2014 Volume 63 Issue 4 Pages 308-313
A sensory test on uncoated and coated kiri and oak wood was conducted over three seasons (summer, autumn and winter), using the paired comparison method. The subjects (children, young and elderly person) were asked to touch the specimens without seeing. The characteristics of the palms of the subjects, the heat flow from the heated metal disc to specimen, and the coefficient of kinetic friction between the palm and specimen were measured. The density of wood and coating influenced the sensory warmth throughout the above-mentioned seasons. Children and young person were able to determine the sensory sliding more clearly, compared to the elderly, throughout the seasons. The sensory sliding was related to differences in the coefficient of kinetic friction and criteria for determination (“slippery” or “dry”). The children and young person felt comfortable touching the surface of uncoated wood throughout the seasons, to be contributed by the sensory sliding. The comfortable surface in the elderly person was different depending on whether it was summer or winter, because the contributing sense was the sensory warmth.
