There is no means by looking at a particular wood and determine if the wood will engrave well. I have samples of each wood engraved with both a script and non-script font to determine its engraving qualities. On each of the enlarged images for each wood I have included the sample engravings of both fonts for the woods that are candidates for engraving. For the woods that the engraving does not show up well I have included the statement that this wood is not recommended for engraving. The basic factor that determines if a wood engraves well is how easily the wood will burn when being sanded.
Light woods tend to engrave better than dark woods.
Woods that are less oily engrave better. Fruit woods tend to engrave well. All natural belt buckles are made of a rosewood. As other images become available they will be added. If the image of a particular item is desired, contact me with the request before ordering and I will try to find a suitable image.