Spalted and Burl wood, ever wonder...

[made2cut]

Did you ever wonder what spalted and burl wood is? I did and here are the answers.

Where does spalted wood come from? It is basically partially rotten wood, that is, wood that has a fungus infection.

Burl - Bulges and irregular growths that form on the trunks and roots of trees.

If you already knew then great, if you didn't, now you do!

 

[gailt]

I learned what spalted was after I bought a smallgame from Dr.Lathe aka Neil Blackwood on the knifemakers for sale forums.
the knife was stunning with the stabilized spalted maple

 

[redvenom]

Always something new to learn here.

Cheers
Andrew Limsk

 

[texascarl]

You can spot burls on trees, they look like a bump or a knot standing out from the trunk. I sometimes carry a folding saw on a walk thru our woods to remove oak or walnut burls about the size of a softball. The grain in these is impressive. Like our ancestors did, I've carved them into wooden drinking cups. The Saami people of Finland carve their 'kuksa' from birch burl.

Kuksa

 

[Danbo]

I found out about the spalted wood by listening to Ken Onion tell a story about how he made some one time. Talk about disgusting smelling stuff! If I remember correctly, his neighbors almost didnt forgive him.