Mahogany is one of the best gifts from the nature as far as wood is concerned. It is one of the most popular, durable and costliest woods and has been enormously used in the ancient days. Although mahogany was comparatively cheaper in the ancient days, it was never categorized under the variety of cheap timber. Mahogany is generally of two types- African and American and was hence imported by the Europeans and Englishmen to manufacture mahogany furniture. Mahogany is still used today to manufacture furniture but the extremely high price range of this wood often restrict common people from laying their hands on it. However, if you are planning to invest in furniture made of mahogany, make sure that you acquaint yourself with all the features of mahogany to identify real mahogany and avoid duplicates.
Color
Color is often one of the first criteria to identify mahogany. While completely finished and polished mahogany furniture will have a distinct reddish or cherry color, mahogany in the unfinished or unpolished state has a yellowish tinge. Other than that, it can also feature a light pink or golden yellowish color, depending on the type of mahogany used. However, in the polished state, it often becomes very difficult to identify mahogany as furniture makers tend to use different ways to apply this finishing to even plywood furniture pieces.
Grain
Unlike teak, mahogany doesn't have so many knots and ridges. Mahogany is a fine grained wood and depending upon its variety- African or American, mahogany wood features fine concentric growth rings. While these rings are visible in American mahogany, these are completely absent from African mahogany. Hence, genuine mahogany furniture will not feature heavy concentric lines and knots like teak wood furniture. Other than that, the grain visible in mahogany is also very fine. It mostly appears like fine yet distinct pencil lines and black or white dots depending on the way the wood is sliced. You will also find white or black deposits in the grains of furniture made of genuine mahogany wood.
Check for veneer
Mahogany being a highly priced wood, furniture manufacturers often use veneer to impart the look of genuine mahogany on normal wood. In order to avoid such duplicities, take a closer look at the sides of the furniture. If you see a thin line over the surface of the furniture, it is definitely not mahogany. Mahogany wood never has a soft veneer like thing over their surface.
Iridescence
Last but not the least, furniture piece made out of pure mahogany will have a natural iridescence, a kind of glow which will let you identify whether it is made of genuine mahogany or not. Mahogany when viewed from an angle will change colors, which will suggest that it is true mahogany.
The author is an expert of antique furniture and therefore regularly writes articles and blogs on the same. For moe information visit here http://www.indodeco.com/
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