New guy from Tennessee. Glad to be a member of the IAP.

[Darrell's chittum burl]

Looking forward to sharing information on pen making . A good friend of mine and long time member of the IAP informed me we may have a mutual interest in a particular wood, that being Chittum Burl. I have been collecting it since the late1960's. In addition to turning it I also carve spoons, kuksas, and bowls from Chittum Burl. To me it is if not the most beautiful wood there is it certainly ranks with the top two or three. To those of you who are familiar with the wood I would love to hear of your experiences, opinions, and see some of your creations using chittum burl. Here's to happy turning. Thanks, Darrell Albert

 

[BruceA]

Welcome, Darrel - !
I'll add a picture here of an Elegant Beauty Black Titanium and Gold Titanium with a Chittum Burl body. The wood has a range of stripes and sometimes eyes that are gorgeous, and the depth is almost like 3-D.

 

[mark james]

Welcome to IAP Darrell. I have seen Chittum Burl very rarely, so you are in an envied position. And I do not believe I have had the pleasure to turn any - so I welcome the pictures that will come forth.

Be well, Mark

 

[mark james]

View attachment 225248
Welcome, Darrel - !
I'll add a picture here of an Elegant Beauty Black Titanium and Gold Titanium with a Chittum Burl body. The wood has a range of stripes and sometimes eyes that are gorgeous, and the depth is almost like 3-D.

Very nice Bruce. The pen is wonderful as is the photography.

 

[magpens]

Hi Darrell !! . Welcome to IAP !!

Looking forward to seeing pics of some of your Chittum Burl Creations !!

 

[Jim15]

Welcome Darrell.

 

[BruceA]

Darrell, where does Chittum Burl come from and have you actually harvested it?

 

[bsshog40]

Welcome Darrel. Can't wait to see some of your work!

 

[Darrell's chittum burl]

I started picking up what I refer to as "down and dead". Chittum wood in 1967 while looking for caves to explore in Northeast Alabama and Southcentral Tennessee. An "old timer" local resident called my attention to it one day while looking for ginsing. It is an extremely rare wood and this particular species ,one of five, is only found in NE Alabama and SC TN. Their are about fifteen biblical references to "chittum wood" .Of the pictures I have seen of chittum from the holy land that species looks quite different. History has it that chittum was used during the civil war to make yellow dye. It occurs in small "groves" of only a few trees to several hundred. All trees do not have burls and very few of the burls are of value. For the most part the burls are stump burls with approximately 75% below ground level. I would estimate that out of 100 trees with burls only about one or two are worthy of all the effort required to dig them out and lug them out of the mountains on one's back. This is strictly a Winter time endvore for several reasons such as ticks, chiggers, and snakes. Having been bit by all of the above creatures over a period of 50 years searching for good quality chittum burl I've come to understand why the burl wood chittum is so valued.

 

[Darrell's chittum burl]

I started picking up what I refer to as "down and dead". Chittum wood in 1967 while looking for caves to explore in Northeast Alabama and Southcentral Tennessee. An "old timer" local resident called my attention to it one day while looking for ginsing. It is an extremely rare wood and this particular species ,one of five, is only found in NE Alabama and SC TN. Their are about fifteen biblical references to "chittum wood" .Of the pictures I have seen of chittum from the holy land that species looks quite different. History has it that chittum was used during the civil war to make yellow dye. It occurs in small "groves" of only a few trees to several hundred. All trees do not have burls and very few of the burls are of value. For the most part the burls are stump burls with approximately 75% below ground level. I would estimate that out of 100 trees with burls only about one or two are worthy of all the effort required to dig them out and lug them out of the mountains on one's back. This is strictly a Winter time endvore for several reasons such as ticks, chiggers, and snakes. Having been bit by all of the above creatures over a period of 50 years searching for good quality chittum burl I've come to understand why the burl wood chittum is so valued.

 

[jttheclockman]

Welcome aboard. I have to say just about any burl wood is tough to beat. They are the most sought after woods for many things. But the again throw in some birdseye woods and some figured olive woods too. Mother nature sure makes some nice products. Hope to see some of your work.

 

[rholiday]

Welcome from South Carolina.

 

[Woodchipper]

Welcome from SE TN. The "shittim" wood in the Bible is more than likely acacia wood. Modern translations use the acacia wood.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/shittim-wood

 

[tomtedesco]

Welcome from Colorado.

 

[jcm71]

Welcome from Chattanooga, Darrell. Love that chittum.

 

[bobjackson]

Welcome from Ohio Darrell

 

[jimm1]

Love me some Chittum.

 

[Edgar]

Welcome from Texas, Darrell.

 

[erichardson]

Where can one find Acacia or Shittim wood