AMERICAN BLACK CHERRY
"A Rose is a Rose . . ."
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The Kellams creations are handcrafted primarily from the wood of locally grown Cherry trees.
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Where is it from ?
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Of more than 3,500 species in the rose family worldwide, the American Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) is the largest, and the only one to attain the size and form necessary to be an important lumber producer. The Allegheny Plateau of West Virginia and Pennsylvania is the source of the best Cherry lumber in the world and is where all each Kellams box get their start.
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Why use Cherry ?
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The Cherry Tree yields beautiful prominently figured lumber. The figure is produced by a narrow band of darker colored cells that form in late summer accenting each annual ring. Flashes of even darker color and pockets of crystalline pitch add to Cherries unique character, they result from the tree's immune response to attacks by various boring insects and stress. The wood's color and figure varies depending on the moisture and mineral content of the soil it grew in and even the portion of the tree from which it is cut.
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Other Characteristics
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In addition to it's beauty Cherry is the premiere American hardwood due to its size, fine texture, hardness, moderate shrinkage in drying, excellent workability.
One of Cherry's most interesting qualities is its photosensitivity: When it's freshly worked the woods color varies from soft pink to pale orange but on exposure to light, despite any finish, the color darkens to a rich dark reddish hue.
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Environmental Issues
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Cherry fits with contemporary environmental consciousness. As a pioneer species, it establishes itself quickly. It grows rapidly on very strongly acid and relatively infertile soil after the land has been disturbed. Cherry is first on the scene; however, other larger species eventually overtake the Cherry and, since it is not shade tolerant, ultimately kill the tree. Harvesting also kills the tree but the resulting wood can be formed into useful objects to last a lifetime, rather than lying down on the forest floor as food for fungi.
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Cherry is truly a beautiful Rose
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