As my dad likes to say, "not B-horn, C-horn or D-horn, it's maple (in German Ahorn)"
When we work the maple wood in the workshop, it actually reminds me of pancakes with maple syrup.
This spicy-sweet smell - slightly like burnt sugar - flows through the entire room, immediately creating a feeling of security and inner peace. If you run your hand over the seasoned wood, it feels warm and balancing.
Our ancestors were clever and made the best use of nature. Maple wood was primarily used for tools with wooden handles. Even in winter, the wood feels warm in the hand. Stable and not too heavy.
Maple wood is mostly cream-colored light, darkens, has fine pores, long fibers and is ideal as comb wood.
In the forest, in the city and on hiking trails, we often come across maple trees. They invite us to linger. Their colorful dress of leaves in autumn lets us fill up on well-being and joy.
We awaken the child in us when we take the fruit of the maple tree - also called nose-tweezer - and put it on our nose out of silliness and joy. What fun and hilarious laughter.
The hornbeam
"No other wood grounds me with its smell like the scent of freshly worked hornbeam!".
Hornbeam wood smells slightly musty and earthy when sawing, sanding and polishing. Since the wood is very hard and has fine pores, the smell does not stick to the wood. The hornbeam belongs to the birch family and is usually only known as a hedge and not as a tree that can have a diameter of up to 1.5 m.
The mostly light grey, fine-pored and very hard wood is ideally suited as comb wood, as it can be sanded and polished very smooth. Hornbeam wood is one of the hardest woods from Europe's forests. If you run your hand over seasoned hornbeam wood, it always feels smooth and cold.
Hornbeam a beech species? Far from it - the hornbeam belongs to the birch family and is therefore related to the alder.
In nature, the hornbeam is usually found as a hedge, as it does not shed the brown leaves in winter and thus offers privacy all year round.
When walking in the forest or parks, you will occasionally come across stately hornbeams. Lingering under such old hornbeams gives courage, vitality and freshness.
Have fun walking in the forest and exploring the trees,
your comb maker