Lignum Vitae is the hardest wood in the world. This rare wood is difficult to obtain due to it being endangered. Any lignum vitae that can be purchased now comes from Argentina.

Bloodwood is a very dense South American wood that can be difficult to work with, but the deep red colour is worth it.

Olive wood is a very dense South American wood that easily achieves a wonderfully smooth texture. Even after finishing with oil, this wood retains an olive smell.

Purpleheart. Yes, that colour is the natural colour of the wood! From Central and South America, this hardwood is a great accent piece, though the colour may fade over time.

Mahogany is actually the name of a large family of woods (pictured is Santos mahogany out of Central and South America). This is a great wood to work with  and often has a great figured character that is really accented by the oil finish.

Padauk is another wood that has a rich colour, varying between orange and red. This wood comes from Central and West Africa and is sometimes called Kingwood. It is a wonderful wood to work with, though the colour may fade over time.

Wenge, a central African hardwood, is one of my favourite woods to work with. It can be splintery, but does achieve a good finish. It also has a unique property that is particularly fun (next photo).

Bleached Wenge. No, that is not a type of the wood, it is just soaked in bleach before finishing. When bleach is applied, the grain pattern of Wenge showcases a white striping that is lost when bleach isn't used. (See wenge dice tray above.)

Zebrawood is a West African hardwood that can be somewhat difficult to work with, but showcases an amazing grain pattern.

Canarywood, a South American hardwood, is one of my favourites to work with due to its perpendicular stripes and wide variety of colour shades.

Maple, a hardwood found in Northeastern North America, is a very versatile wood that is easy to work with. It comes in several varieties, but is prized for figuring patterns called birdseye (pictured here) and quilted.

Sapele, a tropical African hardwood, is in the same family of woods as mahogany and is also great to work with. Sapele is a great wood for outdoor projects and also shows a beautiful grain pattern once oiled.

Ash, found in Eastern North America, is the type of wood baseball bats are typically made from. This picture shows ash that has been roasted to achieve that dark colour, but the roasting process does make it more brittle and difficult to work with.

Beech is a great wood to work with as it can be shaped easily, and is frequently used to make tool handles. This particular picture shows spalted beech. Spalting is a natural process of allowing fungus to create interesting random patterns in the wood (black lines in this photo).

Ebiara comes from West Africa and combines the colour of Padauk and the patterning of Zebrawood. It is somewhat difficult to work with, but very eye-catching when finished.

Red Oak can be found along the Eastern side of North America. This is a great furniture wood that isn't difficult to find or work with.

Teak is found in Southern Asia and is very resistant to rot; this is why many ships would be made from teak, such as the notorious pirate William Kidd's Adventure Galley. It is an easy wood to work with and has beautiful colour.

Walnut (American Black Walnut in this photo) is my favourite wood to work with. It has a deep brown texture and smells fantastic. It is easy to work with and reasonably priced.

Peruvian Walnut is another variety of walnut that is also great to work with; this variety of walnut has a slightly darker colour that is great for accenting pieces.

Cherry is usually known for its deep red colour; however, that is not what real cherry tends to show, although the colour will darken and redden over time.

Lacewood, a hardwood from tropical South America, has amazing patterning in the grain and a deep red-brown colour. It can be difficult to work with but achieves a stunning look after finishing.

Limba (sometimes called White Limba or Black Limba) is a Champaign coloured hardwood from Western Africa. It is easy to work with and frequently has deep black accents in its grain structure.

Cedar (in this photo, Western Red Cedar) is actually a softwood. Cedar can be difficult to work with because it is splintery, but has an amazing aroma. It is often used for cooking (I love cedar-wrapped salmon on the BBQ).

Balsa. Believe it or not, the least-dense wood in the world is actually a hardwood. This wood feels like Styrofoam and is often used for model airplanes.