Definition: An increment borer is a tool used to take a core sample of a tree's annual rings. This tree coring tool is made of carbide steel and has three parts; the handle, the steel shaft and the extractor.
The increment borer is the least invasive way to count tree rings and takes a small (0.200 inch diameter) straw-like sample. Different sizes are available to retrieve cores from the bark to the pith of most any tree.
