The Taste of Wood

[Roger Bell]

I would like to make some wood water cups (known as Kuskas). A combination of turning and carving. There will be no oil or film finishes used.

What I would like to ask you guys is this: are there any common domestic species that would NOT be suitable for use as drinking cups? Are there any woods that would likely impart an undesirable taste to the water?

Possible offenders that occur to me might include oak, cedar and yew...but I dont know. Those of you who do, please sound off. Thanks.

[Brian Kent]

Red oak would not work because the cells are open and would act like straws. White oak would work, if it is not too tough to work with. I have made stave mugs and other cups out of white oak and it was a real bear to drill out. I needed to have extra wood on the bottom to attach it with screws to a face plate. My technique is not developed enough to hollow out the whole thing without a lot of chattering.

And of course stave mugs did not need to be drilled out but you are talking about a hunk of solid wood.


Edit - now that I have looked at these cups, I think white oak would work well. They are not deep and would hollow out easily.

[Mel Fulks]

I'm interested in this, too. I heard that some of the civil war canteens has some type of lining ,like maybe pitch. Info on that subject might also include woods used

[Dave Cullen]

Oak contains tannin, which is rather bitter tasting. Consensus (via Google) seems to be that maple is the best choice. I wonder what wooden kitchen spoons are made from though?

[Thom Sturgill]

Google search for kuskas seemed to show birch as a favorite, which makes sense.

[Brian Kent]

Now who over at google had the great idea that somebody might ask what to make kuskas out of?

[Thom Sturgill]

Actually, I did an image search (I was curious as to what we were talking about) and then visited several websites that had pictures of Kuskas.

[Joe Ruden]

I'm interested in this, too. I heard that some of the civil war canteens has some type of lining ,like maybe pitch. Info on that subject might also include woods used

I carve spoons out of mostly cherry or fruit woods. What commercial ones are made of I don't know.

[Reed Gray]

I would also suggest beech. Rather neutral. I would think that if the wood has any smell to it, that scent would leach out into the beverage. I believe some mead mugs were lined with beeswax. Pear might work.

robo hippy

[Don Orr]

I would avoid ring porous woods like Oak, Ash, Elm, Sassafras. Also as you said any cedar/juniper, Black Walnut, Butternut or other smelly or odorous woods, as well as most or all softwoods especially if resinous. As has already been suggested, appropriate woods for drinking vessels include fruitwoods like Cherry, Pear, Apple as well as Maple, Birch(yellow), Beech, Sycamore. These are referred to as difuse porous woods with small pores that don't hold debris like bacteria and such. Wood has been used for eating and drinking for a very long time for a good reason.

Good luck and remember to post pics of the finished project.

[Jim Underwood]

How about Hickory/Pecan?

I've made stirring utensils out of it and it seemed fairly innocuous, if somewhat difficult to work...

[Matthew Little]

I have been wanting to make a Kuksa for a while now. I have tried a couple of cups in the past and glued on handles and such, but I would love to figure out how to turn a solid piece on the lathe, and keep the hand carving to a minimum. Let us know if you are successful and what you did.

On another note, the pieces I tried were maple and sycamore. In my opinion the maple effected the taste of the drink, and you could smell the wood when it got wet. As far as finishing goes, I just did a butcher block wax on the outside of the cup, and left it raw on the inside. I have been waiting for the day to come across some birch to try and give it another shot.

[robert baccus]

Probably well known but stay away from Yew--deadly poisonous.