Sapelle is a warm brown wood from West and East Africa. The grain is interlocked or wavy and the texture fairly fine. Sapelle's strength is medium and it is springy. It's stability is medium. The lovely effect that you can't see in the photo, is that there are lighter and darker patches that reverse when viewed from a different angle. The effect is like curly maple, only the areas are larger. This is a 2 inch shuttle, so the shell looks thicker than it is. Sapelle is one of my favorites. See Wood Terms for an explanation of terms.