What is the value of copperwood compared to that of copper and wood? What is the value of ironwood compared to that of iron and wood?
Three ideas related to metalwoods:
1. A "silverwood" and a "goldwood" that are made similarly to how copper and iron woods are, but being heavy, valuable, and bad at weapon making.
2. "Alloys" of two or three different kinds of -woods to make a new kind of wood.
3. Steelwood, made by combining some rare-but-findable-if-you-know-where-to-look-thing, a rare herb maybe, that is steel-equivalent. Maybe also an EXTREMELY valuable type of wood, even more valuable than aluminum and maybe as light, that is made from goldwood the way steelwood is made from ironwood.
A few other ideas:
4. Unique trap components? Maybe a large leafblade?
5. Wooden mechanisms?
6. Name: War Elves, or Tinker Elves, or Trap Elves, or something.
7. Giant wooden corkscrews, if only for screw presses.
8. A caste of wimpy whatever-elves that learns combat, menial labor, and healthcare skills slowly, crafting skills quickly, and starts with natural skill in surgery and mechanics. Call them "Mad Elves" or something, and have them be a bit rarer than the berserkers.
9. Alcoholic elves of some kind, which are slower, dumber, and [ALCOHOL_DEPENDANT], but breed quickly and are cheerful. Kinda like Genesis's mushroom dwarves.
10. Other castes with inbuilt neuroses and psychoses like these. Sounds !!FUN!!, no?