Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

fearn · 19th June 2012, 07:07 PM

Sorry Lew, there *is* an ironwood in the great lakes region, Ostrya virginiana. It's lovely, hard, dense wood, and would make a good club.

The problem is that there are over 50 different trees called "ironwood" all around the world. Wikipedia lists 30+ ironwood species and genera in their entry on "ironwood". One of my favorite trees is the Santa Cruz Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus), which, although gorgeous, isn't unusually hard or heavy. The bark is iron-colored, red and gray, and so far as I can tell, that's where it got its name. It's more used as a street tree in California than as a lumber source.

The caveat emptor is that when someone says that "it's made out of ironwood," they've told you almost nothing. So far as I know, most ironwoods are hard and/or heavy, but that's about it. It could be something like the desert ironwood of the Sonoran desert, which is heavier than water and hard to work, or it can be one of the Casuarinas or a Eucalyptus, or the Lyonothamnus I already referred to. The term "ironwood" doesn't tell you much about what wood it is, where it's from, or even how hard or heavy it is. It is, however, a cool name, which is why it gets used so often.

Best,

F

19th June 2012, 07:07 PM	#8
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Sorry Lew, there is an ironwood in the great lakes region, Ostrya virginiana. It's lovely, hard, dense wood, and would make a good club. The problem is that there are over 50 different trees called "ironwood" all around the world. Wikipedia lists 30+ ironwood species and genera in their entry on "ironwood". One of my favorite trees is the Santa Cruz Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus), which, although gorgeous, isn't unusually hard or heavy. The bark is iron-colored, red and gray, and so far as I can tell, that's where it got its name. It's more used as a street tree in California than as a lumber source. The caveat emptor is that when someone says that "it's made out of ironwood," they've told you almost nothing. So far as I know, most ironwoods are hard and/or heavy, but that's about it. It could be something like the desert ironwood of the Sonoran desert, which is heavier than water and hard to work, or it can be one of the Casuarinas or a Eucalyptus, or the Lyonothamnus I already referred to. The term "ironwood" doesn't tell you much about what wood it is, where it's from, or even how hard or heavy it is. It is, however, a cool name, which is why it gets used so often. Best, F Last edited by fearn; 19th June 2012 at 07:19 PM.