Wych elm carving characteristics

[bushcraftbob]

Ive started making a spoon tonight of wych elm, and am surprised by how soft the wood is.

the wood I am using is not green, and almost fully seasoned, but is still very soft to work with, it's almost like working a bit of lime.

im a bit worried that it's not actually wych elm, as I thought this wood was meant to be very hard, I've heard it makes it makes a tough bow wood?

has anyone else found wych elm to be very soft when carving???
Thanks

 

[dwardo]

I find it relatively hard to work but under a sharp blade it works well. Very long interlocking grain which is easy to pull up splinters if not careful. Did you cut if your self?

 

[bushcraftbob]

Yes I cut it myself, its an offcut of a bow stave that i cut in March. It certainly does splinter easily doesnt it, i found myself taking off big strips with the knife at first, had to tread a bit carefully and cut with less pressure! I dont even know if its a good spoon wood? But ill see how it turns out. Im looking forward to starting the bow, not done one of wych elm yet.

 

[dwardo]

Yes I cut it myself, its an offcut of a bow stave that i cut in March. It certainly does splinter easily doesnt it, i found myself taking off big strips with the knife at first, had to tread a bit carefully and cut with less pressure! I dont even know if its a good spoon wood? But ill see how it turns out. Im looking forward to starting the bow, not done one of wych elm yet.

In that case then your sharp tools are probably just making it easy on you

Wych elm is an easy one to recognise. Besides the standard asym leaf shape the leaf also has little horns on it at making it almost tri-pointed. The biggest difference is the leaves feel like sandpaper to the touch.
With regards to the bow you want to trap the back if it doesn't already have a natural high crown. It also benefits greatly from heat treating the belly.

 

[Harvestman]

It is good spoon wood. If your tools are sharp the wood will feel soft, but elm is hard when fully seasoned.

 

[robin wood]

It is good but fibrous which is why it is a good bow wood. I can not possibly imagine comparing it to lime unless it was spalted and punky and had lost all its inherent fibrous strength.