About four years ago I took a tip to the Chatham islands off the coast of NZ. Whilst over there I found an old Akeake tree which had died standing so me and a few other guys grabbed some chainsaws and divided it into pieces which we shared between ourselves. Four years later I cut out a few scale sized pieces to reveal some of the most incredible colours I have ever seen in a piece of natural timber; vibrant greens and turquoise with streaks of black and band of yellow and burnt umber, the picture does it no justice.
Akeake translates to "forever and ever" in Maori as it's an extremely hard, close grained and dense timber that was prized for its durability as tools made from the wood seemed to last "ake ake".
Akeake translates to "forever and ever" in Maori as it's an extremely hard, close grained and dense timber that was prized for its durability as tools made from the wood seemed to last "ake ake".