How To Spot Fake Live Edge Tables

Live edge furniture is much-desired, so it only makes sense that companies try to create the look of it with whatever wood they have handy. Scratch that, the desire for live edges makes sense – faking it does not! You can try to recreate the look, but you’ll never match the beauty and durability of a natural slab of real wood.

Some fake live edge furniture can be spotted from a mile away, while others are crafted with a little more artistry (hey, some experts estimate 20% of paintings in art museums are forgeries!). Here’s how you can be a discerning critic of live edge furniture and spot the imitations before you shell out your hard-earned cash.

Spot Clearly Fake Live Edge Tables

When it’s a fake live edge piece of wood, it’s very likely to be “fake” piece of wood in general. Particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, oriented-strand board, and plywood: all of these are “real” in the sense that real trees were used at some point in the making of the furniture. But these tree byproducts can be pressed into any shape the manufacturer would like, including a live edge, and you’ll find them much weaker than a real piece.

You can often spot fake wooden furniture just by touching it. Those fake woods we mentioned are often finished with a plastic coating or veneer that creates the look of the real wood grain. Be suspect of “live edges” cut in a wavy, uniform pattern, because live edge pieces very rarely look like a cross-section of the ocean. Nature is definitely more imaginative than that.

The Hard-To-Spot Fake Live Edge Tables

The live edge furniture that is hard to spot is made from real, solid slabs of wood, just not the edges of the trees. It’s funny because a lot of times these pieces are a lot more time consuming than real live edge furniture because the craftsman has to spend a huge amount of time just getting the details right!

The easiest way to tell real live edge from fake live edge tables is to take a good, hard look at the edge. Again, look at the shape, but also look at the colour and texture. Many live edge tables and bar tops don’t have the right texture or grains and are just cut with a jigsaw to make the contours look real. They might take some sandpaper to rough the edges up and angle the jigsaw to give the tabletop some edge, but they won’t flow like the real thing. Some details to look for are knots, bark, and grains that don’t flow: this is a good way of seeing if the slab comes from an edge, or is just made to look like it.

It’s a sea of fakes out there, and the only reliable way that a consumer can be sure of their furniture is to see the wood in person before it’s purchased. Never pay for live edge wood products sight unseen, because that’s a good way of getting fooled. The best furniture is built of true, solid wood by a craftsman who has seen it through the entire process.

Rustix is fighting back against imitations. We can build any style of furniture you’d like, in the dimensions you want, using wood that is 100% real London tree. When it’s made to order, you’ll know you’re getting the real deal!