No other native tree wood is as hard as hornbeam wood. It is thanks to this fact that the hornbeam was often planted as timber in the past. Today it is still used as parquet or in piano construction.
What is the hornbeam used for?
The hornbeam was once used as timber for wood screws, gears, spokes, axles, tools, butter churns and milk churns. Today it is used in parquet construction and piano construction as well as as firewood and as a remedy in Bach flower therapy.
The hardest wood in Europe
The hornbeam is also called hornbeam because its wood is very light - in contrast to the common beech, whose wood has a slightly reddish color.
One cubic meter of hornbeam wood weighs 800 kilograms. This makes hornbeam the heaviest and hardest wood that occurs naturally in Europe. It is also called ironwood or stone beech.
Use of hornbeam in the past
Because of its hardness, hornbeam wood was used wherever stability was important. Examples of usage were:
- Wood screws
- gears
- Spokes
- Axes
- Chopping blocks
- Sleigh runners
- Ochsenjoche
- Tools
White-scrubbed butter churns and milk churns were also made from hornbeam.
When iron became cheaper, it replaced the hornbeam, which was eventually used almost exclusively as an ornamental tree or for enclosing pastures.
Hornbeam as a defensive hedge
Up until the Thirty Years' War, defensive hedges were made from hornbeam. The trees were snapped down to do this. They sprouted again and also formed new shoots from the roots. Over time, almost impenetrable hedges emerged, with which villages and farms effectively protected themselves against raids.
What are hornbeams used for today?
Hornbeam is not particularly suitable for use in furniture making. The grain of the wood is not as pronounced as other woods.
Today, hornbeam is used to make wooden floors and piano hammers.
Hornbeam is a good firewood
Hornbeam has a very good calorific value and was often used then as now to heat stoves or fireplaces.
However, the wood must be chopped as fresh as possible, as the seasoned hornbeam wood is so hard that it is difficult to beat.
Hornbeam as a remedy
In Bach flower therapy, hornbeam is used to combat fatigue. Hildegard von Bingen also used the tree to treat white spots on the skin.
Tip
In the garden, the hornbeam is very popular as a topiary because of its great tolerance to cutting. It can be cut to almost any shape. The hornbeam is also very decorative as a standard or columnar hornbeam.
