Materials for Design

European Lime (Tilia x europaea)

Ask enough adults what their favourite material memory is from childhood and the chances are that a high proportion will say wood. Not necessarily a wooden toy but just a chunk of wood, because with a soft piece of wood you can whittle it down to make virtually anything, from airplanes to dolls. Of course children are not going to be familiar with the exact type of wood, but if they were to choose a wood that was soft and easy to cut then they could choose no better than a piece of lime.

Creamy yellow rather than porcelain pale like Japanese maple, lime is the carver’s wood and – like balsa and boxwood – it is one of those contradictory timbers that is a soft hardwood. With its pale close grain and resistance ...