blackening vbl n Comb blackening brand: charred piece of alder, with which a string is blackened to mark a log for sawing into planks.
   P 26-72 An alder stick would be burned in the fire until well charred, then rolled in sawdust to put out the fire. This was called a blackening bran [and] this bran would be rubbed along the length of the line. Another man would raise the line between thumb and finger and let [it] snap back on the [log]. P 127-75 ~ a burnt branch of a red alder, used to blacken the measuring and plotting line used in calculating the shape of the planks.

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