Which wood for what? Choosing native woods

Wood consists of long cells that run up the trunk like little tubes. How densely these tubes are packed determines how heavy and hard a wood is. Dense woods such as beech and oak contain a lot of mass in little space – they burn for a long time and give strong embers.

Softwoods such as spruce and pine contain resin. Resin burns very easily, so these woods catch fire quickly. At the same time small pockets of resin burst when heated – the wood crackles and throws sparks. That is great for lighting a fire, less so for calm cooking.

Whether a wood is tough or brittle depends on the length and direction of its fibres. Ash has long, tough fibres and springs back from blows – that is why it was the classic wood for axe handles. Lime has fine, even fibres without hard growth rings; the knife glides cleanly through it.

It starts with the question: what do I want to make? For a fire you first need something that burns quickly, then something that lasts. For a spoon you need fine, non-toxic wood. For a handle, tough, straight-grown wood without knots in the grip. For weaving, flexible young rods.

Then you must identify the tree reliably. Always look at several features: bark, leaf or needle, fruit and growth form. A single feature can mislead – yew and fir, for example, both have flat needles. The entry "Recognising important trees" helps with this.

Check every piece before using it. Sound wood sounds bright when tapped, is firm and springs back when bent. Rotten wood sounds dull, is soft, spongy or has fungus. For fire the wood must be dry; for carving, fresh wood is often more pleasant.

Yew and laburnum are highly poisonous. You recognise yew by flat, pointed needles without white stripes underneath, red seed cups and red-brown, flaking bark. Laburnum has long, hanging clusters of yellow flowers in early summer and later pods like peas. Nothing from either goes near food or into your mouth.

With unknown wood the rule is also: if in doubt, not for food vessels, skewers or roasting sticks. Painted, impregnated or glued wood – such as pallets, boards or fence posts – belongs neither near food nor in the campfire, because toxic substances can form when it burns. If you suspect poisoning, call 112, in Austria also 144, or a poison information centre.

Many ash trees have died from ash dieback. Dead ash trees quickly become brittle, drop branches or fall over completely. Never work or camp beneath dead trees. And with softwood on the fire: keep your distance, because sparks fly far.

Knowing wood species pays off in every forest project: lighting fires, carving, building and weaving. It saves time because you search on purpose, and it makes your pieces last longer. In a group, everyone can collect the right wood for one task.

But it does not replace reliable tree identification, and it applies only to Central Europe. Other countries have other species, including other poisonous ones. And you may not take wood everywhere – deadwood only where permitted, fresh wood only with the owner's permission.

In the past every craft had its favourite woods: wheelwrights built wheels and handles from ash, basket makers worked with willow, carvers and turners with lime. This old knowledge helps you in camp today.

Green, fresh wood is soft and flexible but shrinks and cracks as it dries. That is why spoons are often carved fresh and then dried slowly. Firewood, by contrast, must be dry, or it smokes heavily and gives little heat.

A small cheat sheet in your pocket helps with learning. Add what you observe yourself – how a wood smells, how it carves, how it burns.