LOVE OF WOOD
The ash is said to be the world’s most useful tree
What is it, this love affair that we have with wood?
Robert Penn has some suggestions. He is the author of The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees, a book that is a deep dive into the meaning of wood.
We recently picked up a copy while in London, U.K. In the book, Penn works through his plan to fell a giant ash tree and make as many useful items from it as he possibly could. It is a 101 on how trees grow and why their wood is so serviceable to us.
Why an ash?
Penn chose to cut down an ash tree and explore its practical possibilities because it is reputedly the most useful of any tree in the world.
He proves this by explaining how ash has won over various sports, how it has opened entire continents by providing the most serviceable canoe paddles, axe and hammer handles, and was the choice of native people for making snow shoes. The story grows more fascinating with each page.
What is so special about ash? The straight grain and dense annual growth rings lend ash wood to an amazing variety of uses.
Here are a couple: Arrows. The best arrows in the world are made of ash wood. During the Hundred Years’ War between France and England, the long bow was the British weapon of choice.
When preparing for the battle of Crecy, France King Edward III wrote to King Philip VI of France, on the eave of the battle in 1346, ‘at whatever hour you approach you will find us ready to meet you in the fields, with God’s help, which thing we desire above all else.’
King Edward was a bit cocky about the coming engagement, with good reason.
He had commissioned three million arrows to be made of the best English ash wood. His 5,000 archers stood on high ground that morning and rained down arrows on the unsuspecting French, 60,000 every minute.
The best archers had three arrows in the air at any one time.
The ash tree has been under attack here in Ontario. Emerald Ash Borer has wreaked its havoc with many of our native ash, which is why we write this column on an ash desk that Mark made with his own hands.
It features a solid plank that a professional tree-trimmer recovered from a large, dead ash in a Toronto park.
There is a certain satisfaction in working with wood, to be sure.
And taking time to be in the company of trees has its own benefits.
Final word to Robert Penn: “Walking in a forest proves the magic of trees. How it works on humans at a molecular level, in our cells and neurons.”