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Exploring wood especially as used in martial arts.

Wood is a material made of cellulose fibers, held together with lignin, that comes from vascular plants with perennial stems. Woody plants include many species of trees, shrubs, and vines. Non-woody plants are called herbaceous.

As far as martial arts usage, wood has several important characteristics:

• Density given as dimensionless specific gravity (SG). The density varies with the species, part of the plant, age of the plant, dryness of the wood, etc.
• Hardness. Dent and impact resistance. Usually hardness is proportional to density. Wood is often classified as either "hardwood" (from angiosperms or broad-leafed trees such as oak) or "softwood" (from conifers such as pine), but those terms are misleading since some hardwoods (EG: Balsa) are very weak, while some softwoods (EG: Yew) are very strong.
• Strength. How the wood responds (strains, deforms) to stress (compressive, tensile, shear, bending, torsion).
  • Elasticity. Elastic deformation is reversible. Deformations that are non-reversible include plastic deformation (it acquires a new shape) and fracture
  • Plastic deformation. A plastic deformatioin is non-reversible. While good for shaping furniture or bows, most wood weapons should not acquire a new shape when stressed.
  • Fracture. A fracture is a non-reversible deformation. A wood weapon should break without splintering into long dangerous pieces.
  • Cut of Grain. The cut of grain and dimensions of a piece of wood is a significant factor in what can be achieved with a particular piece of wood. Clearly you want the length of items to go with the grain.
  • Water Content. Water occurs either in the cell walls, within the cells, or between cells. Wetter wood is more flexible but drier wood takes greater compressive stress. Avoid wetting wood to avoid warping.
  • Decay Resistance. Tree from wet environments tend to be decay resistant but softer and more flexible. Hence cypress is good for boats, ships, and outdoor use.
• Appearance.
  • Different trees have different hues, even within species. This affects looks but also has some tactical considerations.
  • Sapwood (the outer rings of a tree) has been more recently alive than heartwood (inner portions of a tree) and hence are usually lighter. Trees as chestnut and osage-orange usually have thin sapwood, while maple, ash, hickory, and pine tend to have thick sapwood.
  • Knots or portions of branches embedded in the stem or a large branch. The sapwood of older trees are usually free of branches and hence free of knots.
  • Softwoods have fewer varieties of cells, hence the softwoods tend to be more homogenous and lack pores or vessels.

For shorter items you want high density, low flexibility, and high hardness. For longer items you want low-medium density, medium flexibility, and medium-high hardness.

Here are woods frequently encountered in martial arts in rough order from lower to higher density. Of course different breeds of particular woods will vary as well as individual specimens (age, cut, dryness, particular plant, etc.).

