Swiss Pear vs Castello Boxwood — Which Should You Use?
Two pale, fine-grained hardwoods that do overlapping jobs. This is the honest side-by-side: where each one wins, where the difference is invisible, and where the price gap is not worth paying.
Swiss pear and Castello boxwood are the two species we ship most, and most weeks somebody asks which of them to order. The short answer: pear is the better planking wood and the easier wood to work; boxwood is the better carving and fine-detail wood and the harder-wearing one. Nearly everything else follows from that.
Both are pale, both have very fine grain, both are kiln-dried and milled here in Rapla, Estonia to the same tolerances, and both come as lumber, sheets, planking sheets, strips, square strips and blanks. Neither is restricted under CITES.
Below is the full comparison — appearance, hardness, bending, gluing and finishing, laser and CNC behaviour, price and available sizes — followed by a straight recommendation per job.
At a glance
If you only read one part of this page, read the table. It is the same data we use ourselves when a customer describes a build and asks us to pick.
| Swiss Pear | Castello Boxwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Botanical name | Pyrus communis | Calycophyllum multiflorum |
| Origin | Central Europe | South America (Argentina / Paraguay) |
| Colour | Warm pinkish-cream, slight blush | Pale creamy-yellow |
| Grain | Fine and even, straight | Near-invisible, extremely fine |
| Janka hardness | ~1,660 N (medium-hard) | ~2,100 N (hard) |
| Density | ~700 kg/m³ | ~800–850 kg/m³ |
| Bending | Excellent — predictable around tight curves | Very good, but wants more heat and patience |
| Carving / fine detail | Very good | Best in class — holds a crisp edge |
| Laser cutting | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| CNC and small cutters | Very good | Excellent, but slower feeds |
| Price | Lower | Higher |
| Best for | Planking, decks, bindings, general use | Fine detail, carving, fittings, instrument parts |
Both species are kiln-dried below 8% moisture and milled to ±0.10 mm in sheets and strips, ±0.20 mm in square strips.
Appearance and how they age
Swiss pear is steamed, which is where the warm pinkish blush comes from. On a planked hull it reads as a soft, slightly warm surface with just enough grain to look like timber at scale rather than plastic. It darkens gently towards a deeper rose-brown with light and age.
Castello boxwood is cooler and paler — a creamy yellow with grain that is close to invisible at model scale. That uniformity is exactly why it is prized for museum-quality work: no single plank or carved part draws the eye. It also warms with age, but more slowly and less pink than pear.
Put side by side they are clearly different woods; put in separate photographs they are easy to confuse. If you are matching a part to an existing build, order the same species you used before rather than trusting a screen.
Working the wood — cutting, bending, gluing, finishing
Pear is the friendlier of the two under hand tools. It cuts cleanly with a sharp blade, sands quickly, and bends predictably with water and heat, which matters when you are running planks around a hull's turn of bilge. Glue joints close easily because the surface is smooth and slightly more forgiving.
Boxwood is denser and harder. It rewards sharp tools and punishes dull ones: with a keen edge it burnishes to a satin surface straight off the tool and needs almost no finishing, but with a tired blade it will scorch and crush rather than cut. It bends well, it simply wants more heat and a slower approach to the same radius.
For finishing, both take stain, oil and varnish well. Boxwood often looks best with nothing on it at all.
| Task | Swiss Pear | Castello Boxwood |
|---|---|---|
| Hull planking with tight curves | First choice — bends predictably | Works, but slower and hotter |
| Deck planking | First choice | Excellent where a paler deck is wanted |
| Carved details and figureheads | Good | First choice — edge retention |
| Turned parts, pegs, fittings | Good | First choice — hardness and wear |
| Sanding and finishing | Fast, forgiving | Slower, burnishes beautifully |
| Tool wear | Low | Noticeably higher |
Laser cutting and CNC
On a CO₂ or diode laser both species behave very well: fine, even structure means little grain-driven variation in cut depth and low char at sensible settings. Boxwood's density means slightly slower cuts at the same thickness; pear cuts marginally faster and shows a slightly warmer engraved tone.
On CNC, boxwood is the better material for tiny cutters and deep small-radius detail — it holds a corner where softer woods fuzz. Run lower feeds and keep the cutter sharp. Pear is the more comfortable general-purpose CNC material and the cheaper one to make mistakes in.
The best wood for laser cutting · The best wood for CNC routing and carving
Sizes, forms and price
Both species are available across the whole range we mill, so the choice is about the wood rather than about what is in stock.
| Form | Swiss Pear | Castello Boxwood |
|---|---|---|
| Lumber | 50–300 × 40–50 × 500–550 mm | 120–200 × 50–80 × 500–550 mm |
| Sheets | 100 × 500 mm, 0.6–5 mm | 100 × 500 mm, 0.6–5 mm |
| Planking sheets | By request | 45 × 500 mm, 0.6–1 mm |
| Strips | 3×1 / 4×0.8 / 4×1 / 5×1 / 5×1.5 mm | 4×0.8 / 4×1 / 5×0.8 / 5×1 / 6×2 mm |
| Square strips | 2×2 to 10×10 mm | 2×2 to 10×10 mm |
| Blanks | Pen and knife blanks | Pen and knife blanks |
Anything not listed can be milled to order through the custom quote calculator.
Swiss pear lumber · Castello boxwood lumber · Custom quote calculator
The verdict, job by job
A great many high-end builds use both: pear for the planked areas and boxwood for the carved and turned work. That combination is not a compromise — it is what the two woods are individually best at.
- Planking a hull, first or second layer: Swiss pear. Easier bending, lower cost, and the warmer tone suits most subjects.
- A pale, uniform museum-standard finish where nothing should stand out: Castello boxwood.
- Carved detail, figureheads, gratings, tiny mouldings: Castello boxwood for edge retention.
- Turned fittings, pegs, belaying pins, instrument parts: Castello boxwood for hardness and wear.
- Decks: either. Pear for warmth, boxwood for a paler, cooler deck.
- Laser-cut kit parts and engraving: either — pick on colour, not on cutting behaviour.
- Learning, prototyping, or a large volume of planking: Swiss pear, and keep the boxwood for the parts that show.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Castello boxwood worth the extra cost over Swiss pear?
- For carved detail, turned fittings and anything that must hold a crisp edge, yes. For general hull planking, the extra hardness gives you little and costs you both money and bending time — Swiss pear is the more sensible choice there.
- Can I mix Swiss pear and Castello boxwood on the same model?
- Yes, and many builders do. Pear for planking and boxwood for carved and turned parts is a common combination. The two tones are close enough to sit together and different enough to give quiet contrast.
- Which one bends better for hull planking?
- Swiss pear. It is less dense and takes water and heat more predictably, so it follows tight curves with less risk of crushing. Boxwood bends well too, but wants more heat and a slower approach.
- Is Castello boxwood real boxwood?
- It is not Buxus. Castello (Calycophyllum multiflorum) is the modern stand-in for the now-scarce European box, with comparable hardness, colour and fine grain, and it is available in usable sizes without CITES restrictions.
- Which laser-cuts better?
- Both cut cleanly with low char. Boxwood is denser so it needs slightly more power or a slower pass at the same thickness. Choose on the colour you want in the finished part.
- Do you sell sizes that are not listed?
- Yes. Both species can be milled to your own dimensions — send the sizes through the custom quote calculator and you will get a price with the same tolerances as our stock items.