# German/European Woods



## Sprung (Jan 15, 2015)

I have a friend (who is college and grad school classmate of mine) who has asked me to make a fountain pen for him. In talking wood choices, he admits that he knows nothing about wood - but since he loves all things German, would love it to be a wood from Germany. He also stated he likes darker woods, especially if they have a reddish hue/color to them.

I know nothing about European woods - and they aren't even really represented in my small, but growing stash of wood. I do know that some of the species of woods we have here are also found in Europe in some form.

Any ideas to consider for a darker German or European wood? Especially something nicely figured, like a burl? I could probably get him to go with a lighter wood if it was a piece of wood that had some historical significance.

Or should I tell him to suck it up and choose something else? (We go back long enough that I don't have to use kid gloves when communicating with him, lol!) He did seem to like the Amboyna Burl pen I showed him a picture of.

I haven't made any promises yet in regards to the wood selection for his pen, but I do want it to be nice - this is going on a nice fountain pen that will see frequent use.


----------



## Molokai (Jan 16, 2015)

I really dont know about any German woods that are dark.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Sprung (Jan 16, 2015)

Molokai said:


> I really dont know about any German woods that are dark.



Tom, thank you - you were someone I was hoping would chime in here with some input and your input definitely helps. I have a feeling that being able to source a piece of wood that, for certain, came from Germany is a potentially fruitless task.


----------



## Molokai (Jan 16, 2015)

I can send you a couple of bog oak pen blanks for free if is that something your friend want. Just needs to be stabilized. It has grain of normal oak so dont know how well its for turning.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## phinds (Jan 16, 2015)

German is not a name I see in association with wood. I see French walnut, Italian olive, English oak and so forth but I just don't remember any woods with "German" in their name, nor do I remember any that don't have the name but are specifically FROM Germany.

My database does show German tamarisk, which is a light reddish wood but I SERIOUSLY doubt you could source a piece of tamarisk in the USA that is guaranteed to be from Germany.

Also, a lot of fruit trees grow in Germany and the heartwood when finished would likely be pretty dark but again, I think it would be difficult to get something that was really from Germany.

You could always contact a German wood vendor.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Mike1950 (Jan 16, 2015)

Soak some walnut in sour Kraut and call it german.  sorry i could not resist. maybe goodwill and a broken old coco clock.

Reactions: Funny 3


----------



## barry richardson (Jan 16, 2015)

Gotta have some dark wood in Germany, or why would they call the southern region the Black Forrest?

Reactions: Funny 4


----------



## Kevin (Jan 16, 2015)

You won't find any stricter laws dealing with resources than in Germany. My first MIL was full blood German came over in the mid 60s - couldn't pronounce "German Shepherd" to save her hide she called them "Sherman Shepherds". "Wacuum Cleaner". "I'm choking you" meant she was telling you a joke. 

Whenever we'd drive through the big wide open Texas countryside with all those open unplanted fields she'd always say "I'm so glad my papa neva saw dis. He would have heart attack." Every square meter of real estate in Shermany is accounted for and used. I'm sure trees and forest resources are the same.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Sprung (Jan 16, 2015)

Thanks for the input, guys. From some research I did before posting this thread last night, I figured that finding anything that I could for certain tie to Germany would be pretty much impossible, but figured that if it were possible - some of you guys might know where to find something.

I have sent him an e-mail back stating that it's unlikely I could find anything that could be, with certainty, tied to Germany, but did give him a variety of wood options for him to consider. I'll see what he says.



Molokai said:


> I can send you a couple of bog oak pen blanks for free if is that something your friend want. Just needs to be stabilized. It has grain of normal oak so dont know how well its for turning.



I have seen pics of pens made out of bog oak and have been wanting to try some. I did present that to him as an option, so I'll see what he says and then go from there. Thank you very much of the offer!


----------



## Sprung (Jan 16, 2015)

Well, after all that - he decided on a nice piece of cherry burl! (Which I have on hand.)

Thanks for the input, gentlemen - as well as the few bits of humor!

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## Tom Smart (Jan 16, 2015)

Kevin said:


> You won't find any stricter laws dealing with resources than in Germany.



Having spent a bit of time in Germany over the years (lived there close to 10 years on and off), I can attest the forests are managed. Not like we "manage" the landscape, but the forest floor is swept. There is no deadfall, no branches or limbs on the ground, no tree stumps. They are absolutely park like. Each forest has a Forest Meister. He may also be the Jaeger Meister or guy in charge of hunting his forest. He selects the individual trees that will be harvested. They don't do clear cutting. Once cut the trees are neatly stacked along the logging trail. The largest percentage of the forests are pine of some flavor or spruce. That's what was replanted after the war in large part. Hardwoods are mostly oak and beech. So no dark colored heartwoods really.

