This handcrafted hair fork is made from European Walnut and Yew wood.  The Walnut grain pattern at the top of the fork has a series of deep dark Diagonal lines mixed with a lighter background grain. The Yew forks are a golden honey hue with darker grain running down the peice. There is a lighter blond streak down the length one prong on one side.

European Walnut grows in south west Asia, Turkey and Europe.  It has been used for many years in cabinet work and marquetry and provides some pretty tasty nuts.  The wood to make this hair fork came from a very old tree in Bath that was cut down due to disease and rot.  Many were sad to see it go.  A tree surgeon friend kindly gave me some pieces that were destined to be burnt or thrown away in an effort to honour the life of such a Great tree.

Yew has been used for many centuries.  Longbows were made from Yew in the middle ages.  Pegs or 'treenails' were cut for Viking ships.  Furniture makers use Yew to form the bent parts of Windsor chairs.  Pre-Christian cultures regarded the Yew tree as sacred.  Possibly because of their longevity they became symbols of immortality.  Drooping branches of a Yew can root and form a circle of new trunks around the original tree.  Later the Yew came to symbolise death and resurrection in Celtic culture.  Thanks to research into the properties of the Pacific Yew bark, and a subsequent discovery that the European Yew holds similar properties called alkaloids in its leaves, we now harness these alkaloids for treating ovarian and breast cancer.  It remains one of the longest-lived trees on earth.

Measurements:

15.0 cm Long

3.5 cm Wide

This fork is finished with Nutshell wax.  The product is eco friendly and non toxic, blending selected beeswax, Larch oil and essential oils to give your hair fork years of protection.  It also uses no VOC's, formaldehyde or petrochemicals.

We are always striving to improve our processes environmentally.  Hand tools are used over power tools where possible and sanding etc. is kept to a minimum.