# What SMELLS the Best



## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

There is nothing like the smell of fresh cut wood! *Which wood Smell do you like the best*? I have to tell ya, I'm hard pressed to name my favorite! Aromatic Cedar is probably a given -- but they all have their unique odors -- and some last a long time.


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## gdenby (Apr 27, 2013)

I've had quite a bit of pleasure working w. sassafras. If green wood, the bark when cut smells like lemon and root beer. Seasoned wood, the heartwood releases a faint root beer smell when cut.

It is a lightweight wood, and the grain is a little too long and coarse for fine carving, but it is quite rigid.


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## AAAndrew (Jul 19, 2013)

There's a traditional wood in China, probably related to ceder, that's used in bath tubs. I had a friend who lived in the countryside in Taiwan near a guy who still made these things. I ordered one for my son when he was born. When you fill it up with warm water the wood swells and makes it water tight, and emits a wonderfully aromatic, but subtle smell. The best thing I've smelled from wood except for freshly cut sandalwood.

Otherwise, sugar maple is nice, but Pine, especially those called "southern yellow pine" are quite resinous and smell quite good when first split or sawn.


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

gdenby said:


> I've had quite a bit of pleasure working w. sassafras. If green wood, the bark when cut smells like lemon and root beer. Seasoned wood, the heartwood releases a faint root beer smell when cut.
> 
> It is a lightweight wood, and the grain is a little too long and coarse for fine carving, but it is quite rigid.


Yes -- we've got a lot of sassafras on our place (and I mean a lot) the smell is quite singular!


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

AAAndrew said:


> There's a traditional wood in China, probably related to ceder, that's used in bath tubs. I had a friend who lived in the countryside in Taiwan near a guy who still made these things. I ordered one for my son when he was born. When you fill it up with warm water the wood swells and makes it water tight, and emits a wonderfully aromatic, but subtle smell. The best thing I've smelled from wood except for freshly cut sandalwood.
> 
> Otherwise, sugar maple is nice, but Pine, especially those called "southern yellow pine" are quite resinous and smell quite good when first split or sawn.


I even like to walk inside houses under construction just to smell all the fresh lumber!


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## littleknife (Jun 30, 2013)

I have very little experience regarding the smell of cut wood, and it is limited to Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and several species of oak.

Among those the smell of the pine wood was the most pleasant for me, and that of the oaks the least.

I was told that freshly cut rosewood smells really nice (hence the name), and that apricot and peach woods smell like their respective fruits. Can someone confirm that?


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## boxwoodruler (Jan 11, 2013)

Not sure about apricot, but peach does actually smell like peaches! Camphor smells like Vicks vapor rub. Paduak has a candy smell. Amboyna burl smells like Pier One Imports. Greenheart has a fresh clean smell. Other woods stink! Zebrawood smells like a wet zebra, but the sapwood has a very sweet and pleasant smell. Often times, when I'm uncertain what kind of wood I have, the smell will be a very important clue.


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## Sean (Dec 29, 2012)

My favorite is Cottonwood, a very unique smell, very pleasant. You don't have to cut it to enjoy, just wait for the first rain.


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## Kemjak (Aug 12, 2013)

Apricot smells like apricot. I took out a small orchard one time, and remember how it smelled like apricots. Pretty wood too, I think.


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

I can see that there are only a few of us wood sniffers! I suppose it's a bad habit anyway!


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## WalkersStics (Feb 20, 2014)

Ahhhhh.....I love Sassafras, and actually the sweet smell of Dogwood while doing my carvings


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## CAS14 (Dec 28, 2012)

I definitely do not like the so-called "diamond" willow odor. I think I'm smelling the fungus that stunted the branches, discolored the wood, and created the beauty. Finishing does a pretty good job of sealing that in.


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

CAS said:


> I definitely do not like the so-called "diamond" willow odor. I think I'm smelling the fungus that stunted the branches, discolored the wood, and created the beauty. Finishing does a pretty good job of sealing that in.


How ya doing CAS? Havn't heard from you for awhile.


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

WalkersStics said:


> Ahhhhh.....I love Sassafras, and actually the sweet smell of Dogwood while doing my carvings


Agreed! Sassafras especially! Even after they've cured they carry that wonderful aroma!


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## CAS14 (Dec 28, 2012)

Rad said:


> How ya doing CAS? Havn't heard from you for awhile.


Rad, all is AOK. My company shut down exploration and will probably sell everything within a year, and so their geologist (me) was "retired" as of March 1, although I've moved my computer to my home office, and I'm already doing some consulting. I was planning on doing this three years from now, but this works just fine for me. I'll have more time to maintain a Marine Corps unit's website, more time for family, more time for the volunteer activities that I'm already involved with, and I should have no difficulty in consulting a couple of days each week, and selling an exploration concept now and then.

