We lead with acacia. It's grown here, it runs warm rather than cold, and it takes a laser well: the engrave goes deep while the grain around it keeps its character instead of washing out.
Walnut's lovely, but it's imported and dark, and it flattens the contrast we want between warm wood and a cold technical mark. Acacia keeps a piece feeling like it came from somewhere, not from a catalogue.
The grain has opinions. No two boards engrave the same and we let that stand. A knot, a streak of darker heartwood, we work around where they fall instead of hiding them. The wood gets a say; that's part of why it's yours and not a copy.