Defektuzko Albistea

Wood

A great number of common objects have been made, and are still made, from wood. Artisans use diverse types of wood that experience has shown to be the most suitable for each type of product that they make. The choice of the type of wood is made for various reasons, such as: abundance of this or that wood in the area, the hardness of the material, colour, resistance to atmospheric agents, resistance to breakage due to buckling and bending, the appearance of the grain once worked on, ease of polishing and ease of working on with cutting tools, and even the price of the wood.

Another aspect which the majority of artisans who work with wood tend to keep at the forefront of their minds is the time of year of chopping down the tree and the phase in which the moon is to be found at the time of felling. This is due to the widely held belief that the chopping down of trees should be carried out when nature is "dead", that is, during winter, and that each species has a lunar phase which is the most suitable for working on the wood and avoiding problems with woodworm.

The art of working with wood is very deeply rooted in the Lower Deba, an area surrounded by greenery, places from where the wood is obtained. Rural and craft fairs are the main areas of exhibition for these pieces crafted from wood, a tradition still upheld by our artisans.

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