"Bad Luck" Walnut? Any sources?

[Thorne]

Although I've seen it described on this forum as being bad luck because it is "coffin wood", I can't find any sources for that perspective/superstition.

Here's what I can find - in "Folklore and the Sea" by Horace Beck, he describes black walnut = bad luck as a Chesapeake tradition.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0913372366/ref=sib_dp_ptu#reader-link (search for "walnut")

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL1001/4000928/8302360/337710404.jpg

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL1001/4000928/8302360/337710405.jpg

[Paul Pless]

he describes black walnut = bad luck as a Chesapeake tradition.I've seen it used in trim and structural components of both sharpies and the big sailing log canoes of teh Chesapeake.

[Canoeyawl]

Black walnut is rot resistant, I have used it for knees and cleats and etc.
(It is a bit brittle in my opinion)

I recall an obscure reference to some early colonial boats being made from Walnut - maybe Baker?

[Sam F]

The stuff isn't too shabby exposed to weather either. I re-glazed a 19th Century window pane and imagine my surprise when scraping off the old putty that the whole window was black walnut. The porch floors of that old house were walnut too and at least 90 years old (past living memory anyway). The house itself is pre-1860 but I know that the porches were changes sometime around the turn of the 19th Century. The floors were in very good shape too until the owner vandalized them with a 30 grit floor sander.
If I had enough of the stuff not earmarked for some other use I think it would make a fine boat - though the wood is a bit soft for parts exposed to hard wear.

[Thorne]

Oh, I think the wood is probably just fine for marine applications needing a hardwood part that can be brittle -- the brittleness is the only thing I've seen be an issue with walnut furniture (used to work with antiques).

But the superstition is probably based on something less real -- perhaps something like Beck's guess that it attracts lightning in pastures...

[kc8pql]

In my little town there are quite a few houses, and a very large church, all built between 1825 and 1860 and sided with black walnut. All are still in fine shape.

[boylesboats]

Thorn,
I have worked at sawmill called "American Walnut".. Give ya a little bits and pieces about Black Walnut...

BW does not bend well, it is brittle..
They do gets knotty....
It'll stain your hands from working with it.. sanding, cutting and such..
It still will decay if come contact to earth..
Be careful about it dust and shavings it is quite toxic.. that nothing (like grass and flowers) will grow under a walnut trees..
If you soak the shavings or dust in household ammonia, you'll create a nice stain to even out the color of wood itself..
Love the nuts... it good as ice cream toppings... but pain in the arse to crack open.. for $10.00 per pound cracked walnut meat, that stuff is not cheap..

[AndreasJordahlRhude]

I have heard the tale that nothing will grow under a black walnut. Poppy cock. I have one in my Minneapolis yard that must be 4 ft. in diameter. Huge. My grass and flowers and shrubs do just fine thank you very much. And I don't do anything to supplement the soil, heck I don't even water.

The nuts can cause a major bump on the noggin' if one falls and you don't get out of the way!

I can't comment on the evils if used in marine applications.

Andreas

[Tom Robb]

Why would anyone in this 21st C. give any thought to dumb superstition?
What's next, sacrificing virgins? You make your own "luck."

[Thorne]

Tom - the world is full of superstitions, depending on how you define the word. From a scientific agnostic's perspective, most of the world is still steeped in superstition...

I'm not giving credence to this particular one, or worrying about using walnut in boats -- just curious as to how it came about.

[boylesboats]

Thorn,
Black Walnut, is beautiful wood in furnitures.. Ages very nicely to deep reddish brown.. My father built an coffee table back in 50's when he in school... Quite a simple piece nothing fancy to it, but the tone in the walnut is a beauty to look at..

I can see it could works as deck trimmings..
Walnut do "weathers" to gray color just like oak... with wee bit red tint into it..

[skuthorp]

I picked up a dozen big planks of black mahogany on my local council throwout early this year. Gave some to a cabinet maker friend but kept some for a pulling boat I plan. Transom most likely.
Costs a fortune here, if you can find it.
S ome 4"x2.5" mahogany also at the same time. Must have been a furniture maker or such who either died or lost interest.