8 replies to this topic

[defective]

does anyone know which strain or type of willow tree is used for BP charcoal?

[cooperman435]

From recollection, general consensus is that any willow is suitable as long as it is debarked. I'm not sure of the name but even the willow used to weave baskets from is good in my experience though a little awkward to debark.

[Night Owl]

Iv'e been using Salix fragilis (crack willow) to good effect I'm at the moment making some charcoal from Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica) ill test both types and post results.

[MDH]

Black willow is considered the very best.

[Arthur Brown]

Willow is one of the best woods as used in England when BP was made for blasting and military uses. Other countries have used other native woods Shimizu writes of "Pawlonia" some people swear by grapevine.
However til you have everything else sorted for perfect reliability the wood used may not make much difference.

[BrightStar]

One theory is that the best willow for BP is young wood (ie newer branches not trunk wood) from fast-growing varieties. The reasoning behind this is that it supposedly has less mineral content and hence produces the least inert ash in the charcoal. It may also simply be less dense and so produce a lighter, more porous charcoal. Whether any of this has been proven or not I don't know...

Phil's note on 'willow rushes' working well seems to back it up empirically.

Edited by BrightStar, 15 April 2009 - 12:02 PM.

[pyrotrev]

One theory is that the best willow for BP is young wood (ie newer branches not trunk wood) from fast-growing varieties. The reasoning behind this is that it supposedly has less mineral content and hence produces the least inert ash in the charcoal. It may also simply be less dense and so produce a lighter, more porous charcoal. Whether any of this has been proven or not I don't know...

Phil's note on 'willow rushes' working well seems to back it up empirically.

That may well be true with willow, but remember that hemp charcoal has a big mineral content and produces blindingly fast powder, so there's probably other factors as well.

[defective]

cheers guys.

[knackers]

when i first started making charcoal i was using all of my fruit trees after pruning, then came across an endless supply of weeping willow and it works great, so much better than apricot and apple,