Anyone know what happened?

C

C. Peláez

Joined
Nov 18, 2002
Messages
47
So, last night I had a little fire going...

I was feeding it small, clean pieces of 2x4 lumber which I was splitting with my 15" AK. As I took a swing at one of the 2x4's to split it lengthwise, my knife threw sparks upon contact with the wood. Of course it split it effortlessly, but it left me wondering what happened? I wasn't the only one who saw it, and it actually happened twice.

Any theories? Has anyone else had a khuk do that?
 
The 2x4 had no nails, nor nail holes in it.

I figured somewhere along the way it had picked up some metal particles, like cybrok said.

I also like your suggestion, Wolf, which I had not considered.

Thanks for the replies.
 
Probably some sand or dirt on the wood. I had a bit of 2x4 that I had been using as a sanding block with sandpaper glued to it. . . When I decided to retire it I took a few swings at it with a knife, just playing around, enjoying watching the chips fly, and when I inadvertently hit a bit of the sandpaper it threw of a couple of big sparks.
 
l work in a wood mill which makes veneer, mostly exported to Germany and Austria.

Sometimes the blade on a wood slicer will strike sand embedded in the wood (seems to occur a lot in oak) and sparks fly everywhere.
 
I bought a load once that had little tags stapled on the ends.
I hit a couple with the table saw.
 
I've been told that cedar is especially bad for picking up sand and other bits of grit and granules. As such, it's not uncommon for cedar to dull cutting implements a little faster than other woods.

I didn't get any sparks, but one time I was splitting wood with my samsher, and I had a piece that made a loud crack, and the samsher didn't wedge or anything... I inspected the edge to make sure I hadn't hit something hard in the wood... and the piece of wood was still standing up on the chopping block, neatly cleft in twain from the blow. I thought it odd that the wood didn't fall or go flying and that the khuk didn't wedge at all.
 
We have an Oak here in Oklahoma known as Blackjack Oak that is notorious for tearing up chainsaws, axes, and any other sharp steel or other material object.
I have seen instances where there was literally a layer of sand in between the growth rings of Blackjack. Now since I've found out that Oak can be a good bow wood I've wondered about it and how it would work with a wider limb than normal, only problem is finding a piece knot free and straight enough to make a trial bow with.:rolleyes: :(
When the stuff has field cured on the tree in the wild a khukuri will bounce off it while the Blackjack LIAO!!!! :eek: ;) :D ;)
 
I have had iorn bark and mulga make blades throw sparks .

its an unusual thing to see on a soft wood , but not unusual on real hardwoods .

mulga blunts chainsaws fast , Ive had it curl hatchet edges and do nasty things to knives .
 
did you strike a knot? some 2x4s are made of hemlock no? one of the kind of trees that contain silica in the knot nodules. which will make sparks when hit, and can be VERY hard, and say, bend axes.

bladite
 
The limbs of hemlock are hellishly hard. I have wondered at times how it would work for handles.

As far as foreign material in the wood, you'd be surprised what can get buried in the wood as it grows. A friend of mine owns the largest plywood/mdf finishing mill in central Taiwan. At one point I was talking with him about where they get their teak for slicing (they slice it and glue it on the outside of mdf or plywood, etc.) He said that the most beautiful teak for this purpose comes from Vietnam. Teak logs from Vietnam are also generally the cheapest since mills generally don't want to process it. It raises hell with the saws, planers, and knives. Full of bullets and shrapnel. Bullets in the teak trees of Vietnam -- now that's foreign material. Who would have thought that the war might help save the forests?

James
 
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