White Oak vs Mahogany vs Teak

[Ross]

If there was any species of wood that didn't rot the world would be covered with it like the ice caps during the last ice age. Water, fungus, bacteria and lichen will tear down anything including mountains.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

You don't have to varnish stainless steel at all, but when it comes to wood, teak is best for exterior use, but it is expensive and getting rare. Mahogany is much cheaper, but is susceptible to rot. Phillipine and Honduras are the two types of mahogany used for boat building, but it is not nearly as noble as teak. Oak is very dense and strong and is so strong that you can tap threads into it which will hold very well, but also is very susceptible to warping and not very good for marine exterior applications. It can be used (and has been used) for motor bearers in sailboats and Islander used it for counter tops in their interiors and oak has been used for framing in wooden vessels, but it really needs to be protected against moisture, the elements, etc. or it can distort badly. That's my understanding of it all.

 

[Old Skool Neil]

The real advantage to using teak in the marine environment is it's oil content, also why it's so hard to glue. On the flip side of the same coin, the woods that are low in oil content perform poorly over time. Turns out teak can be beautiful but it can also be unsightly. I've seen poor [appearance] quality teak in a variety of colors - orange, green, white and everything in between. Decades of overharvesting has led to limited supply and with the high demand we enjoy the steep price.

Mahogany isn't as oily as teak but more so than other woods. If appearance matters, Honduras mahogany is the way to go. Philippine mahogany is pallet stock.

Regarding the comment about Islander using oak for their countertops, it was beautiful when new but deteriorated rapidly under use, splitting, checking and discoloring. As a side note, those oak counters were factory varnished too, another poor choice. Varnish is way too soft for a countertop finish.