Among the most valued resources available to the 17th Century English Empire was the Eastern White Pine of Northern New England – The King’s Pine. These massive pines, which grew in abundance in modern-day Maine and New Hampshire, were considered the finest mast and shipbuilding timber available anywhere. For nearly a century King George I, and his heirs, laid claim to pines on the coastal lands of American colonists by branding them with the King’s Broad Arrow. From 1691 to 1781 the immense Eastern White Pines were ax branded by surveyors of King George.
The King’s Pine survives today in historic buildings in coastal, central, and western Maine. As this heirloom pine becomes available in historic architectural rescues, we purchase any available timbers. Ring dating of this legendary timber reveals that our stock lived during the King’s Pine era of Colonial New England. Camden Harbor Custom Guitars considers this naturally-aged wood to possess similar, if not superior, characteristics to the tonewoods found in the vintage guitars of the 1950s. It’s why we build our luthier handcrafted Tele-style electric guitars with King’s Pine.