Spent a lot of time in the forests. Walked many a 10km or 20km volksmarche. When I wasn't walking I was usually in a tank or Bradley Fighting Vehicle. As you may might expect, a tank battalion or cavalry squadron will make a real mess of the Forest Meister's hard work. Messy when it comes to cars and buildings as well. And the US paid for every tree that was knocked down or scrapped.

Reactions: Informative 2


----------



## JR Custom Calls (Jan 16, 2015)

you could always find someone who owns a VW to deliver the pen to him... so that it's at least somewhat tied to Germany.

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## kazuma78 (Jan 16, 2015)

Tom Smart said:


> Having spent a bit of time in Germany over the years (lived there close to 10 years on and off), I can attest the forests are managed. Not like we "manage" the landscape, but the forest floor is swept. There is no deadfall, no branches or limbs on the ground, no tree stumps. They are absolutely park like. Each forest has a Forest Meister. He may also be the Jaeger Meister or guy in charge of hunting his forest. He selects the individual trees that will be harvested. They don't do clear cutting. Once cut the trees are neatly stacked along the logging trail. The largest percentage of the forests are pine of some flavor or spruce. That's what was replanted after the war in large part. Hardwoods are mostly oak and beech. So no dark colored heartwoods really.
> 
> Spent a lot of time in the forests. Walked many a 10km or 20km volksmarche. When I wasn't walking I was usually in a tank or Bradley Fighting Vehicle. As you may might expect, a tank battalion or cavalry squadron will make a real mess of the Forest Meister's hard work. Messy when it comes to cars and buildings as well. And the US paid for every tree that was knocked down or scrapped.


I take it you were with 1AD. Which unit? And did you guys have ODS brads?


----------



## Tom Smart (Jan 16, 2015)

Josh, I was never in 1AD. I'm going to date myself but here goes:

- 4-64 Armor, 3rd ID, Aschaffenburg '74-'77 (M60A1, M60A2)
- HHT, Regt then 1st Squadron, 11th ACR, Fulda '85-'88 (M1, M3 Scout version of BFV)
- DCSOPS, USAEUR, Heidelberg, '91-'94 (desk)

So, no ODS Bradley. In fact, I was in Fulda when we transitioned to the first version of the M3.


----------



## kazuma78 (Jan 16, 2015)

Oh ok. I know 1 AD was in Germany for a long time and just recently came back So that's where my assumption came from. Well you would have been around for the initial release of the ODS Bradley then. I heard they have came a long way since then (M2a3 bfv). They have some neat features now but it still feels like your colon is going to vibrate out of your a*# when you ride in the back and your knees and hips slam into every instrument in the turret when you ride out the hatch. Thanks for your service!


----------



## Tom Smart (Jan 16, 2015)

You as well, Josh. 

While it was never a comfortable ride, the M3 was a bit easier to live in than an M2. Fewer soldiers in the back, more missiles. I took missile racks out and replaced them with map boards and additional radios. No GPS then. Still wouldn't throw away my 1:50,000 paper maps though.


----------



## kazuma78 (Jan 16, 2015)

I never was able to use the gps in the brad. There was always something wrong with it. And more radios is always a good idea, I used to have my rto bring spares because something would always happen to one of our radios and having no commo blows. I always tracked movement with a map between 2 sheets of plexiglass. As I'm sure you know it can be alot of work to track a mech movement since They can move so fast relative to foot marching.


----------



## Tom Smart (Jan 16, 2015)

No comms = a death sentence. Not from bad guys but your commander. 

As a young guy with a tank platoon cross attached to an Infantry company, we always found ourselves at the head of the column because tankers could read maps when moving more than 2mph. Don't get me wrong, I've made my fair share of wrong turns. And backing a tank column out of a small German village because I wound up in a barn yard or down an ally that wasn't wide enough is embarrassing.


----------



## kazuma78 (Jan 16, 2015)

Haha its funny you say that. My platoon got attached to a tank company during ntc so I know what you mean. The range for a tank is better than a brad too except for the TOW, so we always had the tankers in front. They kept us in back alot so we could be utilized where we were needed or to clear terrain of AT threats with dismounts. Commanders definitely get a little upset when coms go out. Makes it really hard to operate. It happens though unfortunately haha


----------



## kazuma78 (Jan 16, 2015)

The tankers were pretty good with navigation for the most part. But their equipment may be a little better. Those Abrams are a pretty sweet machine.


----------



## Mike1950 (Jan 16, 2015)

Tom Smart said:


> No comms = a death sentence. Not from bad guys but your commander.
> 
> As a young guy with a tank platoon cross attached to an Infantry company, we always found ourselves at the head of the column because tankers could read maps when moving more than 2mph. Don't get me wrong, I've made my fair share of wrong turns. And backing a tank column out of a small German village because I wound up in a barn yard or down an ally that wasn't wide enough is embarrassing.





kazuma78 said:


> The tankers were pretty good with navigation for the most part. But their equipment may be a little better. Those Abrams are a pretty sweet machine.



