Reading a Sandblasted Surface

Reading a sandblasted surface means seeing that the relief on a stummel isn't a pattern applied for decoration, but the exposed structure of the wood itself. Sandblasting doesn't add a new form to the surface; it makes tangible the difference between the wood's hard and soft zones. That's why two pipes put through the same process are never identical, and even the two sides of a single stummel can turn out different.

What the Rings Say

Every growing season leaves a ring in tree heath's root burl; as a rule, one ring corresponds to one year. The early wood formed at the start of the season is the product of fast growth — loose and soft; the late wood forming toward the season's end is denser and harder. Pressurized abrasive doesn't treat these two textures alike: the soft one wears away quickly, the hard one resists, leaving behind ridges stacked back to back. Ring width isn't constant either; a wet, long season leaves a wide ring, a dry year a narrow one. Briar burls are mostly harvested between thirty and sixty years of age, so a single stummel can show tight and loose ring clusters side by side.