What is the name of the test that uses a pick or pocketknife to determine whether wood splinters or breaks when exposed to the grain?

• A. Density Test
• B. Pick Test
• C. Moisture Test
• D. Hardness Test

Answer: (B)

The test described is about how wood fibers behave when a sharp tool is pressed along the grain—whether the fibers tend to split apart (splinter) or simply crack or break. This direct probing with a pick or pocketknife reveals how tightly the grain fibers hold together and how the wood will respond to cutting or impact along the grain. That practical assessment is exactly what a Pick Test is designed to measure: the tendency of wood to splinter versus break when disturbed along its grain.

Other tests focus on different properties: a density test looks at mass per volume, a moisture test checks how wet the wood is, and a hardness test measures resistance to indentation or penetration. None of these specifically involve using a sharp tool to see how the grain splits, so they don’t describe the same behavior this test targets.