I like alder and lime best-alder for its workability and yellow/bronze colour, lime because its soft and even. Today I went to cut hazel (which also carves nicely), but no joy, the fields around the woodland and the approach ride were flooded out pretty much like a paddy field really, I wasnt taking the astra in there today it might never get back out again, sunk without trace like in Louisania swamp or something
Gawd knows where all the carp will have gone to, there are 3 or 4 lakes which have "blended together" because of the flooding. BUT I struck lucky I instead did get some very nice sycamore which is a wood I never used before, very clean and straight, the fattest one is about a 12 inch diameter 10 foot long, it popped open into 2 halves easy as anything with the wedge. I carved a quick 10 minute spoon from it (well from a little blank split out from a smaller branch, it
wasnt 10 foot long
) and it is very nice indeed to work with, even grained, not too stringy like ash or oak (I wouldnt start with ash its very coarse grained and sinewy) Cherry is an attractive wood, nice to work with but difficult to dry out without getting cracks