A little wood science

Olive wood

 The olive tree (bot. "Olea europaea") is a medium-sized tree that often becomes gnarled with age. It grows as a richly branched, evergreen tree or shrub and reaches heights of 10 to 20 metres (depending on the variety). The olive tree takes a long time to grow, but can live for several hundred years. Olive trees are only released for the timber trade after they have stopped bearing fruit. The wood of the olive tree is very hard, extremely durable and virtually distortion-free. It is therefore perfect for making chopping boards. The special grain also makes olive wood chopping boards an eye-catcher. 

● Origin Mediterranean region e.g. Greece, Italy, Spain

● Extremely hard

● Particularly lively grain

Beech wood

 The European beech (bot. "Fagus sylvatics") is a widespread native deciduous tree in Europe. Its range extends from southern Scandinavia to Sicily. A growth height of up to 30 metres and a trunk diameter of over one metre are not uncommon. After 80 to 120 years, they are processed in the timber industry. The wood is very hard and is therefore ideal for processing into kitchen utensils such as chopping boards and wooden spoons. The core is light in colour, has little grain and an even surface. The red-brown sapwood is wildly patterned. Almost all KESPER beech wood products are made from FSC®-certified wood.

 ● Origin Europe e.g. Germany, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria

● High cut resistance

● Uniform grain

Bamboo

 The bamboo stalk (bot. "Phyllostachys heterocycla var. pubescens") is one of the best renewable resources due to its speed of growth! There are more than 1,000 different species of bamboo worldwide. Bamboo is of ecological, economic and cultural importance, especially in Asia. We mostly use the botanically named "Bambusa vulgaris". This giant grass is lignified and can therefore be used as a source of material for our chopping boards, kitchen utensils and furniture. In terms of hardness and resistance, bamboo is on a par with many hardwoods. Many KESPER bamboo products are already made from FSC®-certified material. 

● Origin Asia e.g. China, Vietnam

● Particularly resistant

● warm, friendly colour tone

Pine wood

 Pine (bot. Pinus sylvestris) is a coniferous tree and is the second most common forest tree species in Germany and parts of Central Europe after spruce. However, the various pine species are found all over the world. Pines grow largely straight in the forest stand with a fully woody and cylindrical trunk. As a species that is quite undemanding to the environment, the pine is very fast-growing. Furniture construction is one of the main uses for pine wood. Pine is easy to work with as it is very elastic and does not break easily. All KESPER pine wood products are made from FSC®-certified wood. 

● Origin Europe e.g. Poland, Germany

● Strong wood grain

Acacia wood

 Many different types of acacia grow around the world. We only process acacia wood from South East Asia, such as Thailand and Vietnam. The colour of the wood ranges from dark brown to white. Acacia wood (bot. "Acacia hybrid (mangium x auriculif") is particularly resistant to moisture and virtually warp-free. For this reason, acacia wood is particularly suitable for cutting boards in commercial use with high stress. Most KESPER acacia wood products are made from FSC®-certified wood. 

● Origin Asia, e.g. Vietnam, Thailand, China

● Extremely resistant to moisture

● Particularly cut-resistant

Birch wood

 The birch (bot. "Betula pendula") is a very fast and tall-growing tree. It can reach 7 metres in the first six years. When fully grown, birches can reach a height of up to 30 metres. The brown-white bark is particularly characteristic of the birch tree. The tree is widespread in northern and central Europe - as well as in Russia and northern China. The light-coloured, slightly grained wood has long fibres and is particularly suitable for making toothpicks, but also for chopping boards and other kitchen products. Most KESPER birch wood products are made from FSC®-certified wood. 

● Origin Asia & Europe

● Hardwearing