French Oak

French Oak

Common name: French oak.

Botanical Name:

- Quercus petraea (Sessile oak).

- Quercus robur (Pedunculate oak).

Origin: France.

The Sessile oak and the Pedunculate oak are the main species that make up the northern French oak groves, with some rare Pubescent oak, but this remains anecdotal.

We will notify the Holm Oak and the Cork Oak in the southern part.

They are traditionally used for building frames, shipbuilding, cooperage, cabinetmaking, carpentry, and everyday objects.

Considered in France as the noble wood par excellence, it is the Druids' sacred tree and the tree under which Saint Louis rendered justice.

It is especially very present in the state forests whose organization and forestry are due to Colbert, minister of Louis XIV, who wanted a powerful navy and, therefore, many oak groves well organized in sustainable renewal. However, Colbert could not foresee that 250 years later, warships would no longer be made of wood by the time the trees matured.

Oak is a very tannic wood, and it is the name of the oak in Gallic "tann," which will give tanner, tanner, tannin, etc ... The tannin of the oak being used since antiquities to tan the skins. Tannin also develops woody flavors in the wine and accentuates its red color.

There are several specialties:

Brown oak:

Usually, brown rising staining of the oak base when the tree gets old, much like human hair, which turns gray/white, and like in humans, some trees turn entirely brown and sometimes barely past adolescence, except for the sapwood, which remains white.

Fumed oak:

It is an oak whose tannin has been reacted to give it a color ranging from café au lait brown to charcoal black.

Bogg oak:

These are oaks that fell in a swamp several thousand years ago. They are usually discovered during agricultural earthworks.

These oaks are in the process of fossilization and have a very particular charcoal greeny browny gray tint.

Of course, these are very rare oaks.

Flaky oak:

Flake is the medullary ray of the oak, in another way, its framework.

When we quarter-cut planks or veneer sheets in the middle of the quarter, the cutting is parallel to the medullary rays. Therefore flakes are noticeable and create aesthetic designs.

Other specialties, such as oak burl, oak crotch, and knotty oak, will complete this non-exhaustive list.