A Look at Sitka Spruce’s Importance to Alaska

If everyone reading this could come to Alaska and see Sitka Spruce trees in person, they’d marvel at their majesty. Indeed, life in Alaska is a treat for the senses– just one look around the forest here and you’ll stand in awe, impressed at nature’s beauty.

Alaska Specialty Woods is proud to call Alaska home. Our specialty is Sitka Spruce. We’re able to utilize it because it comes from where we live and work, and we love it because it makes for such great guitar tonewood.

As you know, Alaska is a huge state. There are several different ecosystems including grasslands, tundra, and forests. Where we are in the southern part of the state, we’ve fortunate to be surrounded by Alaska’s state tree, the Sitka Spruce. It’s the largest of all spruce and known for producing high-grade lumber.

Do you remember hearing the name “The Spruce Goose?” It was an early airplane made, in part, by wood from the Sitka Spruce. Of course Alaska Specialty Woods is known for utilizing Sitka Spruce to help craft the best sounding musical instruments with an emphasis on guitars. There are other uses for its wood, too. Sitka Spruce is the primary timber tree in Alaska.

If you were to visit the old growth forests of southeast Alaska, you’re likely to find Sitka Spruce with trunk diameters measuring 8 feet wide. These trees have been living there for 500 to 700 years. Sitka Spruce tends to cluster near the northwest coast of North America. Growth is aided by humid conditions of moist maritime air and summertime fog.

Sitka Spruce have been helpful to humans for centuries. Aboriginal people have used its roots to create hats, baskets, ropes and fishing lines. Spruce beer can be crafted using essential oils from the tree’s leaves and branches. Meanwhile, the sap from Sitka Spruce played a role in the development of modern day chewing gum.

What an honor and privilege it is to work with Sitka Spruce trees to create outstanding guitar tonewood. If you have any questions, email [email protected].