Product range

What we grade, load and ship.

Two lines with completely different economics: appearance-grade logs sold on figure and grade, and industrial fibre sold on tonnage and cleanliness. Every specification below is the starting point for a quote, not a fixed catalogue — tell us what your mill actually needs.

Specification summary

What Silvestryn supplies, with the numbers

A veneer-grade log is a log straight, sound and clean enough to give a slicer or peeler a long, uninterrupted face. Silvestryn supplies three species to that standard: American white oak from 16" small-end diameter (40 cm +), and northern red oak and American black walnut from 14" (35 cm +). Oak ships in 8–16 foot lengths, walnut in 8–12 foot, with sweep held to a maximum of 1" per 8 feet, ends sealed and every piece individually tallied.

The second line is industrial fibre, sold on tonnage rather than appearance. MDF-grade hardwood chips target an 8–45 mm accept fraction at 90 % or better, with fines below 3 %, oversize below 3 % and bark content below 1 %. Hardwood pulpwood ships as roundwood bolts, 8 feet standard, 4" minimum top diameter and 22" maximum butt. Volume is quoted in Doyle, Scribner, International 1/4" or metric cubic metres — whichever rule the contract names.

Line 01 — Appearance grade

Veneer-grade hardwood logs

Selected for slicing and peeling: straight, sound, minimum sweep, free of metal, ends sealed against checking. Graded and tallied piece by piece before anything moves toward a port.

American white oak veneer log, sawn end showing tight growth rings and pale creamy heartwood, graded and marked in the yard

Appalachian and Northern hardwood belt

Quercus alba

American White Oak

The species European buyers ask for by name. Closed cellular structure and pronounced medullary rays give quartered white oak its ray fleck — and make it the only US oak accepted for tight cooperage.

Export specification

American White Oak export specification
Small-end diameter	16" and up (40 cm +)
Length	8'–16' (2.4–4.9 m)
Grade	Veneer / Prime — AAA, AA, A
Sweep	Max 1" per 8' of length
Measurement	Doyle, Scribner or metric m³
Presentation	Ends sealed, bark on or debarked

Typical end use

Sliced and rotary veneer
Tight cooperage — wine and whiskey
Architectural joinery and panel faces
Engineered flooring wear layers

Quote White Oak

Northern tier — Pennsylvania through the Great Lakes

Quercus rubra

Northern Red Oak

Faster-grown and more open-pored than white oak, with a warm pink cast that takes stain evenly. The volume workhorse of the American hardwood export trade.

Export specification

Northern Red Oak export specification
Small-end diameter	14" and up (35 cm +)
Length	8'–16' (2.4–4.9 m)
Grade	Veneer / Prime and No.1 sawlog
Sweep	Max 1" per 8' of length
Measurement	Doyle, Scribner or metric m³
Presentation	Ends sealed, bark on or debarked

Typical end use

Sliced veneer and plywood faces
Furniture and cabinet components
Solid and engineered flooring
Interior mouldings and millwork

Quote Red Oak

American black walnut log end showing rich chocolate-brown heartwood and concentric growth rings

Central states — Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Kansas

Juglans nigra

American Black Walnut

The most valuable hardwood grown in North America, and the one buyers inspect log by log. Colour, figure and butt-log character drive the price far more than volume does.

Export specification

American Black Walnut export specification
Small-end diameter	14" and up (35 cm +)
Length	8'–12' (2.4–3.7 m)
Grade	Veneer / Prime — selected log by log
Figure	Crotch, stump and curl offered when available
Measurement	Per log, or metric m³
Presentation	Ends sealed, individually tallied

Typical end use

High-end sliced veneer
Gunstock and instrument blanks
Executive furniture and interiors
Architectural feature panels

Quote Walnut

A note on measurement

American log rules — Doyle, Scribner and International 1/4" — produce materially different volumes from the same log, and Doyle in particular under-measures small diameters. Most of our overseas buyers contract in cubic metres. We are happy to quote in any of them, but the rule must be named in the contract: a price per thousand board feet means nothing until you know which rule produced the thousand.

