Material science part 2: Ash wood for the wooden frames of our hammocks

Fraxinus excelsior. Hidden behind this sounding Latin name is one of the most famous tree species of Europe: the ash tree. Also called Common ash or tall ash. It’s specialty: It can not only become very high, but it also produces a very special type of wood with excellent properties.  Because of this the ash wood is one of the most important hardwoods, alongside beech and oak. It’s also ideal for making wooden frames for our hammocks and hammock chairs. But what is the secret of ash wood? Why is it so popular? And why is it perfect for hammocks and hammock chairs that are set up with a wooden frame? We’ll tell you!

The ash – a tough and elastic jack-of-all-trades

Ash feel at home almost all over Europe. Especially in the northern foothill of the Alps, Poland and the Baltic States have chosen them to spread there. This tree can cope with dry limestone soils as well as thrive splendidly in alluvial forests or along streams and rivers. Sometimes even so gorgeous that it is up to 40 meters high and 2 meters thick. Therefore, it is one of the tallest trees in Europe – particularly powerful tree can be found in the Białowieża Primeval Forest in Poland. Also she doesn’t mind lofty heights. Ash trees can still be found in Tyrol at an altitude of 1,700 meters.

But its real secret lies inside: Due to the clearly recognizable annual rings, ash wood is not only pretty to look at, but also convinces with a number of promising properties. It is particularly heavy, hard, tough, elastic, resistant to abrasion and tensile strength. The result: It can be edited and treated in many ways.

Designers, builders and inventors recognized the great potential of the noble hardwood very early. It turned out to be ideal for wagons and carriages, as a result of producing many things out of it, like rims, drawbars and hubs. Nowadays some of the wood obtained is processed into solid wood. In addition, furniture, wall and ceiling coverings, floors, handles for tools such as shovels or hammers or sports and gymnastics equipment are created from it. The ash is also a popular tree for greening road sections or creating avenues.

Why is ash wood perfect for wooden frames for hammocks and hammock chairs?

We also opted for ash wood for those hammocks and hammock chairs that are set up with a frame. We benefit from another advantage of hardwood: if it’s steamed, it can be bent wonderfully. And to bring it into the right shape. The ash wood that we use comes from sustainably managed forests in Upper Austria, Salzburg and Bavaria and is PEFC-certified. It only takes 2 hours for the wood to journey from the forest to the CHICO factory. This also saves CO2. But ash wood can do even more.

Ash wood is special …

• - due to its light color and ring-pored structure.
• - easy and clean to process.
• - resistant and hard-wearing.

3 facts about ash wood

In 2001, the ash tree was named Tree of the Year in Austria. But there are other curious facts about ash wood.

1. 1.) A tree with principles: the ash is demanding and fickle – at least when it comes to light. In the course of her life she changes her demand. If it tolerates a lot of shadow at the beginning, the older it gets, the more light it needs later.
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3. 2.) The ash in the name: Some places have the germen word for “ash” in their name – for example Eschenau. They mostly refer to an ash area. Places like Aschach or Aschau can also be traced back to it, because in Old High Germen ash still meant “Asca”, “Asch” or “Ascha”.
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5. 3.) When the hay is running out:  In the past, people used to use ash hay in poor times to stretch the meadow hay. For this purpose, the young branches of the ash were cut in bundles and dried. In winter, this served animals as additional feed in order to get through the cold season well.
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If you choose one of our hammock frames made of ash wood, you are getting a natural and ecological foundation for your new everyday companion at home. But make sure that the wooden frame gets some affection and care. Therefore, don’t expose it to extremely high or low humidity and store it in a dry and frost-proof environment over the winter. In addition to hammocks and hammock chairs with a wooden frame made of ash wood, we also offer you frames made of stainless steel. The advantage of this material is that it is weatherproof.