• Balsa. For easy to break chairs.
  • Ochroma pyramidale. Aka: Balsa, Cork Wood, Lanero, Polak, Tami, Topa. SG: 0.096-0.240.
• Paulownia. Used for easy to break boards.
  • Paulownia tomentosa. Aka: Empress Tree, Princess Tree; Foxglove Tree; 泡桐 = pao tong (Chinese); 桐 = kiri (Japanese); Royal Paulownia. A beautiful flowering tree that grows well in poor soil and also remediates the soil. In the Chinese and Japanese traditions, a Paulownia is planted when a daughter is born and then it is cut down and carved into her wedding presents when the time comes. SG: 0.23-0.30.
• Willow. 'deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus Salix, part of the willow family Salicaceae. There are about 350 species in this genus worldwide, found primarily on moist soils in cooler zones in the Northern Hemisphere' -Willow [W]
  • Salix alba. Aka: Willow, White Willow. Cricket bats are traditionally made out of White Willow and treated with linseed oil. Apparently White Willow wood, is very light but also very tough, and resistant to shock, denting, and splintering. The bark of the willow tree has been known for its pain and fever reducing qualities, and is actually the precursor to aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). SG: 0.385.
  • Salix babylonica. Aka: Peking Willow. The Peking Willow is a common tree in China that has been cultivated for millenia. Outside of China, the familiar "Weeping Willow" is actually a hybrid between the White Willow and the Peking willow.
• Pine. For breaking boards.
  • Pinus strobus. Aka: Eastern White Pine, White Pine, Northern White Pine, Northern Pine, Weymouth Pine, Quebec Yellow, Cork Pine, Pumpkin Pine. Grows from Canada through Mexico. SG: 0.400-0.417.
• Bamboo. Woody perennial evergreen plants in the subfamily Bambusoideae, of the grass family Poaceae. Relatively flexible. Hollow. Very widely grown and used.
• White Wax. A low density, very flexible, lightly colored wood. Like rattan, Chinese staves and spears are frequently made from whole lengths of white wax, but unlike rattan white wax has no nodes. Supposedly white wax develops its own patina. I am not sure but white wax seems to be semi-evergreen shrubs of the genus Lingustrum, of the olive family Oleaceae.
  • Ligustrum japonicum. Aka: Japanese Privet, Waxleaf Privet, Waxy Privet.
  • Ligustrum lucidum. Aka: Glossy Privet, Chinese Privet.
  • Ligustrum sinense. Aka: Chinese Privet
• Rattan. Covers roughly six hundred species of the genera Calamus and Daemonorops, both of the tribe Calamae of the palm tree family Arecaceae. Crushes instead of splinters when severely stressed. Stiff and yet relatively flexible. Not hollow. Used for making light and inexpensive weapons, esp. staves, canes, and sticks. It sells with "skin" and without: With skin looks almost like bamboo and is stronger and more durable; Without skin is smooth and is more flexible.
• Narra. National tree of the Philippines. Used for furniture, not weapons! Yellow to golden brown to reddish-brown in color.
  • Pterocarpus indicus. Aka: Angsana; Burmese Rosewood. SG: 0.520.
• Cypress. For boats, ships, and outdoor use.
  • Cupressus sempervirens. Aka: Italian Cypress, Cypress Wood, Mediterranean Cypress. SG: 0.470.
• Maple
  • Acer negundo. Aka: Boxelder, maple. SG: 0.540.
• Birch
  • Betula papyrifera. Aka: Paper birch. SG: 0.550.
• Cherry. Family Rosaceae, genus Prunus. The Japanese cherry tree (the Sakura) with its five-petaled blossoms are symbolic of Japan as well as the beautiful but fleeting nature of life. Sakura tree line the West Potomac Park by the National Mall at Washington D.C.
  • Prunus serotina. Aka: Black cherry, wild cherry, wild black cherry, rum cherry, Cabinet cherry, capulin, New England mahogany. SG: 0.540.
  • Prunus avium. Aka: European cherry, cherry, wild cherry, gean, mazzard, merisier, kers. Most sweet eating cherries are of this species. SG: 0.610.
  • Prunus cerasus. Aka: Morello Cherry, Sour Cherry. A sour cherry for cooking and jams.
  • Prunus serrulata. Aka: Japanese Cherry, Oriental Cherry, East Asian Cherry, Sakura. The Sakura and its cherry blossoms has been symbolic in Japan for centuries.
• Yew. Famous for usage in English longbows.
  • Taxus baccata. Aka: yew, common yew, yewtree, Europoean yew. SG: 0.670.
  • Taxus brevifolia. Aka: yew, western yew, Pacific yew.
• Padauk
  • Pterocarpus soyauxii. Aka: African Padauk, barwood, comwood, corail, African coralwood, muenge, mbe, mbil, mututi, ngula, vermillion, yomo. Decay resistant. Does not steam bend. Rich red to purple red heartwood and pale-beige sapwood. SG: 0.737.
• Oak. 'any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus, and some related genera, notably Lithocarpus. The genus is native to the northern hemisphere, and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cold latitudes to tropical Asia and America. The fruits of oaks are called acorns. The "live oaks" (oaks with evergreen leaves) are not a distinct group, instead with their members scattered among the sections below.' -Oak [W]. The dryads or female tree spirits of Greek mythology are related to oak since the Greek word drys is oak.
  • Quercus rubra. Aka: Red oak, Northern red oak, Eastern red oak, gray oak, American red oak, Canadian red oak, mountain red oak. SG: 0.640.
  • Quercus alba. Aka: White oak, eastern white oak, stave oak, ridge white oak, cucharillo, encino, roble. SG: 0.680-0.769.
