Stiffness and flexibility are inherently related to each other.
Stiffness in more technical terms is called Modulus of Elasticity, which essentially determines the solid feel of your lax shaft.
Lower stiffness creates higher flexibility, and vice versa.
A high stiffness creates more powerful checks while high flexibility creates more impact absorption to keep the ball in your stick when checked and is correlated with added whip on shots and long passes.
Tigerwood is the wood for any player who wants a balance of whip and stiffness in a lightweight stick.
It's strongest suit is definitely its weight.
It is less durable than heavy hitters like Granadillo, Mayan Cherry and Ziricote, but it is still much more durable than Hickory, Ash, and many metal shafts on the market.
Tigerwood makes for a great alternative to ash or hickory with its lighter weight, stronger composition, and great exotic grain.
All in all, Tigerwood's flex/whip properties create a mid-range flex shaft with a light, sturdy feel that is perfect for lacrosse players looking to have added flex/whip in their shaft while maintaining a weight range comparable to a metal shaft.
Overall, Tomahawk lax shafts are significantly stronger than most other woods, so each wood's exceptional flexibility and checking strength are what creates slightly different "feels" when you wind up for a stick check, take a fast shot, and throw a long pass.
Below are the same woods in terms of stiffness/flexibility.
For information on flexibility, see the Compare Shafts page or the Flex Testing page for more details.
Modulus of Elasticity (psi) --- Flexibility vs. Stiffness
Every stick I supply is made with wood superior to most/all other wood sticks in the marketplace in regards to hardness, durability, and whip, which are key to success on the playing field.
Because of this, part of the decision process in choosing one of my sticks over the others may have to do more with its appearance than slight differences in functionality.
Let's face it, every player on the field wants to let out his inner lax bro a bit. What's cooler and more intimidating than walking on the field with the exotic grain structure of a Belizean hardwood shaft?
Tigerwood is reported to be one of the most beautiful tropical hardwoods.
It has superb stiffness, strength, hardness, and durability.
It's combination of superb strength and beauty is why it is most commonly used for either construction or fine furniture.
The tradename “Jobillo” is sometimes used to refer to higher grades of Tigerwood among woodworkers, which is found along the border of Belize and Guatemala and is the grade I use for my lax shafts.
The color is initially a mix of reddish-brown, orange-brown, or golden brown beige to red, with irregularly spaced dark brown streaks and spots throughout.
The wood becomes brown, red, dark reddish brown with nearly black stripes with age, so your lax shaft will age like a fine wine.
The grain can be straight, but is usually wavy or interlocked.
The wood has a uniform texture with great natural luster (as does Granadillo and Poisonwood), so it will shine on the field on a sunny day.
The durability of this species is very high, far superior to those of Mahogany.
It is also very hard - harder than hard maple or teak.
It is quite resistant to denting. It's exceptional relationship between flexibility/durability is why the wood is often used to make archery bows, although Ziricote excels even more in that category.
The most important aspect of the shaft is the type of wood it's made with.
Tigerwood is an extremely hard wood from Belize; in fact, it's one of the hardest out there.
Tigerwood has a Janka hardness of 2170 lbf, which to most people doesn't mean much.
The Janka scale measures the wood's resistance to indentation and overall "hardness".
This isn’t a measure of durability in terms of snapped shafts, it’s a resistance to dents, but there is correlation.
In comparison, here are other woods you may have heard of:
Janka Hardness (lbs) --- Dent Resistance
All Tomahawk Lacrosse woods are harder than the competing wood shaft options, which is important in the game when you want to lay a hard check into your opponents and maintain a dent-free shaft.
Wood varies a lot in weight from tree to tree, so no shaft is the exact same in weight.
In fact, each shaft is unique in several ways, making your shaft different from all others.
These lax shafts average around 8 oz, which is very light for an attack/middie wood shaft and comparable to most metal shafts.
Although maybe not its most important feature, a wood lax shaft won't get cold as fast as a metal shaft would.
This means that when you're playing a game on a cold day, you hands will stay warmer than everyone else on your team.
Because each brand of lax heads is different, I do not drill a hole at the top of the shaft.
If you buy a shaft, you will have to drill a pilot hole that is slightly smaller than your screw, so that the screw will go in easily when you put on your head.
If I were to pre-drill a hole, it could be in the wrong place, which will make the shaft useless to you.
Drilling a hole is very easy, and will ensure that you don't compromise the shaft's structural integrity.
Also be sure to add a butt end to the bottom of the shaft.
