Foppoli Bramin selects only the finest quality certified woods types.
Read the article and find out how we do this.
Is the wood for our handles all the same?
Perhaps, this may be true for the inexperienced eye. But for those who use tools with wooden handles every day for work, they know how much the quality of the material is essential to avoid breakage, cracks and damage to tool handles.
And we also know this well, that for over a hundred years we have been passing down this tradition – that of woodworking for handles – part of the history of Valtellina.
It is our experience – in addition to continuous training and our family passion – that allows us to select the best raw materials to offer the best wooden handles to an increasingly competitive market.
Do you know what criteria we use to choose wood?
Certification Standards
In order to produce our wooden handles for tools, we use wood certified by two important boards:
- FSC® certified wood: The acronym stands for Forest Stewardship Council, the board that certifies the origin of the material with the tracking of products and the responsible management of forests. The rules underlying FSC® certification are based on the rotary cutting system and reforestation and compensation policies, with importance placed not only on the environment but also on local communities and the social and economic well-being of workers.
- PEFC certified wood: in this case, the acronym stands for Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes: an international organisation certifies the companies, and has as goal, among other things, to improve the image of forestry, as well to market wood and forest products derived from forests and plants managed in a sustainable manner.
Sustainability guaranteed!
Geographical and territorial criterion
Sustainability is an important criterion for the choice of raw materials, although this is not the only important issue.
The quality of the wood for our handles is fundamental: this is our company philosophy.
In order to ensure quality, we guarantee that the wood that enters our production facilities comes from geographical areas where certain climatic and territorial parameters are fully met.
There are two basic parameters:
- WIND – Trees used in our products must not come from areas with too much wind. This is due to the fact that excessive exposure to strong winds strengthens the fibres of the plant, making the wood less flexible and therefore less suitable for the production of handles.
- WATER – Ideal wood comes from areas that are close to slow-flowing waterways. Above all, in these areas any flooding must be that of general flash flooding and not that of overflow-type flooding.
Some examples?
- Ash wood: ours comes from the forests of Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Northern Italy.
- Beech wood: Foppoli Bramin uses beech from the forests of Central Europe
Lime wood (also known as “basswood”): widespread in European forests as well, it is quite important in mountain areas (for example, in South Tyrol, Alto Adige) - Poplar wood: the most sensitive to exposure to water and wind. This wood is produced in Northern Italy.
How do we know which areas are the best?
Simple: with our experience!
Trust those who have been producing wooden handles for tools and utensils for over a hundred years: contact us for an estimate or for customisation requests.
