lasting impression, then Zebra wood will never disappoint you!
Ready to shop for your Zebra wood ring? Check out our Zebra wood rings!
Want to learn even more about Zebra wood before making your decision? Check out our in-depth article on Zebra wood.
Maple
The minimalistic quality of maple wood makes it more popular among jewelry enthusiasts looking for light colors with simple and elegant textures providing durability and reliability. Maple wood has a unique quality of absorbing stains allowing it to enhance its base appearance and give a customized look. If you want a subtle, elegant, simple, and yet rich outlook, then maple wood is the right choice for you!
Ready to shop for your Maple wood ring? Check out our Maple wood rings!
Want to learn even more about Maple before making your decision? Check out our in-depth article on Maple wood.
Choosing the Right Wood for You
Wearing a handcrafted wooden ring can be associated with many things. Choosing the right wood for your ring comes down to what you are associating it with.
Want to connect with Mother Nature? Any wood could work, so choose the one that has the look you like most.
Want a unique wedding band for your groom? Koa is our most popular wood for this occasion given its look, meaning and durability.
Regardless of the occasion, each wood type discussed here has unique quality, appearance, usage, strengths, texture, and connectivity with the wearer. Whether you choose Ebony, Koa, Purple Heart, Padauk, Maple, or Zebra Wood, you will be able to make a bold, elegant, and customized statement that will define your style and taste.
Wooden rings are not just pieces of jewelry, they can be an extension of the person wearing them, connecting to important moments in life. Thus, while selecting the wood for your handcrafted wood ring, be sure to look for durability, elegance, visual appeal, and flexibility.
If you are interested in further exploring some or all these woods, we’ve prepared a more in-depth article on each wood, linked here (also linked to throughout this article):
These articles discuss each wood type, their origin stories and meaning, unique craftsmanship techniques, and tips on how to best care for them.
My Roots is proud to have handcrafted thousands of wood rings for our customers over the years, and we’re here to help you join the My Roots family! If you have any questions about which wood to choose for your My Roots handcrafted wood ring, please contact us and let us know how we can help. You can use the chat button in the lower right corner of the screen to get in touch now!