If it is winter, then make knitting needles?

Historical documents I have just come across, claim that dogwood is the
right wood for making knitting needles. Better than- Dare I say it? -
ROSEWOOD.

Any experience with dogwood knitting needles?

Anyway, I am making some. The green wood is very easy to split and work,
but hardens as it drys. I cut (straight) stems about an inch in diameter
into 6 inch lengths. Then split the green wood length wise into needle
blanks and whittled them round to just larger than the intended needle
diameter. I did a whole bunch of blanks in just a few minutes. I'm sure I
will have to steam the curves out of them, but since they are split rather
than sawn, I expect them to be very strong and smooth. I will finish them
when they are dry and hard.

Aaron

Historical documents I have just come across, claim that dogwood is the
right wood for making knitting needles. Better than- Dare I say it? -
ROSEWOOD.

Any experience with dogwood knitting needles?

Anyway, I am making some. The green wood is very easy to split and work,
but hardens as it drys. I cut (straight) stems about an inch in diameter
into 6 inch lengths. Then split the green wood length wise into needle
blanks and whittled them round to just larger than the intended needle
diameter. I did a whole bunch of blanks in just a few minutes. I'm sure I
will have to steam the curves out of them, but since they are split rather
than sawn, I expect them to be very strong and smooth. I will finish them
when they are dry and hard.

Aaron

Interesting, Aaron.....I may try this myself one day. Why did you
go with 6 inches in length and not longer?

Donna

No dogwood in this part of the world, but I've got various sorts of
oak (not flexible when dried), pecan (ditto - a HARDwood), crape
myrtle (very brittle), corkbark elm (punky), poplar and cottonwood
(punkier yet). Ashe Juniper abounds here, but the resins would kill
me - the stuff is in the top three allergens in this area

There are some magnolias around, and something called a "Japanese
Varnish Tree", which I've never seen ANYWHERE outside of a few
neighborhoods on my usual routes. The varnish tree is reputed to grow
more than a foot a month, but I haven't bothered to check it.
Something tells me it came back in seed form with some Viet Nam or
Korea veterans and just doesn't do well here because our climate isn't
a tropical one.

I do know where there's a horseapple tree but I don't think I could
get to it and back to the road with my life - there's a MEAN bull in
that field Mesquite might work, but its a weird wood. There's a
wheelwright in San Antonio who can't work with it anymore, as he's
developed incredible contact dermatitis from working with it over the
course of several years.

I wonder what else is out there that might make decent knitting
needles...

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 00:12:31 GMT, spewed forth :

Historical documents I have just come across, claim that dogwood is the
right wood for making knitting needles. Better than- Dare I say it? -
ROSEWOOD.

Are you using American dogwood (cornus florida) or Oriental (cornus
kousa)? I take it these are American historical documents, since as far
as I know there's no European dogwood.

wrote:
Historical documents I have just come across, claim that dogwood is the
right wood for making knitting needles. Better than- Dare I say it? -
ROSEWOOD.

Any experience with dogwood knitting needles?

Anyway, I am making some. The green wood is very easy to split and work,
but hardens as it drys. I cut (straight) stems about an inch in diameter
into 6 inch lengths. Then split the green wood length wise into needle
blanks and whittled them round to just larger than the intended needle
diameter. I did a whole bunch of blanks in just a few minutes. I'm sure I
will have to steam the curves out of them, but since they are split rather
than sawn, I expect them to be very strong and smooth. I will finish them
when they are dry and hard.

Aaron

In article ,
wrote:

Historical documents I have just come across, claim that dogwood is the
right wood for making knitting needles. Better than- Dare I say it? -
ROSEWOOD.

Any experience with dogwood knitting needles?

Anyway, I am making some. The green wood is very easy to split and work,
but hardens as it drys. I cut (straight) stems about an inch in diameter
into 6 inch lengths. Then split the green wood length wise into needle
blanks and whittled them round to just larger than the intended needle
diameter. I did a whole bunch of blanks in just a few minutes. I'm sure I
will have to steam the curves out of them, but since they are split rather
than sawn, I expect them to be very strong and smooth. I will finish them
when they are dry and hard.

Aaron

I have a red coloured dog wood, but the branches of this bush are very
thin. Other dog woods here in my neighbour's gardens, are off limits.
There must be some good wood sorts around for knitting needles. I have to
browes in my husbands workshop.

Els

--
hate spam not welcome

Well, the oak and pecan. . . if the 'horseapple' is what I think it is -
Osage Orange/Hedgeapple. . . . has a fruit that is huge (orange to
grapefruit size), lt green and very bumpy texture. . .