  • Quercus acuta. Aka: Japanese evergreen oak, Japanese White Oak, Shiro Kashi. Traditional choice for Japanese wooden weapons. A Japanese evergreen. Loses strength with age.
• Osage Orange. This North American hardwood was prized by American Southwest natives for bows.
  • Maclura pomifera. Aka: osage orange, boxwood. SG: 0.800.
• Ash. 'An ash can be any of three different tree genera from three very distinct families (see end of page for disambiguation), but originally and most commonly refers to trees of the genus Fraxinus in the olive family Oleaceae' -Ash tree [W] Ash is renowned for its straight grain and elasticity, and hence has been the choice wood for items such as staves and bows. It is said that Yggdrasil, the World Tree of Norse mythology, was an Ash tree.
  • Fraxinus americana. Aka: American ash, Biltmore ash, cane ash, white ash. Strong for its weight. Good for long items. Also used in baseball bats, tool handles, and oars. SG: 0.670.
  • Fraxinus excelsior. Aka: Common Ash, Weeping Ash, European Ash, English Ash. SG: 0.510-0.830.
  • Fraxinus ornus. Aka: Manna ash, flowering ash. An ash from the Greek mountains. In Greek, the ash is meliai, and in Greek mythology, the Meliae were nymphs of the ash tree. Many ash trees exude manna, a honey-like substance which the ancient Greeks called méli (honey). Fermented honey is mead, an ancient form of alcoholic "wine".
• Bahi. A hardwood from the Philippines and Indonesia. Bahi compared to kamagong is less endangered, less brittle, and less affected by weather.
  • Livistona rotundifolia. Aka: bulno, pam yawa, pam tan, pam chawa, taung-htan, bahi, woka, samir, serdang, java palm, footstool palm, anahaw palm, anahau. SG: 0.880.
• Brazilian Cherry.
  • Hymenaea courbaril. Aka: Brazilian Cherry, guapinol, courbaril, jutai-acu, jatoba. An endangered tree. SG: 0.730-0.910.
• Purpleheart. Aka: amaranth, violetwood, coracy, pauroxo, pauferro, koroboreli, saka, nazareno, morado, and tananeo. A Central and South American wood that resists decay. Steam bends.
  • Peltogyne porphyrocardia. Aka: purpleheart. SG: 0.833.
  • Peltogyne venosa.  Aka: purpleheart. SG: 0.833.
  • Peltogyne pubescens. Aka: coatiquicaua-vermelha, purpleheart, pau-mulato-da-terra-firm. SG: 0.890-0.929.
• Hickory. 'the genera Carya and Annamocarya. The genus Carya includes 17-19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and large nuts. Of the 17-19 species, 12-13 are native to North America (11-12 in the United States, 1 in Mexico), and 5-6 species from China and Indochina. Another Asian species, Beaked Hickory, previously listed as Carya sinensis, is now treated in a separate genus as Annamocarya sinensis.' -Hickory [W] Hickories are members of the walnut family, Juglandaceae. In the Western Martial Arts, hickory is one of the strongest woods available.
  • Acacia mangium. Aka: hickory wattle, khratin-thepha, mangium, nak, tongke hutan, black wattle, brown salwood, mangge hutan. SG: 0.450-0.690.
  • Carya ovata. Aka: shagbark hickory, shellbark hickory, scalybark hickory, white hickory, red heart hickory. The second most cultivated kind of hickory. SG: 0.710.
  • Carya illinoensis. Aka: pecan, pecan hickory. The most cultivated kind of hickory. SG: 0.620-0.780.
  • Flindersia ifflaiana. Aka: hickory ash. Actually of the Rutaceae family of plants. SG: 0.985.
  • Redheart is sometimes the heartwood of hickory, but sometime redheart is a Central American wood (Erythroxylon spp, aka Chakte-kok). [Ref: http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/_Redheart_described_and_defined.html. I wonder if the latter has any relation to the St Helena Redwood (Trochetiopsis erythroxylon), which would be odd because St. Helena Redwood is now extinct in the wild and St. Helena is a volcanic island way out in the South Atlantic where Napoleon died. Red heart also seems to be a fungus that rots the heartwood of pines but is pretty cool because woodpeckers can then live in them. [Ref: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth/idotis/diseases/redheart.html]
• Ebony
  • Diospyros mannii. SG: 0.840-1.079.
• Saru. A hardwood from the Philippines and Indonesia.
  • Dacrycarpus imbricatus. Aka: long leng, podo chuncher atap, sarun, phaya-makhampom dong, thong nang, pek deng, hing khieo, igem, cemba-cemba, kayu embun, jamuju, sha-mo-pin, phayamai. SG: 0.380-0.770.
  • Dracontomelon dao. Aka: New Guinea walnut, phra chao ha phra ong, sang-kuan, ka-kho, maliyan, mon, sarunsab, dao, sengkuang, basuong, dahu, unkawang. SG: 0.330-0.790.
  • Ploiarium alternifolium. Aka: reriang, sauma, som kwang, muang kwang, chamuang kwang, saruna, Cicada tree, bunyok, riang-riang, beriang. SG: 0.950-1.100.
• Kamagong. A hardwood from the Philippines and Indonesia. Kamagong compared to bahi is more endangered, more brittle, and more affected by weather.
  • Diospyros montana. Aka: antinagam, bidara gunung, gyok tawbut, tam-dam, thanfaiphi, morotombo, kamagong-bundok, kamagong-lilitan, mentua pungsu, morotoalah. SG: 0.780.
  • Diospyros blancoi. Aka: buah lemah, kamagong, mabolo, talang, butter fruit, buah sagalat, pommier velours, bisbul, kayu mentega, buah mentega, velvet apple. SG: 1.090.
  • Diospyros sp. Aka: kayu arang, ceylon ebony, east indian ebony, macassar ebony, andaman marblewood, zebrawood, kaling, katu hitam, kamagong, kamagon, mempyaung, trayung, buey, merpinang, maklua, lambit, black ebony, kayu eboni, black ebony, iron wood, Philippine ebony. SG: 0.640-1.270.

