wikipedia says
Though persimmon trees belong to the same genus as
ebony trees, persimmon tree wood has a limited use in the manufacture of objects requiring hard wood. It is hard, but easily cracks and somewhat difficult to process. Persimmon wood is used for paneling in traditional Korean and Japanese furniture.
In North America, the lightly colored, fine-grained wood of
D. virginiana is used to manufacture
billiard cues and shuttles (used in the textile industry). Persimmon wood was also heavily used in making the highest-quality heads of the
golf clubs known as
"woods" until the golf industry moved primarily to metal woods in the last years of the 20th century. In fact, the first metal woods made by
TaylorMade, an early pioneer of that club type, were branded as "Pittsburgh Persimmons". Persimmon woods are still made, but in far lower numbers than in past decades. Over the last few decades persimmon wood has become popular among bow craftsmen, especially in the making of traditional
longbows.
I had a bunch of it a neighbor cut when clearing land, there is a bug here that gets under the bark and will eat the entire log
If you get any green stuff, debark the log, burn the bark and store it inside to dry, or boil it.
it is hard stuff, the wood here in OK is light red, very fine dense grain.
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/AirDrying_Persimmon.html
http://www.innernet.net/galleryofwood/pricelist.htm
