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Ed in Tampa wrote:...There is a wood that I know as iron wood that will raise a blister on my hide in a New York minute...

Is there another "ironwood"? The one that I am familiar with, I can handle with no problem. Here is where it grows.

a1gutterman wrote:Is there another "ironwood"? The one that I am familiar with, I can handle with no problem. Here is where it grows.

Ain't the same wood. The wood I'm talking about is often used around coastal areas usually for piers and shipping crates. I believe it is a South American wood that like teak or redwood has a high resistance to rot from water and insects. It is very dense nearly to the point of impossible to cut with anything less than the coarsest saw (read chainsaw). Which makes it excellent for use in places where the wood will be abused.

In Tampa they were tearing down a bridge that had wood decking on the walkways made from this wood. The wood workers club that I belonged to told us about the availability of the wood but cautioned about it's toxicity.

Of course I listened well and ignored most of the warnings. That is when I found out how painful the blisters could be. I was lucky I just touched the wood and got blisters I know one or two guys actually could work with the stuff but they got splinters. From seeing how the splinter got infected I was rather glad I just got blisters. Another guy apparently didn't follow the warning about using a dust mask when working the wood. He made many projects from the wood and I was beginning to think I was a woosh when he came down with a serious air way infection that was eventually traced back to the wood. So after my blisters, the incident with the splinters and life threatening breathing problems I heard that most guys got rid of the wood that they still had.

Ed in Tampa wrote:... like teak or redwood has a high resistance to rot from water and insects. It is very dense nearly to the point of impossible to cut with anything less than the coarsest saw (read chainsaw). Which makes it excellent for use in places where the wood will be abused...

This part of your description matches the wood I am familiar with, and in fact, it is used in my area for decks and handrailings because of it's resistance to rot and that is why I suggested it's use to Tom in another thread.

Here is some information on the South American variety. Now I am knot sure if the stuff used in my area is domestic or an import. They have similar properties. One thing though, neither variety mentions toxicity by touching it, and both are used where touching it is normally done. That leads me to wonder if your reaction was due to a treatment that was applied to the wood instead of the wood itself...

edit: Here is another variety used for handles.