How
to choose Teak Furniture
Like other types of wood
which are used to manufacture furniture, teak has multiple grades and distinct
qualities.
Our
supply of teak wood is from Indonesia, one of the largest teak furniture
industry in the world besides Myanmar. In Indonesia, wood is controlled and
treated by the authorities of Forestry Department of Indonesia. Teak trees
which are planted or growing wild will under go stringent tests and
assessment to determine if they're suitable to be harvested. These high
quality wood needs to exceed the age factor before being allowed to be felled.
Trees are first dried before being felled. A chemical is injected into the tree
which will slowly see the tree dying and left to dry for at least a year before
being felled and used for furniture. The teak wood which are controlled by
Forestry Department considered high quality and categorised to Grade A or Grade
B of teakwood.
There
are trees which are planted or wild growing tree and its growth and development
is NOT controlled by the Forestry department. The tree normally owned by locals
and felled of when they think it is suitable and old enough for furniture. No
specific treatment made and no standard procedure before being felled. These
types of wood normally categorised to Grade B to Grade C of teakwood.
For
easy reference, teak is classified according to their classes 1 to 3. For
example, Graded B is classified as Grade B1, B2 and B3 and Grade A
classified as A1, A2 & A3. There are wood categorised as Grade C. These are
however of low quality and seldom sold in Jawhari Jati Furniture range of
products. The easiest way to analyse the teak is before it is painted or
varnished. Skill and knowledge is required to analyse the rich vein of the
wood. Majority of dealers and distributors of teak furniture in Malaysia sell
Grade B wood. Grade A is deemed as very expensive and is rare. There are
instances of merchants mixing Grade B and low quality Grade C materials. At
Jawhari Jati Furniture, we sell furniture which is of the A3 and B1 to B3
range. We do indent orders for customers whom request A1 and A2 quality
As a simple guide, we
have listed some valuable tips on how to choose furniture made from teak wood.
We want the best for you and hope that you will be satisfied with the quality
of the purchased goods
Tips and guideline of choosing teakwood
furniture:-
- Inspect the surface and
crevices of the carvings of the furniture.
Quality furniture will have a smooth surface including the crevices and in between the carved wood. Generally the base of the bottom part of the item isn't smoothened out and is left rough. You will notice in low quality teak wood that the crevices of the carvings and gaps are not easily smoothened. - Observe the design of
the wood vein.
Good quality wood vein is straight and fine. You will be able to see its refined quality. The finer and straighter the vein the better it is. Striped and a rich surface means it’s genuinely of a good quality. Low quality woods are striped but have pale portion and dark portions on the wood. Rule of thumb, pale looking wood is soft wood from the outer part of the tree closest to the bark. Pale coloured wood is an indicator of young wood and will not last long - Observe the colour
Normally it is difficult to determine the quality of wood just by looking at the wood colour. As a general rule of thumb, brown wood is better that wood which is young ie pale coloured. However with the advent of wood colouring techniques, it has become difficult to determine quality with ready made furniture. The best way would be to see it before it is coloured or varnished. Don’t be swayed or cheated with the sales person stating that dark coloured furniture is actually one which is off better quality. In simple words best observed before the colouration or varnish process. - Observe the wood knot
From the vein of the wood, observe the parts where there are knot (part looks like an eye). A knot is a particular type of imperfection in a piece of timber which reduce its strength. A knot is actually a portion of side branch included in the wood of the stem or larger branch . You can see it as small round swivels. In some big knot, it may have holes. The carpenter or craftsman however will have many techniques of closing up these holes. Which is why inspect carefully the part where these eyes exist so that they do not crack in time to come. It is best to choose furniture without these knots. - Observe the quality of
the finished product
Quality wood produces furniture which is beautiful and neat. The technique in which the joints of the wood should be thorough and strong which is why there will be some flaws to a minimum as these are all hand made creations. Hence choose furniture with fewer defects. There are 100% perfect furniture but these are very expensive and of the Grade A quality teak. - Choose dry wood
An important factor in the choice of teak furniture is actually the percentage of water content within the wood (ML=Moisture level). Wood has a natural trait of shrinking as it dries up. Most woods will break, crack, or warp in its drying and shrinking phase. Ensure that you buy furniture which has already been treated and gone thru the necessary drying phase. Apart from the natural method, an alternative new technology has become available via giant oven. Wood will be baked in the oven for 3 days ensuring its dries. This will ensure its quality remains. - Choose furniture which
is guaranteed to last
Guarantee will give you peace of mind as this is a lifetime investment. It has to be noted that teak is still susceptible to damage although it be of the highest quality wood. It is a natural trait of wood and it may break, snap or crack. Ensure that your dealer or distributor guarantees the goods they sell you are the right ones.
Generally furniture made out of teak is strong and has a sturdy structure. However
due to the various changes in design, there are certain range of furniture which would
have to be inspected closely before purchase namely dining chairs for instance.
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