Life is good!

Also, more time for sticks, once the weather improves. Now waiting on some gold-colored initials (my Doc's) to embed in his diamond willow stick, before minor, final sanding and several tung oil applications.

Next up, a eastern red cedar stick collected a year ago at my brother's east Texas place, and this will be his. He is visiting in late March, and we can make the length perfect. He is a retired cop who is also a summer park ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park. He likes the idea of a compass on top, like the diver's compass that I have on one of my own sticks. I lost the second compass, but recently located it, good because they are no longer available in this area.


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

Glad to hear it! Good luck on your second life! Looking forward to seeing the finished product on your Dr.'s stick!


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

good luck rad enjoy your new lifestyle ,hope to hear more from you

You seem to be busy allready .Send some pics of the sticks your planning always keen to view thwm or any pics come to that.But most of all enjoy yourself

If your anything like me i seem to be busyer than ever since i retired .so mayby not quite so much carving for me next week or so.


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

cobalt said:


> good luck rad enjoy your new lifestyle ,hope to hear more from you
> You seem to be busy allready .Send some pics of the sticks your planning always keen to view thwm or any pics come to that.But most of all enjoy yourself
> If your anything like me i seem to be busyer than ever since i retired .so mayby not quite so much carving for me next week or so.


I think you mean CAS.


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

My apoliges must have had a senior moment .Thanks for putting me straight


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

cobalt said:


> My apoliges must have had a senior moment .Thanks for putting me straight


Tis OK! I hope to do an early retirement in just under 4 years! Here's keeping my fingers crossed!


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

Rad said:


> you will love it if your busy and days get busyer for me .But hate being called a senior citizen
> 
> Tis OK! I hope to do an early retirement in just under 4 years! Here's keeping my fingers crossed!


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## alador (Apr 25, 2013)

I like the smell of most types of wood, especially walnut and cherry. The subject of smell itself is fascinating to me too. The following are some excerpts from an article about smell from an article on the website of the Mirror in the UK.

The part of the brain responsible for our sense of smell-the limbic system-is related to feelings and memory.

The olfactory bulbs has sensory receptors that are actually part of the brain which send messages directly to:


The most primitive brain centers where they influence emotions and memories (limbic system structures), and
"Higher" centers where they modify conscious thought (neo-cortex).

It is important to add that "Our sense of smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than any other of our senses and recognition of smell is immediate. Other senses like touch and taste must travel through the body via neurons and the spinal cord before reaching the brain whereas the olfactory response is immediate, extending directly to the brain. This is the only place where our central nervous system is directly exposed to the environment."

Studies show that 75% of emotions are triggered by smell, which is linked to pleasure, well being, emotion and memory

The sense of smell is the first of all our senses to develop. Even before we are born, our sense of smell is fully formed and functioning.

Humans have five to six million odor-detecting cells but that is nothing compared to the animal kingdom. Rabbits have 100 million and a dog 220 million.

Interesting stuff or maybe I'm just a science nerd.

The whole article can be found here

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/20-fascinating-facts-sense-smell-1977351


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

It is interesting! Thanks for sharing!


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

Yes your quite right about smells and memory

When my mother died i had the unplesent task of clearing her flat ,most things went to the charity shop a couple of boxes lingered in our place for some time and some warn nights it was as though my mother was here ,this went on for several weeks until one day i opend a box which was full of my mothers bits and peices and there was some perfume that she wore and explained everything as soon as i smelt it .Bit it seemed very strange at the time


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## LilysDad (Sep 25, 2014)

Here's another; no one has mentioned Catalpa. Catalpa makes a passable replacement for Butternut and I find the smell reminds me of licorice.


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

Thanks LilysDad! You resurrected this thread from the dead!


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## miketryban (Aug 15, 2013)

I like the smell of Red Fir, and Sasasfras, I don't even wear a dust mask when sanding Sasasfras cause I love the smell of that root beer, I even stop and just smell it for a few min. man I love the smell of Sasasfras...


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

The smell be good but it wont do much good for your health


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## LilysDad (Sep 25, 2014)

What?!! Cajuns eat the stuff by the bushel!


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

well thats news to me? what on earth do they it it with and how?

but is it any good for your lungs


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## LilysDad (Sep 25, 2014)

Have you heard of a spice called file' as in 'file' gumbo'? It is made by drying sassafras leaves and grinding them.


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## MJC4 (Mar 6, 2014)

I too like the smell of sassafras. I have a piece I'm working on sitting next to me on my desk. I had read somewhere that the dust from sassafras was potentially toxic, so when sanding I wear a mask as I do with all woods.

