Something to do with "CAT: heavy equipment? By why would you pay by the pound? Nah, it's not that.

Catfish heads for bait?

I dunno if this is what they're referring to or not, but there is a condition in fruit called cat-facing. Some insects can infect fruit crops early on and cause mis-shaped fruit, it's called cat-faced. In fact, there is an old variety of apple even called the cat-face.

That fruit is quite edible, but hard to sell. I'd certainly pay 50 cents a pound for catfaced fruit for things like apple sauce or cider.

Could also have to do with wood.
"Cat faces  are abrasions in the bark of the tree, which have been repaired by the tree. The tree will channel resin to the damaged areas and heal the abrasion with a black resinous ÂscabÂ. When sawing into these areas, we encounter black and grey stain in the wood."

What do they do with them? I've seen those and didn't even know there was a name for that. Are they useful in woodcraft?

I'm not sure about the catfaces, but a woodworking friend looks for bolls and oddly twisted limbs and forks. He cuts and shaves and shapes and sands and polishes; and ends up with bowls that have fascinating grains. I remember one shallow bowl that had some "blotches", so maybe it is considered an attraction.

I don't think it could be the fruit. We just don't have much of any kind in this area.

I am inclined to think it might be wood. The price and quanity would sound just about right for someone that does woodworking of some sort. I didn't know there was a word for it. I have seen some lovely things in the local craft shows.

Thanks for the ideas. It was just one of those little things that nagged at me.

I would have already called and asked what the heck it was.

I'm a bit puzzled with the idea of selling this wood by the pound.

Call them Aggie!

"I would have already called and asked what the heck it was."

LOLOL Janis.

Oh, but I have thought about calling. It's that "call and leave a message" thing. What can I say? "Hey, just what the blankblank is a catface? Please call _______and tell me. I know I don't have any, but I would like to know what it is so that if I ever do, I will know what someone is willing to pay."

And he's willing to come get them.....all four of them.

Laughing even more, now. Why don't you do just that? Sometimes in my business, I get very bizarre calls and letters asking for jobs/cultural information/and totally un-related to Agriculture questions.....but somebody who knew me told somebody else I dealt with esoteric stuff like chemicals/bugs/Native American rituals, etc.

I am so smitten with their curiosity, and figure if they'd make the effort to ask, the least I can do is answer. So, I do.

Aggie..the good news for us is that you always manage to have interesting threads. The bad news is that there aren't nearly enough of them.

OK, I'm filing this one in the "you learn something new every day on the GP" file. I had no idea about cat faces on either fruit or wood before today.

Is the "cat face" on wood, kinda like a burl?

20 years later i still regret not going to the garage sale that among the list of items to be sold was "mens goodies".
Call them!!!!

LOL, Aggie,you've got to call or like Pam we'll still be pondering this 20 years from now. josh

Shoot, send me their phone number and I'll call them!

Agggie - you could be condemning us all to "The Rosebud Syndrome" - to go to our final destiny muttering "Catfaces."

Send the number to Jan or step up like the animal lover you are and call these people.

This is tempting!!! I might just do it. I looked the number up on Google and it's not local. It's a little town down the road in a tree farming area.

The DH says that pine trees that have been tapped for rosin for turpentine form very interesting growths around the slashes. Since the guy lives in a heavy forested area and pines are no longer tapped, maybe he has a hobby based on working with the wood from these trees. There would only be one per tree.

I might get up the nerve to call anyway!

Info from woodcarving friend: Yes, that shallow bowl was carved to show off the catfaces. Catfaces are a peculiarity of the burl formed when the growing wood is damaged, usually by fire. The resin turns dark or black and literally stains the growing cambium. Yes, sometimes wood is sold by the pound, especially if it has a decorative grain or is a burl or knot that woodcarvers might want specifically because the wood is unusual in its formation. He said that he usually avoided buying by the pound because he preferred to work from the original limb, rather than a piece which had been cleaned enough to show the graining.

I'm still looking for examples of catface... however,link is to a site which has some lovely pictures of bowls etc showing the burl after carving. I was surprised to learn that folks actually grow burls just to be cut off and carved!

Here is a link that might be useful: burl bowls

I've seen those at some of the festivals around here.
Really pretty vases and bowls.

Aggie,
Inquiring minds want to know if (catfaces) are in
fact a virus infected wood that woodcarvers use.

Okay, Aggie...I'm now making this thread the first stop when I get up in the morning. Not checking to see if the Stock Market has plunged. Not to see if Musharef has declared himself King. Not to see if the price of gasoline has topped $4.00. No, it's to see if you've called the Catface People!

Great movie title "The Curse of The Catface People" - directed by Tim Burton.

Nooooo, and I am going to chicken out and not call. I feel that he is into wood working and I am happy with thinking that's what he wants. (See, I am easy to please.)

Thanks for info, Meldy. Those Australian burl vases were wonderful! I want one!

Once upon a time a gazillion years ago (well actually more like forty) I paid seven dollars for a chunk of aged burled black walnut for my ex to carve a gun stock from for an antique firearm, because no stocks were available on the market to fit it. That was major money back then, considering the locale and the value of a dollar and we got it directly from the farmer and didn't have to pay a mark-up. Specialty woods find their way into all sorts of items.

Aggie, you made it into top place on Google :) LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: Catfaces at Google

Oh, my goodness!!!! I've had my name in the newspaper before, but never, ever on Google.

I know it's silly, but it's a weird feeling.

And to think we knew you when.... :)

Aggie, you do know, don't you, that if you don't call and saisfy our curiosity we're all gonna dream about Cheshire cats grinning all night long...heh heh heh...josh

On page 4 of the search may be the ad that was the start of this fun. It was in some newspaper from Savannah.

Very interesting items in that search.

Jan