Fa Xing wrote:I can't say enough about the great quality of Carina's craftsmanship from Raven Studios, the Jian I got from her is top notch.
jonathan.bluestein wrote:My attempt at a modestly broad overview of the best woods for wooden weapons, where to buy weapons and how to care for them.
http://cookdingskitchen.blogspot.co.il/2016/09/all-about-wooden-weapons-for-martial.html
Greg J wrote:Fa Xing wrote:I can't say enough about the great quality of Carina's craftsmanship from Raven Studios, the Jian I got from her is top notch.
I heard a great interview with Carina on the old Hiyaa! podcast. Here it is:
http://www.hiyaapodcast.com/episode-30- ... rrincione/
Best,
Greg
charles wrote:I appreciate that you have shared your experience with using a variety of weapons and woods and summarized that in an article.
However, you have failed to identify some of the most important aspects of wood as a material for use in weaponry.
First, wood is a natural material. As such, within any one species of wood there is, generally, a very large variation in its physical properties, including density, hardness and stiffness. Thus, the published values of a species' physical properties, as measured and tested in laboratories, are "average" values and any individual piece can vary considerably from that published value. Consequently, there are many examples where a specific piece of a softer, lighter species is harder and heavier than specific pieces of woods who's published values are harder and heavier.
Second, the grain or fiber orientation of how a wood is cut usually has an enormous effect on the stability of that wood and on its strength. Terms used to describe the orientation of the grain include "flat sawn", "rift" and "vertical grain" (or quartersawn). In most wood species, vertical grain (quartersawn) distorts and splits less in drying and is less susceptible to dimensional change in response to changes in environmental humidity (i.e. less prone to splitting and warpage). Vertical grain material is usually also stiffer and stronger. An additional aspect of grain or fiber orientation that is exceptionally important to the strength and stiffness of long weapons that are to be hit or bent is called "runout". Runout is how closely the grain of the wood is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the piece of wood. Extreme runout in a pole or spear will cause failure at forces far less than a similar pole or spear made of the same wood species, but with no runout. (The advantage of using an entire tree trunk, as in the case of white waxwood, is that, since the wood is not cut, there is no runout, providing the strength characteristic associated with the use of waxwood spears and poles.) A good weapons maker will take both the grain orientation and runout into consideration when selecting individual pieces of wood from which to make weapons. Doing so is, in many cases, more important than the exact species of wood used.
Third, although you mention it in passing, a potentially very important characteristic is feel of the surface texture of the wood. Woods with very large, open pores, for example, no matter how smoothly the surface is sanded, will feel very course in the hands. For a weapon that is rotated in the hands, or has the hands slid up and down its length, a very course surface can be very hard on the skin of the hands. Wenge, for example, has very large pores and creates a surface that is unlikely desirable in most circumstances. The pores of white oak are also very large and may not be an ideal choice in some circumstances.
Fourth, the size of the tree, and the available sizes of its lumber, are important considerations on what woods are used. Some species of trees do not grow very tall while others do not grow very large in diameter. This limits the available lengths and thicknesses of lumber. Commercial uses of the lumber also often dictate the sizes that lumber is available. For example, in most species, it is difficult to obtain boards thicker than a nominal 2". A related issue is the percentage of scrap, a result of splitting and warpage during drying. In some species, it can be as high as 60%, making that an un-economical wood choice. Other woods, such as lignum vitae are very prone to splitting and are rarely found in large usable pieces.
Fifth, you state, "The biggest problem with choice of wood for weapons is that there are no clear parameters for “what is best” or “what is most suitable”. I disagree. One starts with the requirement for the specific weapon one is to make. The requirements differ depending upon the size, shape and intended use of the weapon. For example, a 2" diameter, 12 foot long pole has different requirements than a 6" dagger. What is "best", "what is most suitable" for one isn't necessarily so for the other: each needs to have its own requirements identified. Once the requirements are identified, anyone knowledgeable in fine woodworking can then select a suitable wood that should provide many years of usable service. Off the top of my head, a "spreadsheet" pf the requirements would include columns such as hardness, stiffness, surface texture, resilience, weight, dimensional stability... Then fill in the spreadsheet for the specifics of each weapon.
Sixth, the potential problem with relying upon the results of the bokken test results is that too few samples were used of any one species. As mentioned above, the resistance to breaking is also very heavily dependent upon the grain orientation of the specific piece of wood used. Different bokken made of the same species of wood, but with differing grain orientation, will provide varying results. Then add in the variation in mechanical properties within a single species of wood and the test results don't really tell you much beyond what many fine woodworkers already know.
There are also some factual errors in the article.
First, the photo of the waxwood labeled as still having bark on it, shows a waxwood staff with the bark removed. The photo above it shows the trees growing and shows what the bark looks like.
Second, there is a distinction between "drying" and "seasoning" of wood. Drying has to do with removing moisture from the cells of the wood. As you note, that can happen within a few months, for kiln dried wood, or within a few years, for air-dried wood. Seasoning, has to do with changes to the chemical composition of the wood over longer periods of time. In short, drying occurs in a few months to a few years, seasoning occurs over decades. The changes to the mechanical properties of the wood as a result of seasoning are probably not of great significance to the material's use in weaponry. So, "the longer the better", doesn't necessarily apply in this case.
Third, you state, "hardness does often predict raw weight". Sometimes, but why attempt to correlate hardness with weight, when relative weight is already tabulated as density and specific gravity? Hardness is just one mechanical property of a number than need to be considered in weapon making.
Niall Keane wrote: I assume the pore issue is what makes White oak not suitable for outdoors? We use English oak etc. for such.
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