The importance of wood for the quality and durability of a fan
The wood from which the frame of a fan is made is the most important material that determines the quality of the fan, next to the fabric. In addition to the beauty of the wood, durability is also an important aspect for Ottimare. When making fans, a wood with a good structure is needed. Not all types of wood are suitable. The softest types of wood are not durable in use and more brittle types or wood with coarse structures do not lend themselves to the production of the fine slats. When selecting wood species, we look for quality that will last for centuries. So that they can stand the test of time, just like the fans of the past.
Which types of wood are used for Ottimare's AEA hand fans?
Two types of wood are used for the frames of the Ottimare fans, which all have the AEA quality mark. Kotibé and Birch
Kotibé / Danta wood
Kotibé wood (Danta in English, and depending on the origin also called Arborbora, Kondofindo, Kissingungo, Naouya, Otutu, Ovoe, Ovoui) is not too hard, but has a strong and fine grain structure, making this type of wood suitable for various applications. In addition to fans, Kotibé is also often used for musical instruments, high-quality carpentry, and furniture, for indoors and outdoors, because the wood can withstand weather influences well. Kotibé has a beautiful warm reddish-brown color and is mostly from West Africa. Not too far from Spain.
Birch wood
This is a slightly softer type of wood (and slightly less expensive) with a nice light natural-like color that is often used for making fan frames. It is the ideal base wood for fan frames that still need to undergo a treatment with paint or a varnish. That is why birch wood is used for, for example, the hand-varnished black wooden AEA frames from Ottimare
Other types of wood for Spanish fans:
Some other types of wood that you can encounter with Spanish AEA fan (not exhaustive):
Peral (pear wood) a beautiful type of wood that is currently very scarce in Spain and is therefore hardly ever used for the new collections of fans.
Mongoy (Ovangkolis) is a type of wood from mainly West Africa that resembles walnut, walnut and teak. It's appearance is slightly less warm than Kotibé. This wood is sometimes incorrectly called rosewood.
Other types of wood for fans
Rosewood is an expensive hard tropical wood (not sustainable) with a yellow or reddish color that is difficult to work with, partly due to the amount of grain. Bamboo is a type of wood that is often used in Asia.