If so, the Indians used to make bows out of it. . . supposively very
strong and up to the endless bending bows do.

Sonya

Wooly wrote:
snip
I do know where there's a horseapple tree but I don't think I could
get to it and back to the road with my life - there's a MEAN bull in
that field Mesquite might work, but its a weird wood. There's a
wheelwright in San Antonio who can't work with it anymore, as he's
developed incredible contact dermatitis from working with it over the
course of several years.

Wooly wrote in
:

I wonder what else is out there that might make decent
knitting needles...

maple. apple (maybe too brittle. peach is). walnut. birch,
yellow, river, black. paperbark maybe. hickory. beech.

i was thinking of trying apple & pear because the trees are
doomed. llamas ate the bark off
i like birch because it smells nice, especially the black
birch.
hmmm. i wonder if lilac would work. my lilacs need severe
pruning...
lee

I like 5 1/2 inch wooden DPN for socks.
Aaron
"bckwrds" wrote in message
. ..

Historical documents I have just come across, claim that dogwood is the
right wood for making knitting needles. Better than- Dare I say it? -
ROSEWOOD.

Any experience with dogwood knitting needles?

Anyway, I am making some. The green wood is very easy to split and
work,
but hardens as it drys. I cut (straight) stems about an inch in
diameter
into 6 inch lengths. Then split the green wood length wise into needle
blanks and whittled them round to just larger than the intended needle
diameter. I did a whole bunch of blanks in just a few minutes. I'm sure
I
will have to steam the curves out of them, but since they are split
rather
than sawn, I expect them to be very strong and smooth. I will finish
them
when they are dry and hard.

Aaron

Interesting, Aaron.....I may try this myself one day. Why did you
go with 6 inches in length and not longer?

Donna

Wooly,
It is not winter down there in TX, so go play in the garden.

Actually, the other wood mentioned for knitting needles was hop hornbeam.
Hop hornbeam grows better in the Northeastern US. The other wood I keep
thinking would be good is black walnut.

The dowels at the hobby shops really are not all that bad. You just have to
sort though them and find good ones thta do not have cracks or pits in them.
These days they are made from a tropical hardwood grown in SE asia.

Aaron


"Wooly" wrote in message
...
No dogwood in this part of the world, but I've got various sorts of
oak (not flexible when dried), pecan (ditto - a HARDwood), crape
myrtle (very brittle), corkbark elm (punky), poplar and cottonwood
(punkier yet). Ashe Juniper abounds here, but the resins would kill
me - the stuff is in the top three allergens in this area

There are some magnolias around, and something called a "Japanese
Varnish Tree", which I've never seen ANYWHERE outside of a few
neighborhoods on my usual routes. The varnish tree is reputed to grow
more than a foot a month, but I haven't bothered to check it.
Something tells me it came back in seed form with some Viet Nam or
Korea veterans and just doesn't do well here because our climate isn't
a tropical one.

I do know where there's a horseapple tree but I don't think I could
get to it and back to the road with my life - there's a MEAN bull in
that field Mesquite might work, but its a weird wood. There's a
wheelwright in San Antonio who can't work with it anymore, as he's
developed incredible contact dermatitis from working with it over the
course of several years.

I wonder what else is out there that might make decent knitting
needles...

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 00:12:31 GMT, spewed forth :

Historical documents I have just come across, claim that dogwood is the
right wood for making knitting needles. Better than- Dare I say it? -
ROSEWOOD.

The documents are from the 19th century US. and do not specify which species

I do not even know which species I am trying. It certainly seems to have an
interlocking grain and be capable of a smooth snag free surface.

Maybe related species may have somewhat similar grain structures?

Aaron

"spampot" wrote in message
...
Are you using American dogwood (cornus florida) or Oriental (cornus
kousa)? I take it these are American historical documents, since as far
as I know there's no European dogwood.

wrote:
Historical documents I have just come across, claim that dogwood is the
right wood for making knitting needles. Better than- Dare I say it? -
ROSEWOOD.

Any experience with dogwood knitting needles?

Anyway, I am making some. The green wood is very easy to split and
work,
but hardens as it drys. I cut (straight) stems about an inch in
diameter
into 6 inch lengths. Then split the green wood length wise into needle
blanks and whittled them round to just larger than the intended needle
diameter. I did a whole bunch of blanks in just a few minutes. I'm sure
I
will have to steam the curves out of them, but since they are split
rather
than sawn, I expect them to be very strong and smooth. I will finish
them
when they are dry and hard.

Aaron