African Mahogany Substitutes
With supply and price issues, Honduras mahogany's rule is shaky. African upstarts are making names as genuine mahogany substitutes
African Mahogany
Khaya ivorensis
The species most-often marketed under the African mahogany moniker has snagged much of the genuine-mahogany replacement market. While its coloring appears similar to genuine mahogany, its working characteristics differ distinctly. Khaya's tendency toward interlocked grain manifests itself prominently.
Pros:
✅ Similar in appearance to genuine mahoganies
✅ Low cost and wide availability
❌ Fuzzy, stringy grain
❌ Larger pores don't carve or finish as well
❌ Interlocking makes grain difficult to read
Cons:
Sapele
Entandrophragma cylindricum
Sapele uses its family tendency toward interlocked grain to display a characteristic ribbon-striped pattern. Often found in the same African mahogany bin as its cousins, Sapele's dark red tone and dramatic appearance set it apart. Use Sapele to draw attention to the grain in projects.
Pros:
✅ Ribbon-striped grain patterns are common
✅Lustrous, three-dimensional appearance
❌ Prone to tear-out
❌ Difficult to match to genuine mahoganies
Cons:
Sipo
Entandrophragma utile
Sipo, often sold as utile, has a more subdued grain pattern than its African counterparts. Because of this, it tends to share the easier workability of its American cousins. Sipo's darker tone makes it a closer match for age-darkened genuine mahogany furniture pieces.
Pros:
✅ Easy to carve and shape with tools
✅ Instant aged mahogany look
✅ Low cost
❌ Less availability than other African varieties
Cons:
Honduran Mahogany
Following closely in Cuban Mahogany's footsteps, Honduran Mahogany is from the same genus (Swietenia), and it's closely related in nearly all characteristics, and nowadays a fair amount of this wood is grown on plantations. It's sold under a variety of common names, including American Mahogany, Genuine Mahogany, Big-Leaf Mahogany, and Brazilian Mahogany.
Despite the abundance of common names, they usually all refer to just one species—when in doubt, verify the scientific name: Swietenia macrophylla. It's every bit a true mahogany as the original Cuban species that became commercially exhausted in the mid-20th century.
Pros:
✅ Extremely stable
✅ Rot-resistant
✅ Easy to carve and shape with hand tools or power tools
Cons:
❌ Sporadic availability
Cuban King
Those classic cabinetmakers preferred Cuban mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni) for good reason: It proved superior in nearly all areas that matter to woodworkers. Boatbuilders loved the wide, rot-resistant and dimensionally stable planks. Furniture makers appreciated the tight grain that readily accepted any finish. And the world's consumers loved the rich color.
But its popularity proved to be its demise because by the mid-1800s, it had been harvested to commercial extinction. For all intents and purposes, the king is dead.
✅ Extremely stable
✅ Rot-resistant
✅ Easy to carve and shape with hand tools or power tools
✅ Stains and finishes easily and beautifully
Pros:
❌ Scarce and expensive
Cons:
wood of kings
The royal heritage of mahogany - from Cuban dominion to Honduran succes
Mahogany has been synonymous with luxury since English furnituremakers Chippendale, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton made it their wood of choice in the late 1700s. Its easy workability made it ideal for the hand tools of the day, and perfect for the ornate carvings adorning their high-end furniture. And its rich, pink-tinged tan color that darkened to a deep, lustrous red secured its dominion as the "Wood of Kings."
The Royal Legacy
Pretenders to the Crown
Woods that bear the mahogany name but lack the royal characteristics
Philippine Mahogany
(Lauan) - Shorea genus
Actually several species of the Shorea genus—is sometimes marketed under the name lauan. The designation is allowed by the Federal Trade Commission due to long-standing usage of the term. The Asian hardwood has found its way into low-cost plywood veneer, door skins, and house trim. But its nickname doesn't mask its lack of stability and rot resistance, nor its coarser texture.
Santos Mahogany
Myroxylon balsamum
Have the hardwood flooring industry to thank for their artful appellations. Though prized in that capacity for their hardness, they bear only passing color similarities to the genuine stuff, and closer comparison easily gives them away as impostors.