Wood Caskets

Wood caskets may just be the most intriguing of all the standard types of caskets sold in today's memorial products industry. That is because to study the history of wood caskets is to look into the history of all caskets themselves. The history of wood caskets begins with the advent of the famous wood coffin that was used for centuries as an easy to build (so easy that just about anyone could do it) but respectful and loving receptacle for a loved one's remains. But as the practice of memorializing family members has evolved in the last 150 or so, so have wood caskets. Hardwood caskets have become increasingly ornate over the years, and today they often resemble fine home furnishings. (And, in fact, as we will see, they are occasionally even put to practical use as home furnishings while they are awaiting their ultimate purposes.) But as demand for more and more sophisticated caskets has taken hold throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries, another style of casket, the metal casket, has entered into strong competition with the wood casket. Today's manufacturing and production systems have made it possible for casket makers to build intricate and stately caskets from metal for about the same or lower costs than the meticulously designed hardwood casket. So many consumers have taken to the option of the metal casket (which has the additional advantage of appearing to last longer under ground – but, it should be noted that this advantage is typically only an appearance). Thankfully for the wood casket however, one or two important factors have assured that it will continue a healthy evolution and remain a viable, popular choice to comfort grieving loved ones long into the future. We will explain those factors and provide other useful consumer information in the following brief guide to today's wood caskets.

The most common type of wood casket today is still the beautiful, luxuriously designed hardwood casket. These wood caskets are built with the meticulous care of a wood work artist using the finest of woods that have been polished and finished to perfection. The typical choices of wood for hardwood caskets is maple, oak or cherry wood, but other, more exotic, types of wood also make for beautiful hard wood caskets these days too. The stately beauty of a hardwood casket makes it an excellent adornment for display at a loved one's funeral, but many people have discovered that this type of wood casket has other, practical, uses as well. While it is still considered a little creepy for some people, many have taken to buying the own hardwood caskets well before their deaths and using them in their homes as storage chests, guest beds (only if the guests have a bit of a sense of humor, it should be noted), and sofas (once the interiors have been stuff sufficiently with pillows they are said to make for quite comfortable sitting). Often these wood caskets can be creatively adorned so that casual visitors to a home would have no idea as to their ultimate purpose.

But, as concern among consumers about the expense and environmentally friendliness of a typical funeral and burial have risen dramatically in recent decades, a new type of wood casket has become more and more common. These are known as cremation caskets. The wood caskets are simply lighter versions of their cousins the hardwood casket, and like the hardwood casket, they are available in a wide variety of styles. Because they are intended to be burned with a body during a cremation, cremation wood caskets are almost always less ornate and polished than traditional hard-wood caskets, but they can be specially built to look beautiful while on display during a funeral service before a cremation. They can also be designed very simply, as, more or less, a rectangular box made from lightly painted plywood. This type of wood casket would probably not be a good choice for a memorial service, of course, but it is the perfect choice if a body is to be cremated in advance of a memorial service (and a cremation urn filled with ashes will be on display at the service). A very common practice in today's memorial industry is to use a very simple wood casket for the cremation itself (United States laws typically require that a body be cremated in a container of some sort) and use a rented ornate, hardwood casket for displaying the body during a funeral. From an economic perspective this makes much more sense than simply buying a sophisticated hardwood casket that will only be burned to ashes shortly after a funeral.

As veneer laminate material is increasingly taking the place of wood in other realms of hardwood (such as floors and furniture), so to is it becoming popular for casket construction. Veneer has the look of hardwood, but the texture is not the same. And, since few who see a casket will ever touch it, many consumers have determined that this is the type of wood casket for their needs. It is important to note that veneer caskets are not necessarily less expensive than traditional wood caskets (although they can be) because the workmanship that goes into the intricate designs is still the same. From an environmental perspective, the use of veneer is debatable, too. Because veneer is made from synthetic materials, it does not require trees to be chopped down, but these synthetic materials usually do not break down as quickly under ground. So, for many, the choice is a toss-up.

Wood caskets, in general, are very beautiful, stately pieces that can play a strong role in a remarkable funeral service, even if the person to be memorialized is intended to be cremated. And, as the funeral industry continues to evolve into more and more unique and creative areas of memorialization, it is certain that wood caskets will evolve in unexpected and creative ways as well.