# Understanding Underbark



## shwoseph (3 mo ago)

I'm pretty new to woodworking and I'm a little unclear on where the underbark ends and the sapwood begins. I've also heard some talk about exposing an interesting underbark. I want to preserve as much character and grain as I can in a stick, but generally it seems like underbark should get shaved off. Is that right? or is underbark good to keep on the stick? Here's a pic of a stick I'm currently working on. Is the dark part underbark and should I shave it off?


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## dww2 (Feb 4, 2017)

The underbark or cambium is the layer between the outer bark and the sapwood. Whether you remove it or not is entirely up to you. In your pic, the darker reddish streaks are underbark. On that stick, I'd remove it all unless a streaked look is what you're going for.
For my sticks, I usually leave the underbark on maple (and sometimes ash) because it turns a really lovely deep red color when finished.


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