# Why I Like Dogwood



## jazz (May 15, 2012)

Hi all,

I am quite aware of the fact that many of you use dogwood forks. Me too. However, I never rationally thought of why is that so except that it is "strong enough". Since I started actively to read, think and work on slingshots only recently (but my practical experience is lifelong) I also paid some closer attention to dogwood. Here are some thoughts on dogwood's merits, and if you have more please share them with me and others.

Before I start, and once again, the dogwood I speak of is European_Cornel and it looks like this:










So, why do I like it so much, both generally, and when slingshot making is concerned?

*First, because of its image*. In Bosnia and other countries around (Serbia, Croatia etc) it is well known for its healthy properties. Excellent jam and juice, usually home made, are produced out of it. It is full of vitamin C and were once one of the main sources of this vitamin during the winter. It is less known that excellent brandy is produced from it (making homemade brandy, like plum brandy, pear brandy, apple brandy etc is not illegal here, believe it or not). It is also known for its toughness, especially if dried properly. For this reason it is in our folk songs, in our speech etc.

*Second, because of its abundance*. At least here in South-East Europe you can find it almost everywhere. In grows in forests, it grows in hedges, and in the fields. Here where I live you can not get out of the town to have a walk through these forests and not to find many of them.

*Third, because it is widely considered more of a bush than a tree*. I am not the one who tells the difference between life forms, but is it generally not considered harm to cut dogwood, unless it is intentionally grown in the hedge. More than that, if you want to maintain your forest healthy and airy, then you should cut all the bushes and shrubs, including dogwood. Therefore, although I try to use pre-cut branches whenever I can, if I have to cut alive plant than dogwood gives me least amount of misery and best forks in the same time.

*Fourth, because it peels off like banana*. Yes, if it is relatively fresh you can get its bark off very easily. Too easily I would say since when working with wood I do not mind little obstacles, problems, difficulties etc. When barking fresh dogwood is concerned there are simply no problems.

*Fifth, because it forks well*. Every three, more or less, forks. Looking from the slingshot perspective, there is many more ideal forks as a percentage with dogwood then with an oak, walnut and other. Of course, this point is lost if we are looking intentionally for weird looking ones as I often do..

*Sixth, because it is very hard and it is very tough in the same time*. Really, I have never seen broken dogwood forks, maybe it is possible only if they are too thin for enormous amount of strength. This allows making very elegant, thin forks for a serious slingshot, if that is the requirement.

*Seventh, because when it does break it does not beat off*. Well, maybe I will have problems explaining this one because my English is limited. But what I want to say is IF the dogwood forks break they are not going to slam you in the face, because it breaks similar to a bunch of toothpicks: take, say, six of them and bend them to break. They will break but will stay together.

*Eight, because it is very light when dry*. In fact it is so light that sometimes mounting some weight onto or into the handle makes sense. This means that for a pocket slingshot it will never make your pocket hang like a bag...

*Nineth, it has great feel and look naturally*. Really, when properly barked and dried it has an elegant whitish-yellowish colour and is smooth and has almost glossy finish which reminds me of some types of bamboo. Actually, because of this and its other properties, intimately I see this wood as "our bamboo". Sometimes I aks myself why send this piece at all when it is naturally so fine under the fingers? The slingshot I am making presently for my step-mother has such a nice smooth handle - naturally - that it imposes completely unexpected problem; now I am looking for a best way to make it not so smooth, that is, more manageable: maybe I will sand it with very coarse sand paper or simply wrap it with paracord, I do not know at the moment.

Any more thoughts?
cheers


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

WOW! I believe you summed it up pretty well.


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## Sofreto (May 10, 2012)

BUT, does it bark (no pun intended)??

Cheers,

Sofreto


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## Quercusuber (Nov 10, 2011)

*Well, sir, the most acurate explanation of a type of wood i've ever seen in this forum! Well done...*


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## jazz (May 15, 2012)

Hi all,

maybe I have some problems with english (no surprise): I use word "bark" for the "skin" of the tree, and as a verb, "to bark", and to "bark off" meaning "to peel the bark off the tree", if I am wrong, I am sorry, just help me out with the proper usage.

thanks


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## strikewzen (Jun 18, 2010)

problem with this thread is i don't have any dogwood forks yet

making me jealous

Mr. Hussey's choice cannot be wrong, we just didn't know why until you explained

but why is it called dogwood anyway? google time


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## strikewzen (Jun 18, 2010)

Dense and fine-grained, dogwood timber has a density of .079 and is highly prized for making loom shuttles, tool handles and other small items that require a very hard and strong wood. Though it is tough for woodworking, some artisans favor dogwood for small projects such as walking canes, longbows, mountain dulcimers and fine inlays. Dogwood wood is an excellent substitute for persimmon wood in the heads of certain golf clubs ("woods"). Dogwood lumber is rare in the fact that it is not readily available with any manufacturer and must be cut down by the person(s) wanting to use it.
Larger items have also been occasionally made of dogwood, such as the screw-in basket-style wine or fruit presses. The first kinds of laminated tennis rackets were also made from this wood, cut into thin strips.
Dogwood twigs were used by pioneers to brush their teeth. They would peel off the bark, bite the twig and then scrub their teeth


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## rockslinger (Nov 16, 2010)

*Good post, now we know all about dogwood!