There are are also woods made by laminating pieces of wood together. EG: Laminated Rosewood Composite (LRC) is composed of fine sheets of birch laminated together with resin under high pressure to produce a consistent SG of 1.3. LRC and other composite woods such as Dymondwood, chip instead of fracture like natural wood.

Links

Links that lead to off-site pages about wood.

• An Introduction to the genus Carya [Extension-Horticulture.tamu.edu/carya/species/index.htm]. Lots of info, on hickory.
• GRIN Taxonomy for Plants [ARS-GRIN.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/index.pl]
  • 'GRIN [Germplasm Resources Information Network] taxonomic data provide the structure and nomenclature for accessions of the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS), part of the National Genetic Resources Program (NGRP) of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Agricultural Research Service (ARS). In GRIN Taxonomy all families and genera of vascular plants and over 40,000 species from throughout the world are represented, especially economic plants and their relatives. Information on scientific and common names, classification, distribution, references, and economic impacts are provided.'
• INBaR.int. 'The International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) is an international organization created by 28 Member States of the United Nations, and has Headquarters in Beijing, China. Through a growing Network of participating organizations and individuals from all continents, INBAR develops and assists in the transfer of appropriate technologies and solutions to benefit the peoples of the world and their environment'
• "Making Your Own Wooden Weapons" By Kim Taylor. Maintaining wooden weapons: avoid sunlight, avoid heat, use tung oil (Aleurites fordii) or boiled linseed oil (as a second choice), avoid large changes in humidity, store flat, and transport covered.
• TheWoodExplorer.com. Login required. Example of usage: I used this to find the species name of padauk and it turned up the whole genus of padauk which has 13 species. The species in italics were not found in the Wood Density Database.
  • Pterocarpus angolensis - Muninga
  • Pterocarpus antunesii - Chi-viri
  • Pterocarpus dalbergioides - Andaman Padouk
  • Pterocarpus indicus - NarraAndaman padauk
  • Pterocarpus macrocarpus - Burma padauk
  • Pterocarpus marsupium - Bijasal
  • Pterocarpus microcarpus - Narra
  • Pterocarpus officinalis - Bambulo
  • Pterocarpus rotundifolius - Round-leaved Kiaat
  • Pterocarpus soyauxii - African padauk
  • Pterocarpus tinctorius - padouk
  • Pterocarpus tricuspidatus - Candlewood, Cherrywood
  • Pterocarpus vernalis - Sangre
• Trees [ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/index.html]. Tree facts, list, and care.
• Wikepedia
  • Tree
    • Ash tree
    • Hickory
    • Oak
    • Willow
  • Wood
  • Shrubs
  • Vines
• WoodBin.com. Good list of common names which lists species name.
  • The Wood Picker. Excellent. Sort woods according to weight, hardness, stiffness, bending strength, shock resistance, decay resistance, stability, working ease, type, and location.
• Wood Density Database. Find wood densities by species name.
• "Woods for Training Weapons" By James Goedkoop [http://www.aikiweb.com/weapons/goedkoop1.html]

2007-11-13 19:03:38Z