Chinkapen...Chinkapin?

Keoma · #1 03-05-2008, 11:40 AM

Hello...! Could anyone tell me about Chinkapin? I was given a 1/2 log yesterday. It is perfectly dry. Has anyone ever worked with it? Do you know if it would make good spoons? It feels very hard...yay! Any info and advice would be much appreciated

Keoma · #2 03-05-2008, 11:45 AM

OK, So i've looked and see that it is an Oak species...so i guess it is hard...Since I plan on making spoons, what I am wondering is, is it a poisonous wood? Assuming no, since it is an Oak thing. Does anyone know of a reliable link for poisonous woods?

AlArchie · #3 03-05-2008, 02:54 PM

Sounds like you should be OK with this wood. That is assuming you have this particular type of wood. Seems like "chinkapin" had a bit broader base than just one species of oak. Check here for references.

http://www.wildflower.org/plants/res...?id_plant=QUMU

Al

Keoma · #4 03-05-2008, 03:38 PM

Thank you, that was very helpful! It is called an Oak...but is in the beech family...aaaah...ok. As long as I am not eating the raw leaves an nuts...I should be ok!
Can't wait to see how it carves!

AlArchie · #5 03-05-2008, 05:21 PM

All the North American oaks are in the beech family, as are the chestnuts,and of course the beeches. Whooda thunk?

Al

Keoma · #6 03-05-2008, 05:57 PM

ok then! lol...back to my sppon! thank you!

mikeGinSC · #7 03-08-2008, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keoma

Thank you, that was very helpful! It is called an Oak...but is in the beech family...aaaah...ok. As long as I am not eating the raw leaves an nuts...I should be ok!
Can't wait to see how it carves!

Actually, Chinkapin nuts are supposed to be a good source of starch and protein. Native Americans used to eat them and used them to make flour for bread. They grow around here in the mountains of NC. My old friend who leads a tour at the Cherokee Indian Reservation in NC talks about Chinkapins during part of the Oconoluftee Indian Village tour. Below is a link where you can find out about Chinkapins.

Mike G. in SC

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/p...93/v2-500.html

Keoma · #8 03-08-2008, 09:13 PM

Wow...thank you! Hard to believe one site I found said that all parts were poisonous. I had heard of chinkapin nuts, like acorns? I had never known them to be poisonous. Hmmm...thank you for the link, off to do more research!

sbirkes · #9 03-08-2008, 09:31 PM

As a kid living in the Ozarks back in the late 50's we ate chinkapin nuts anytime we could get them. A few years back a "chinkapin blight" wiped out a lot of the trees. I haven't had any chinkapin nuts for years. Some of the conservation agents know where trees are to be found.

brian bailey · #10 03-08-2008, 11:46 PM

Keoma,

Considering your location, could this species be the Chinkapin that you have acquired?

Here's a link : http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/si...rysophylla.htm