This week we are highlighting the burl form of one of the most authentically American woods, Redwood Burl. The Redwood or Sequoia sempervirens is native to a 450 mile long stretch along the Pacific coast stretching from southern Oregon to central California. This region has heavy summer rains but dry summers; however, the branches of the redwood help to capture moisture from the dense summer fogs.  This allows them to flourish even in the driest time of year.  The trees are amazing in size.  They are the tallest trees in the world and can reach over 2,000 feet tall with a width of 26 feet across at the base.   The burl of the Redwood is a beautiful wood.  The color is a dark reddish brown and the higher grades of the burl have a high concentration of “eyes” which refers to the eye shaped swirls of the grain.  The wood is not very dense and for our pens we go through a process of stabilization which injects a resin into the grain of the wood hardening the wood throughout.  This is one of our most popular woods at Higdon Writing Instruments  and it is no wonder it is prized by artists and woodworkers. Please follow along for future postings of information and rare and unusual woods.  If you have any questions please visit us here.