persimmon burl photos???

marekz

marekz

Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
1,699
well i couldnt add the images on the other thread--these pictures do not do these pieces any justice. have 2 fairly big burls of it. At first i thought it was georgia hickory. I gave one of these a quick sanding otherwise its not sanded at all. that last photo is a baby chunk that i just wanted to show the bark-thanks marekz
 

Attachments

  • 001.jpg
    001.jpg
    100.5 KB · Views: 187
  • 002.jpg
    002.jpg
    102.6 KB · Views: 170
  • 004.jpg
    004.jpg
    102.4 KB · Views: 139
  • 006.jpg
    006.jpg
    72.8 KB · Views: 119
  • 007.jpg
    007.jpg
    73.3 KB · Views: 120
Last edited:
its was cut about a month ago-so its green as heck. when i get my bandsaw working ill cut some up. 1 of the burls is about 30" high and aboutfits in about 3/4 of my outstrtch rounded hands-when im holding it--i havent cut into that one--the other is about3/4 the size of the big one and ive cut it with a chainsaw into pieces--big mistake. anyway i will prob sell some--maybe as a burl or as scales/blocks --i dont know yet- im just excited to have it. im prob let it sit and dry a few years before i do anything. thanks marekz
 
Wow! That sure is nice looking. I wouldn't mind having a pair of scales out of that stuff.
 
well now i just need to figure out the best way to store it. it was suggested i build or buy a locker knida box and put a 25watt bulb in the bottom while placing the cut blocks on open trays. i would also drill a few holes in the top for circulation. i just dont know if i should wax the entire pieces or just the ends. anyway im figuring 2 years or so. I wonder how much a moisture meter costs. thanks -marekz
 
Very pretty stuff. I hope to get some if/when you decide to sell it.

I've always wondered just what to wax with a burl. Lots of folks say "wax the end grain", but it's the whole burl end grain? If you do wax the whole thing will that slow down drying too much?
 
i think it slows the drying time by like 40% if i remmember right. so if thats the case its gonna be a long time. i wonder if you can stabilize this stuff?-marekz
 
i almost 100% positive it is a persimmon becuase the tree next to it is the same and it bears persimmon fruit!! im going outside right now to compare it to my persimmon tree--marekz
 
man the patterns are a bit different but then again the burl patterns differently from the tree. im going to have to go back and look at the actual tree. cherry trees dont grow wild down here, we only have the ornamental varieties. i will get to the bottom of this soon. thanks marekz--by the way there was a big branch that fell off the persimmon in the backyard i just sawed it up and it is spalting like crazy but the wood looks white with crazy black lines.
 
It looks like it could be persimmon to me. The bark should be sort of blocky looking, or like gator skin.

If you're worried it could be hickory, check for buds -if you can find branches that would have went with the burl. Hickories have pinnately compound leaves, and will only have one bud per set of 5-12 leaves, whereas a persimmon would have single, alternate leaves.
 
Last edited:
I was going to say cherry burl also. Looks like some of the cherry burl I have, bark and inside. Here is a photo of some of it. Makes an awesome handle have it sent out for stabilizing though.
 

Attachments

  • Burl Cherry.jpg
    Burl Cherry.jpg
    49.5 KB · Views: 56
Maybe thats choke cherry or some off shoot, but the grain and bark look like cherry.

Heres a pic of some persimmons from Jay Fisher's site. Heres the description he gave...

A small amount of this wood was given to me by a former knifemaker. He called it Chinese Beeswing Rosewood. It certainly has a nice, small wavy design in the grain. Makes a great knife handle, with a noticeable, bold figure and lines. After research I found that Persimmon wood panels were used in early Chinese, Korean, and Japanese reproduction furniture, so that is probably why he called it Chinese Beeswing Rosewood. In sizeable amounts, the wood is rare and valuable, since the heartwood core of the tree is very small. It's medium brown, moderately dense, and has a unique wavy figure in the grain. It has a sharp, peppery smell when cut. It polishes moderately well. It's been widely used for golf club woods, tough textile shuttles, turnery, and striking tool handles. It' is highly resistant to impact.

WoodPersimmon1.jpg


Here are some cherry burl blocks for comparison. When they're wet they get darker. Hope that helps and doesn't make things more confusing. Either way it will be nice after its stabilized.....

CherryB.jpg
 
Last edited:
Dan Pierson said:
Very pretty stuff. I hope to get some if/when you decide to sell it.

I've always wondered just what to wax with a burl. Lots of folks say "wax the end grain", but it's the whole burl end grain? If you do wax the whole thing will that slow down drying too much?
Click to expand...

Dan, you wax the whole thing, or it will check. The slower... the better, when it comes to drying. If you still have bark on part of the burl, you don't have to wax that part.
 
Last edited:
Troop--so how long would you estimate for a piece of wood to be dry enough. lets say its cut into 2x5x10" blocks waxed. im guessing 3 years-thanks marekz
 
marekz said:
Troop--so how long would you estimate for a piece of wood to be dry enough. lets say its cut into 2x5x10" blocks waxed. im guessing 3 years-thanks marekz
Click to expand...

Yup...three years is what I would do for blocks cut to that size, four years would be better. Make sure you slap on the Anchorseal or wax immediately after you make the cuts, or it will literally start to check right before your eyes. (Just about)
That looks like cherry burl to me, but I'm no expert.
 
I picked this one up from Jerry at a Blade show in the past and I'm sure he told me that this is a Persimmon wood handle. He also let me know how hard this wood is to work with.
XXX
JHPERSIMMONHUNTER_3036.jpg

XXX
JHPERSIMMONHUNTER_3051.jpg
 
Since this thread got bumped back up, I thought I'd mention that you should be able to tell if it's cherry or not by smelling it. When I am cutting or sanding cherry, I can tell the distinct smell. Of course I've only dealt with dried cherry, so I don't know if wet has the same smell (I would guess it does).

If you have a piece of dry cherry (Or a branch from a cherry tree) you might be able to tell just by the scent if it is cherry or not.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top