How about ironwood or beech? The latter I'm sure was available in
medieval Europe.
Regards,
Leonard Williams
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On 2/8/08 8:03 AM, "Chris Nogy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> That is the wood.
>
> Hard, dense, grows moderately slowly. Pretty blue flowers on the tree, that
> turn into a drop shaped orange seedpods.
>
> Takes a while to cure. It is a hard wood to work, doesn't turn well except
> with the sharpest of tools. Can be mechanically polished to a high gloss
> (only scraping and rubbing, no chemicals or wax). Doesn't absorb anything
> very well. A block in almost any shape will sink immediately if placed in
> water.
>
> Has a hardness of more than 4000 on the Janka scale (oak is about 1800).
>
> It is not the friendliest wood in the world to hand tools. But it has
> tremendous stability and resistance to deformind under pressure. That is why
> it made a good hammer head. That and it is almost as heavy as the steel in a
> regular head.
>
> Chris
