3rd Quarter Newsletter 2024

for the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum

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 THE MANY WOODS USED IN MAKING NUTCRACKERS

Wood has been used to make nutcrackers since ancient times. Primitive wooden nutcrackers were made by joining two pieces of wood together with leather straps or a metal hinge.  An indentation would be made in the wood to hold the nut in place so it would not roll away when pressure was applied.  Carvers were creating nutcrackers in the likeness of animals and humans by the 15^th century, and by the 18^th century the wood turners in Germany were making nutcrackers in the wooden toy soldier shape that we see in all the shops at Christmas time. These also served as children’s toys and it was believed they would protect the family while the man was away at work.  

WOODS FOR TURNED NUTCRACKERS

 Woods for turned nutcrackers come from deciduous trees, usually linden, but spruce, beech, lime, and birch are also used.  The rings must be homo-genius, that is, the rings must be evenly spaced. Most trees used to make nutcrackers are cut from land about 600 to 800 meters in elevation.  At these elevations the rings are closer together making for a better wood to turn.  In low flat land trees grow too fast, and the wood Is not as compact.  The men harvesting wood for nutcrackers prefer trees between 80 to 150 years old and are between 15 and 20 inches in diameter.

Drying time is not counted until the wood is sawed into slices of various thicknesses, and then it must be dried for at least 2 years.  Wood is a living raw material, and cells in a tree can live as long as 15 years after the tree is cut down.  It is easy to dry any rain that falls on the lumber, but it is the sap that must be dried.  Wood dried properly will not crack.

WOODS FOR CARVED NUTCRACKERS

Carvers would usually use whatever wood grew in their area, but master carvers preferred boxwood for their intricately crafted special pieces.  Boxwood is a dense hardwood with a fine, even texture and attractive natural luster.  It is resistant to splitting and chipping and is suitable for the smallest detailed micro-carving.  Other woods preferred by master carvers are yew, beech, walnut, and fruitwoods. Anri carvers use the slow growing Cembra Pine that grows high in the Alps.

Sometimes the shape of the piece of wood will inspire a carver such as the Russian bent wood figure, the Austrian curled tree root nutcracker, or even the dog from a wood burl made by a German carver.

Bent Wood	Tree Root	Wood Burl

Going through the museum, we discovered 36 different wood specimens in the nutcrackers on display!

Alaskan Cedar	Alder Wood	Ash Wood	Australian Woods
Avocado Wood	Bass Wood	Beech Wood	Birch Wood
Box Wood	Briarwood Root	Cembra Pine	Cherry Wood
Conifer Wood	Coquilla Nut Wood	Deciduous Wood	Ebony Wood
Fruit Wood	Hammerwood	Iron Wood	Liggum Vitae
Lime Wood	Linden Wood	Maple Wood	New Zealand Woods
Oak Wood	Olive Wood	Pear Wood	Poplar
Rose Wood	Spruce Wood	Sycamore	Teak Wood
Walnut	White Birch	White Oak	Yew wood

Arlene Wagner, The Nutcracker Lady Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum Email: curator@nutcrackermuseum.com