Look a little closer
Metal and wood left in the same room usually approach nearly the same temperature, yet metal feels much colder. Your hand senses not only an object's temperature but also how quickly heat leaves the skin.
Skin is generally warmer than room-temperature objects. On touching metal, heat crosses the contact and spreads rapidly into the material. The sharp drop in skin-surface temperature strongly activates cold-sensitive nerves.
Wood transfers heat poorly. Only a thin region under the hand warms quickly, and that energy moves deeper very slowly. The warmed contact layer behaves like insulation, reducing continued heat loss and making wood feel relatively warm.
Thermal conductivity gives a useful first explanation, but short contact also depends on density and heat capacity together—the material's ability to accept heat at its surface. Metal continually moves energy away from the contact, leaving room to absorb more.
Reverse the temperature difference and the sensation reverses too. If equally hot metal and wood are warmer than your hand, metal sends heat into skin faster and feels much hotter and more dangerous. Metal is not inherently cold.
Touch temperature therefore reflects both a thermometer reading and the rate of heat flow. Fingertip sensation alone is not a safe thermometer, especially when hot metal can transfer substantial energy during brief contact.
