PatB
Well I’ve used guava twice before and it gave me a 40 pound bow from a stave that was only 1.5 inches wide. So yeah, I could see it being similar to osage
Springbuck
I think I worded that wrong, it’s the hickory situation where both tension and compression are goog but the back overpowers the belly. That’s strange though, I thought Manny was an advocate for the deep rounded design for guava, I remember him saying that a flat design is a waste, unless he meant aesthetic wise. Guava grows a bit snaky even in shade, I have however, never seen one with twist. The average size is 4-5 inches per sapling and it does take coppicing well. But then again, my neighbor has a monster 8 incher
Edit:
The color change is on the wood itself not the bark, needs to be fresh still however, about 2 days at most after harvest
Also, If you harvest a stave when the sap is running, The back turns a deep purple that eventually turns into a brownish purple. There are also really tiny thorn under the bark. My favorite thing to do with this is to let the back change color and season an then sand it a little bit, the thorns are removed (the wood can take it), and you end up with a starry night pattern
