Persimmon

[Dphariss]

I was watching "How Its Made" last night and learned that the Persimmon is related to ebony. It was being used for wooden golf clubs.
Was of interest since Gusler mentions a rifle stocked in persimmon in his carving video.
Wikipedia notes that it is dense and close grained.
Dan

[Roger Fisher]

Hey D all I know about persimmon is that it "mak ma moupf  pucka ubb!"

It also makes darn good wine!!

[northmn]

I believe Persimmon was used in a fort in the South.  Cannonballs were said to have bounced off it as it gave and was tough enough to spring back.  I just cannot remember whether it was the Revolution, 1812 or Civil War memory anymore is only half good.

DP

[Mike Brooks]

I've never gotten a blank of persimmon to dry straight enough to use for a gunstock. Usually twists up and warps like a pretzel.

[Randy Hedden]

A few years back a guy gave me four small persimmon logs that had been dried. They were too small for rifle blanks, but I thought I could use the wood for something else? In trying to cut them I found that dried persimmon would totally wreck a chainsaw blade and would burn a circular saw blade beyond use. I gave one log to a friend of mine who is a wood carver and after he tried to use it he cussed me because he said he had to resharpen his chisels and gouges after just a very little cutting on the persimmon. He saud he spent more time resharpening his tools then he did carving on the persimmon. I found, on the other three logs, that they burned very good.

Randy Hedden

www.harddogrifles.com

[tallbear]

Freddie Harrison has some persimmon stock blanks.Not real thick but thick enough for a southern rifle.I got one off him this spring!!

Mitch

[Roy S.]

Dad made a gun from persimmon once from a stock I picked up from Freddie, ended up weighing something like 11 lbs. lol   Its hard and dense... did I mention hard?  oh yeah and its heavy 

[caliber45]

Gents -- I don't know what kind of rifle stocks persimmon wood makes, but I do know that the fruit (to those who know how (when!) to eat it, makes the most exquisite dessert known to man. The Japanese translation, I'm told, translates to "food for the gods." These are the "sugar plums" referenced in Christmas songs . . .) Those sold in grocery stores (about the size of a tangerine) are mediocre; those that grow wild in Indiana (less than the size of a golf ball) are exquisite. I have a persimmon pudding recipe from my late grandmother, and if I were on Death Row, persimmon pudding would be the dessert of my last meal. (I know this has nothing to do with gun building; my apology. Editors: If you want to zap it, zap it. - paulallen, Tucson

[billd]

I built a youth rocking chair from persimmon a few years ago. I thought it worked similar to a good quality piece of oak, but it was noticably  heavier.

Bill

[Stophel]

All right, can someone tell me or show me just what persimmon wood looks like?

[Tim Crosby]

  It looks like the tree that persimmons grow on. Sorry I couldn't resist it...It has a very distinguishable bark something like Dogwood only coarser. I lived in Virginia most of my life and never saw one bigger than maybe 8-10 inches in diameter, pretty tall but also pretty twisty. I have made mallets out of it that are nearly indestructible. Dogwood makes a good mallet also.   

 Tim C.

[Roy S.]

All right, can someone tell me or show me just what persimmon wood looks like?

I made a bopper with a left over piece...  If you put some stain on it it looks closer to walnut.

[deano]

There is a Persimmon gun built by Stophil Long pictured in Jim Johnston's book, I saw it once at an Ohio Gun Collectors show years go at the time it was owned by Bernard Roob who I have been told has past and his collection was scattered.  It had a broad butt, slim oval wrist and great lines. If anyone happens to know where it wound up I would like some pictures.

It had the finished look of Hickory, a straight grain with some dark rays in it and overall brownish colored. I used some persimmon wood on my work bench for trim and structural parts. When machined the sawdust looks like flour and has a distinctive smell, right before the saw dulls and scorches the wood.

You can find Persimmon logs at sawmills because the buyers for golf clubs don't come around any more since that market is gone. You need to be carefull because the wood can get wormy.

Ken

[Stophel]

  It looks like the tree that persimmons grow on. Sorry I couldn't resist it...It has a very distinguishable bark something like Dogwood only coarser. I lived in Virginia most of my life and never saw one bigger than maybe 8-10 inches in diameter, pretty tall but also pretty twisty. I have made mallets out of it that are nearly indestructible. Dogwood makes a good mallet also.   

 Tim C.

I know what the tree looks like, but never saw the wood.  Persimmon trees around here get about as big as anything else.

Don't eat the persimmons until after a frost.  Freezing changes the flavor from the infamous sour to an odd sweet taste.

[Roy S.]

That pic is with just finish on the wood... you can see a bit of the white sapwood on the bottom of it. 

[rich pierce]

Makes good bows.

[tallbear]

Chris
Heres the piece I got from Freddie.A little like faded walnut but much denser!!



Mitch

[Leatherbelly]

RichP,
 That was my next question. I'll bet it makes a dandy bow! The persimmon up here is tiny,more an ornimental shrub. It looks like a long fibered wood.Always looking for bow wood. Sorry,off track.