Ash pole

[mariana79]

Hi
In D.H.Lawrence`s "The White Peacock", book 2, chapter 1, one character says ash pole, I could not find it in any dictionary but I guess it could be an animal.Can you help me?

Do as th’ animals do. I watch my brats — I let ’em grow. They’re beauties, they are — sound as a young ash pole, every one.

 

[entangledbank]

A pole made out of ash: ash is (also) a kind of tree, Fraxinus.

 

[The Newt]

It's a pole (a vertical piece of wood) made from an ash tree.

 

[mariana79]

Thank you both, most helpful, thanks

 

[RedwoodGrove]

Ash is a sturdy hardwood used for furniture making and various other things. The ash I've seen is very similar to oak, another wood known for its resilience.

 

[Packard]

Most baseball bats and almost all wood ax and hammer handles are made from ash. It is a very tough wood with an open grain that as Redwood said resembles oak in that regard.

Woods are rated for hardness on a Janka scale, ash, red oak and white oak all fall in about 1300 on the Janka scale, about 2½ times harder than pine.

Janka Wood Hardness Scale

1360
White Oak

1320
White Ash

1300
American Beech

1290
Northern Red Oak

 

[Andygc]

Resembles oak? You've funny ash trees in America! It's a different colour, it has a completely different grain pattern, and it is much easier to work with both hand tools and machines. But it is a very good wood where strength and light weight are wanted. (It was widely used in coachbuilding when cars had a wooden framework, and I make chairs from it)

I think the text actually means a young ash tree - a pole still growing - rather than a pole made from an older tree.

 

[velisarius]

[...]

I think the text actually means a young ash tree - a pole still growing - rather than a pole made from an older tree.

I thought so too.

 

[RedwoodGrove]

Ash:


American white oak:


Some oak is blonder, some ash is darker. There are all kinds of variations. Admittedly I haven't seen that much ash in the flesh, so to speak. Good quality oak is often characterized by its medullary rays, the shiny bits that run across the grain. Ash doesn't have this. And that about exhausts my knowledge of ash hardwood, except that the European ash tree is seen all over the place in the East Bay as a very durable street tree.

 

[Packard]

Ash:


American white oak:


Some oak is blonder, some ash is darker. There are all kinds of variations. Admittedly I haven't seen that much ash in the flesh, so to speak. Good quality oak is often characterized by its medullary rays, the shiny bits that run across the grain. Ash doesn't have this. And that about exhausts my knowledge of ash hardwood, except that the European ash tree is seen all over the place in the East Bay as a very durable street tree.

What most people notice is the open grain, which both species exhibit.

 

[Andygc]

oak is often characterized by its medullary rays

All oak, not just good quality.

 

[Packard]

Apparently an ash pole [stave] was a weapon. They list them for sale on line. All the sites I found this on were selling them so I cannot link. But most were 84" long and apparently still used for martial arts practice.