I have further researched it and found the oil in sassafras contains safrole which has been shown to cause cancer in rats, albeit at concentrations unheard of in human consumption.

Sassafras had been used for eons to make root beer. None the less the FDA banned the use of sassafras for human consumption in 1960. Go figure, native Americans and early colonists used it extensively as a medicinal herb. I read in the 17th century sassafras was second only to tobacco as an export to Europe and was used as a remedy for, of all things, social diseases!

Mark


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## gdenby (Apr 27, 2013)

There is a small amount of a carcinogen in sassafras. I forget what it is, maybe sassaferol. I've never had a problem w. the dust, no rashes, itching, or sneezing.

I love the aroma of the bark, and cutting that makes working with it a delight.

FWIW, my recollection is that the ban on using plain sassafras extract for tea is that in bulk, there is enough of another substance to allow on to produce a banned pharmaceutical. When I was little, my family lived on the old family farm. There was a stand of sassafras at the edge of the yard. Every spring, my Dad would go out and root some up to keep them from getting into the lawn, and my Mom would use the roots for tea. A "spring tonic" she called it. I don't recall much of an effect, not even as much as a bottle of cola. But it did taste so much better.


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

I dont know the wood , one of many on here.Pity what is it like to work?

many of you speak of it


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## miketryban (Aug 15, 2013)

The sasasfras is easy to work with I have not carved into it but mainly sanded it and it smells great...

As for it being toxic I don't really care I just want that sweet smell, if that don't kil me something else will...


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## LilysDad (Sep 25, 2014)

If you strip off the outer bark and sand the inner bark, it has a beautiful pattern to it.


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## gdenby (Apr 27, 2013)

cobalt said:


> I dont know the wood , one of many on here.Pity what is it like to work?
> 
> many of you speak of it


Where I live it is quite common, almost a weed tree. It spreads mostly from its root system, and often is found along old fence lines and the edges of roads. A whole grove may be just a few individuals with many "daughter" trunks. Because cutting away a sapling is not likely to harm the colony, it is one of the few trees I will cut live.

It is not used much for woodworking. The trunks and branches tend to be twisty, an a straight piece is rarely longer than a few feet. It can be a fast growing tree, and the wood is then fairly soft with an open grain. If it grows more slowly, while the grain pores are still prominent, the wood is of medium hardness. The heartwood is a nice light brown, w. a hint of orange. The under bark is usually a bright orange, and as mentioned, has a wonderful aroma. The leaves have a slight lemon-like scent. I've seen it used for small sculptures and ornamental boxes.


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

We've got the stuff all over the farm! You can always tell when you've cut in to one, it does smell great. Dad use to make tea for his mother all the time -- I've thought about giving it a whirl -- what's a few more carcinogen's?


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

Its always good to know about how the wood carves , always nice to try different woods.

the only wood i dont like is pine although its cheap its not a nice wood to work and a lot more difficult to get detail on.It needs more attention when carving ,its also easyer to damage.

Oftern think it puts people of carving due to its natuer


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

Oh but the pine smells good! Which of course is the theme of this thread!


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## LilysDad (Sep 25, 2014)

One question I have about pine; I'm told that6 pine has to heat to a certain temp. in the kiln for the resin to harden up and not be sticky. So what did the Early Americans do when they didn't have kilns? Their pine was air dried.


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

LilysDad said:


> One question I have about pine; I'm told that6 pine has to heat to a certain temp. in the kiln for the resin to harden up and not be sticky. So what did the Early Americans do when they didn't have kilns? Their pine was air dried.


Even kiln dried pine can have sticky pine resin.


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

Kiln dried wood still has resin in it.

a lot of people still scortch the wood as it seals it well and acts as a preservative . heating the wood up draws the resin to the surface and seals it well. but you can go to far with it .When the resin starts to bubble/boil the thats the time to stop

so its not the kiln that does this , but a lot depends on the wood itself ,some has a lot of it others not much

But oftern you will find a stick residue in it

Most of the smell in pine is prominent when freshly cut.

Lime dosnt seem to have any smell but mayby its because that its been well seasoned?


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

cobalt said:


> Most of the smell in pine is prominent when freshly.


Maybe --- but, there is nothing like walking into a building under new construction!


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

most of our buldings are brick, but when there cutting wood in there workshops for the jiosts you can really smell it.


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## JGB (Dec 14, 2014)

tea tree smells awesome


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## nurseboy (Jan 5, 2015)

I think cocobolo has the nicest smell like oranges, rosewood smells different from every region but I haven`t been able to verify which area smells best.

What is the name of the wood from China that smells like sandalwood I want some? :startle:


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## nurseboy (Jan 5, 2015)

where can I get some of those fancy crystals that I see on the ends of some fancy walking sticks and wands?


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