*


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## Rayshot (Feb 1, 2010)

rockslinger said:


> *Good post, now we know all about dogwood!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I agree. Thanks for the post.


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## f00by (May 18, 2010)

Request this post get pushed to the tutorials section? Really entertaining read! Thanks Jazz.

-f00bs


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## jazz (May 15, 2012)

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies and encouragement again; it seems that together we learn: strikewzen for example explained a lot to me with his internet research.

And I just remembered tenth possible interesting thing about dogwood:

*Tenth, it really does not need protection/conservation*. Really, unless you intend to use your slingshot extensively outdoors in every kind of weather, and very often, like maybe hunters or survivalists do, you do not need to apply ANYTHING to it to keep it healthy for decades. Just as an example, my slingshot that I showed in one of my previous threads is exactly 30 years old, even the bark was not completely peeled off it in time of making; it was pretty used but also laid forgoten in chunks of years - and nothing is wrong with it. I will post its photo here again:









There are three hues here: light brown/yellowish at the top of the forks where the bark was actually peeled off; brown, which is the under-bark material, I do not know what it is called and this is where the original bark peeled off due to the usage; dark brown, in the middle section of the forks and down to the right on the handle - these are the remnants of its original bark.

In no way I advertise here no-protection, no-finish etc ideas. I just speak of one of its aditional features, so that if anyone has the reason and thinking of NOT applying protective coats, he/she will under normal circumstances have nothing to regret for.

cheers


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## jazz (May 15, 2012)

Hi strikewzen,



strikewzen said:


> problem with this thread is i don't have any dogwood forks yet
> 
> making me jealous


If your words mean that you never had chance to work with dogwood I can send you a dogwood fork, actually, I have really a rare, big one that, to be honest, I have no idea what to do with.

Even if you had previous experience but you do not have one at present, I wouldn't mind sending it to you: maybe you will enjoy working with it more than me.

(In order to avoid complications with shipment costs, bank accounts details etc. I would cover them; one day, if you have a fork to share you can do the same, but not necessarily to me but to anyone who would like to have it.; slingshot making and shooting is great fun, why not share it?)

what do you say?

cheers


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## valkerie (Mar 5, 2012)

I have made a couple of bows from dogwood and yes it certainly is a tough wood. It makes great bows even when the wood is dripping green...believe it or not! If you try to make a bow from any other green wood it will perform very badly.....dogwood is an exception to the rule.
I wish we had more of it where I live but I keep looking and never see any....I got my only pieces from Wales. They tested out at 0.80 sg
I've never made a SS from it but I can safely say it will work perfectly







.


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## strikewzen (Jun 18, 2010)

jazz said:


> problem with this thread is i don't have any dogwood forks yet
> 
> making me jealous


If your words mean that you never had chance to work with dogwood I can send you a dogwood fork, actually, I have really a rare, big one that, to be honest, I have no idea what to do with.

Even if you had previous experience but you do not have one at present, I wouldn't mind sending it to you: maybe you will enjoy working with it more than me.

(In order to avoid complications with shipment costs, bank accounts details etc. I would cover them; one day, if you have a fork to share you can do the same, but not necessarily to me but to anyone who would like to have it.; slingshot making and shooting is great fun, why not share it?)

what do you say?

cheers
[/quote]

this sort of kindness i've been experiencing around this friendly forum really touch me

i actually said those words in the joking manner, yes i never had experience with dogwood, and always wanted one after seeing Rufus Hussey's work, but never had the chance to see one in person

i would totally be up for a trade for that magical fork, but i don't know how soon i can repay you with something worthwhile to you

i will PM you Jazz! thanks so much mate


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## jazz (May 15, 2012)

Hi strikewzen,

Ok, let me put it this way: you do not owe me anything and you do not have to repay anything. Why is that so?

Because I am also glad to be in this forum. Believe it or not, when slingshooting and making are concerned, this is the first time in my life I have friends who do not make fun of me, or think I am an idiot or "have never grown up". Because of my gratefulness that I have all of you to communicate to and share ideas with, I would do anything to contribute to the good spirit that lives here.

I do not know what is the way that we members communicate directly - I see very little e-mails around - but I just need from you an address and then I will act.

I have to inform you that the fork has been recently cut, if has not dried yet and I do not have perfect drying conditions. Although it is very unlikely that the fork will crack it is a distant possibility. I suggest that I send it to you after one week more of drying, when I am sure that it is ok.

I am looking forward to see the finished work.

cheers


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## Sleepy (Mar 31, 2011)

jazz said:


> Hi all,
> 
> maybe I have some problems with english (no surprise): I use word "bark" for the "skin" of the tree, and as a verb, "to bark", and to "bark off" meaning "to peel the bark off the tree", if I am wrong, I am sorry, just help me out with the proper usage.
> 
> thanks


You did perfect with your use of the word bark. I believe Sofreto was making a joke, or a play on words. A dog barks. He asked if it barks. It was a joke with the similarity of words. He was not saying you were a joke though, I'm sure. English is hard enough, but humor...well... that takes time, I believe.


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## Guest (Nov 20, 2012)

You got it exactly. I am working on a dog wood fork right now and I am absolutely amazed at how perfectly it was formed on the tree. The wood has all the properties you describe plus one... It does not seem to split while drying. Great stuff, I think. Maybe the "Bean Shooter Man" knew something?


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