Thanks Both of you for what you did and are doing. Post WWII my uncle had to pay for a tree that he drove over in the black forest. We are lucky- we do not count our trees out west we count the square miles of trees...............

Reactions: Thank You! 2


----------



## Tom Smart (Jan 16, 2015)

Yep a TOW will reach out and touch you a long ways off.

But there is nothing more kinetic than 120mm of APFSDS depleted uranium at 2500+ meters in zero visibility darkness.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## kazuma78 (Jan 16, 2015)

Thermals in there are sweet. DU rounds can do some serious damage. You can fire them off much quicker than a TOW too. If I was ever in combat with mech I'd definitely want some tankers at my side. I think that's why they have moved to combined arms battalions. They make a good mix and team if used right. It's sweet to see the rounds fly at night too. Mech live fires are pretty fun.


----------



## kazuma78 (Jan 16, 2015)

Mike1950 said:


> Thanks Both of you for what you did and are doing. Post WWII my uncle had to pay for a tree that he drove over in the black forest. We are lucky- we do not count our trees out west we count the square miles of trees...............


That's interesting. If they are that accountable for the trees did they charge that much for it? The Germans decimated their own forests like crazy during the war with artillery, everyone else did quite a bit of damage too. Think of all the burl that probably got blown up


----------



## Tom Smart (Jan 16, 2015)

Combined arms battalions have been around for a very long time, since WWII, for the reasons you have mentioned. The difference these days is that they are combined at the MTOE level and they work side by side in the motor pool. Now you develop habitual relationships, live together and train together. You can't develop that unit cohesion by cross attaching occasionally. That's why there is now a Maneuver Center at Ft Benning with the Armor and Infantry schools on the same post. 

I always found it amusing when we topped off 5 tanks and drained an entire infantry company's fuel allocation. They couldn't understand we got gallons per mile rather than miles per gallon.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## kazuma78 (Jan 16, 2015)

I guess that's true. I was thinking of it in the sense of the MTOE. Ur right about their fuel. Brads can run for days on a fuel up and tanks can run for hours. Its interesting to see how the operations develop around that dynamic.


----------



## Tom Smart (Jan 17, 2015)

kazuma78 said:


> Its interesting to see how the operations develop around that dynamic.



That's called planning. The log tail often wags the operational dog, and why most smart Bn Cdrs place one of the most experienced/best Lts in the Support Platoon.


----------



## kazuma78 (Jan 17, 2015)

I don't think our support PL come from our battallion. I think it's an attached unit from a support bn. I think we kinda just get what bde gives us.


----------



## Tom Smart (Jan 17, 2015)

Guess I'm out of touch with current structure then. Treat those guys good, you can't do anything without bullets and gas in a mechanized or tank organization.


----------



## kazuma78 (Jan 17, 2015)

Yeah for sure. We are usually pretty nice to the fuelers and supply guys. They can really hook you up if they like you or rake you over the coals if they dont.


----------



## Tom Smart (Jan 17, 2015)

Yep that's usually how it works.


----------



## Sprung (Jan 17, 2015)

Tom and Josh - Thank you for your service! (And the cool information found in your back and forth in the thread.)


On another note, I have been able to locate wood from Germany - Two pen blanks worth of Bog Oak that was dug up in Bremen, Germany that are on their way to me. My friend is still going with the cherry burl for his pen, but I'll at least be able to give Bog Oak a try now!

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


----------



## Tom Smart (Jan 17, 2015)

Matt, sorry for hijacking your thread. I got carried away just a bit. But I enjoyed backin and forthin with Josh.

Good luck with your bog oak.


----------



## Sprung (Jan 17, 2015)

Tom Smart said:


> Matt, sorry for hijacking your thread. I got carried away just a bit. But I enjoyed backin and forthin with Josh.



No worries about hijacking the thread! That's just what we do here! Besides, the information I was looking for had already run through, so it would've been a dead thread anyways. Nothing wrong with the going back and forth - feel free to continue it here if you want to!


----------



## Tom Smart (Jan 17, 2015)

Thank you sir.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## kazuma78 (Jan 17, 2015)

Haha yeah sorry about that. Its fun to talk mech sometimes with someone else who was in it in a different unit.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Sprung (Jan 17, 2015)

kazuma78 said:


> Haha yeah sorry about that. Its fun to talk mech sometimes with someone else who was in it in a different unit.



As I told Tom - no worries. No need to apologize!

Off topic is something that we all do well here at WB anyways!

Reactions: Agree 1


----------