Line 02 — Industrial fibre

Pulpwood and MDF-grade wood chips

Panel and pulp mills do not buy appearance — they buy consistency. Screening discipline, bark content and moisture are what decide whether a cargo runs clean through the digester or gets discounted on arrival.

Illustration of screened hardwood chips packed within a consistent size band

MDF-Grade Hardwood Chips

Clean, screened hardwood chips produced to panel-mill intake specification. Fines and oversize are screened out before loading, and bark content is held down at source — the two variables that decide whether a cargo runs or gets rejected at the digester.

Specification

MDF-Grade Hardwood Chips specification
Species	Mixed US hardwood; single-species on request
Accept fraction	8–45 mm, target 90 % +
Fines (< 3 mm)	Below 3 %
Oversize (> 45 mm)	Below 3 %
Bark content	Below 1 %
Moisture	Green 45–50 %, or dried to spec
Contaminants	Free of metal, stone, plastic and soil
Shipment	Bulk vessel or containerised

Who buys it

MDF and HDF panel producers
Particleboard mills
Pulp and fluff pulp mills
Biomass and pellet producers

Quote Wood Chips

Hardwood Pulpwood

Roundwood below veneer and sawlog grade, sold on weight rather than appearance. The economics live in freight and consistency, so we build pulpwood programmes around a fixed loading port and a repeating monthly tonnage.

Specification

Hardwood Pulpwood specification
Form	Roundwood bolts, cut to buyer length
Length	8' standard (2.4 m); other lengths to order
Top diameter	4" minimum (10 cm)
Butt diameter	22" maximum (56 cm)
Condition	Sound, straight, free of char and metal
Measurement	Green short ton, metric tonne or cord
Shipment	Bulk vessel; containers for trial lots

Who buys it

Kraft and mechanical pulp mills
MDF and particleboard producers
Biomass energy plants

Quote Pulpwood

Line 03 — Value added

These same logs are also sold as sliced veneer.

White oak, red oak and walnut logs off this page are shipped to our own slicing operation in Türkiye and cut to face-veneer specification in quarter, crown and rift. If you need the face rather than the log, the specification is on its own page.

Sliced veneer

Specification questions

What buyers ask about grade, size and measurement.

What is a veneer-grade log?

A veneer-grade log is a log straight, sound and clean enough to give a slicer or peeler a long, uninterrupted face. It must hold minimum sweep, carry no heart rot, shake or ring failure, and present clear faces free of unsound knots. That is a much narrower window than a good-looking sawlog.

What is the difference between American white oak and red oak?

White oak (Quercus alba) has a closed cellular structure and pronounced medullary rays, which give quartered stock its ray fleck and make it the only US oak accepted for tight cooperage. Red oak (Quercus rubra) is faster-grown and open-pored, with a warm pink cast that takes stain evenly.

What diameter and length do hardwood veneer logs need for export?

White oak veneer logs run 16" small-end diameter and up (40 cm +); red oak and black walnut run 14" and up (35 cm +). Standard lengths are 8–16 feet for oak and 8–12 feet for walnut, with sweep held to a maximum of 1" per 8 feet of length.

What specification do MDF-grade wood chips have to meet?

Our MDF-grade hardwood chips target a 8–45 mm accept fraction at 90 % or better, fines under 3 mm below 3 %, oversize above 45 mm below 3 %, and bark content below 1 %. Moisture ships green at 45–50 % or dried to specification, free of metal, stone, plastic and soil.

What is the difference between pulpwood and sawlogs?

Pulpwood is roundwood below veneer and sawlog grade, sold on weight rather than appearance, and bought for fibre by pulp, MDF, particleboard and biomass mills. Sawlogs are sold on grade and dimension for conversion into lumber. We never mix sawlogs into a veneer parcel to inflate volume.

How is log volume measured — board feet or cubic metres?

We quote in Doyle, Scribner, International 1/4-inch or metric cubic metres, but the rule must be named in the contract. The three American log rules produce materially different volumes from the same log, and Doyle in particular under-measures small diameters. Most overseas buyers contract in cubic metres.

Not listed?

If you need a species or a grade that is not on this page, ask.

Ash, hard maple, cherry, hickory, poplar and softwood chip programmes come up regularly. The range above reflects what we ship most, not the limit of what we can source.

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