Ulmus parvifolia elm" for the real Chinese elm. Elms, hickory and ash all have remarkably hard, tough wood that has made them popular for things like tool handles, bows and baseball bats. Chinese elm is considered the hardest of the elms. Owing to its superior hardness, toughness and resistance to splitting, Chinese elm is said to be the best of all woods for chisel handles and similar uses. Chinese elm lumber is used most for furniture, cabinets, veneer and hardwood flooring, as well as specialty uses such as long bow construction and tool handles. Most of the commercially milled lumber goes directly
Spokeshave drawknife. Unlike a drawknife, but like a plane, spokeshaves typically have a sole plate that fixes the angle of the blade relative to the surface being worked. By the twentieth century metal handles and detachable blades had become the most common. A convex, wooden, variant of the spokeshave is called a travisher. Spokeshave A spokeshave is a tool used to shape and smooth woods in woodworking jobs such as making wheel spokes, chair legs, paddles, bows, and arrows. Historically, a spokeshave was made with a wooden body and metal cutting blade. With industrialization metal bodies displaced wood in mass-produced tools.