Irish Bog Oak

[Russianwolf]

Just a forewarning. The couple people I get Irish Bog Oak from in Ireland have indicated to me that it is getting more scarce to fine good quality pieces. My understanding is as the old Peat burning power plants go off line, the cutting of peat for commercial purposes is becoming more restricted (that and efforts by the peat-land conservation groups. All this is to say expect the prices of Irish Bog Oak to go up.


KiethKarl, as a man on the ground over there, I'd like to get your take on this too. Have you noticed an increase in the pricing from wood suppliers (I know you collect some yourself, but curious about retailers/wholesalers)?

 

[keithkarl2007]

There are no wholesalers or people even milling it into lumber for any kind of woodwork. The only pieces people take from the bog are parts of the root for sculpture. The bog close to me digs it up the whole time. There is a nice heap of it down there at the moment and I just got my holidays from work. So guess what i'll be doing for 2 weeks :biggrin::biggrin:

 

[Russianwolf]

is it true about the restrictions on cutting peat? I heard that restrictions are in place for about 30 bogs now, and will raise to about 140 by 2014.

 

[keithkarl2007]

Yeah. Even the cutting of solid fuel like turf will be stopped soon. Was supposed to happen last year, probably happen this year.

 

[Russianwolf]

I take this as confirmation, expect prices to go up. If you are bidding on pieces on ebay, they will still fluctuate depending on how many people are looking at that period. If you are importing it like me, expect small but steady increases over time.

Case in point. about a year and a half ago I bought some 1.5-2kg piecse for 50 Euro shipped each. Twice that price gets you in the ballpark for what is being asked now. and these are raw pieces, with all the checking and twists and turns that implies.

 

[RyanNJ]

How is irish bog oak to turn it is on my list of woods to try

 

[bitshird]

How is irish bog oak to turn it is on my list of woods to try

It's great, it's awesome, magical and enthralling, it can even look like this

 

[Russianwolf]

Ryan,
Depending on the piece, it can be nearly as hard as Ebony, and takes a good polish, some of my pens are left unfinished and the natural oils from your fingers just make them pop like you wouldn't believe.

They are hard (harder than English Brown Oak which is what they started out life as) due to the soluble iron in the bog waters reacting with the tannin in the Oak. the iron takes up residence increasing the density of the wood and also causing the black staining.

The thicker the log, the more time it takes to turn the heart black, so you will come across pieces that are striped, or nearly all brown in the center. What has happened here is the irons are leached out of the water by the outer layers of the log, and the water in the heart is iron free. Given more time, the circulation of water through the bog would bring more iron to the heart, but it's an incredibly slow process.

There are bog woods from other places. I can get English Bog Oak which comes from the English Fens easily, and at about half the cost. I've seen the Danish Bog Oak on here before (not sure of the type of source, peat bogs like ireland, fens like England or some other condition). All are comparable in texture and workability, just different ethnic flavors. I even have a couple pieces of Bog Oak from a West Virginia Lake bed that has been dated by sediment layers to 10,000 years old that looks identical to the others.

The Irish stuff seems to command a higher price and have more of a following though. And as said above, is getting harder and harder to find in quality pieces. I can get pieces that need stabilizing all day, but solid to fairly solid that can be cut with minimal checks are getting hard.

 

[bitshird]

Mike, any idea when you'll have some good IBO in stock, I may as well hoard some, I only have 2 pieces of the last batch I bought from you left. Your are right about it being better than the other Bog woods, that Emperor in my picture was out of some of the first i got from you a couple years ago. it's still one of my favorite pens. the last batch was harder than my Ex wife's heart, it hardly required any finish at all, but the one on the Emperor is kind of gnarly and open grain, it looks like it's several thousand years old.

 

[Russianwolf]

I'm down to one source now (the other one I wasn't happy with the stuff he was sending anymore, and he wasn't discounting it for poor quality) I've got four pieces that are mine if I want them, two I think will have good yield.

Look for them on Exotics if we decide its a go.

I do have a couple pieces in my shop that I'm hoarding, waiting to decide what to do with, and I have a piece that needs to be stabilized to be of any good.

 

[HSTurning]

Being mostly Irish I wouls like to get a couple of blanks for personal pens at some point. I know Neil (wolftat) had Danish Bog Oak and I bought a couple of those. Cant wait to turn them and I now have a kit or 2 that I think BO would look good on.

 

[Russianwolf]

Being mostly Irish I wouls like to get a couple of blanks for personal pens at some point. I know Neil (wolftat) had Danish Bog Oak and I bought a couple of those. Cant wait to turn them and I now have a kit or 2 that I think BO would look good on.

I'm not sure if Dawn still has a couple from the last batch or not. You may want to go check. The last batch was only 20 blanks.

 

[phillywood]

hey, Ken, i am reading all of this and now I know why you told me that hang on to that bog oak you sent until i get good at turning.
Mike, so what can we do for you to let lose of some that Bog and English oak you got. You know you are a pioneer of sharing spirit. (right?) and very good friends to newbies.

 

[keithkarl2007]

Being mostly Irish I wouls like to get a couple of blanks for personal pens at some point. I know Neil (wolftat) had Danish Bog Oak and I bought a couple of those. Cant wait to turn them and I now have a kit or 2 that I think BO would look good on.

I've a couple of Bog Oak blanks if you need 1 or 2, just give me a holler. I haven't cut any in a while, been cutting Yew and Bog yew and I have an Elm Burl to cut up during the week. Hope to get down to the bog as soon as possible to cut more, weather permitting.

 

[keithkarl2007]

I've just been talking to a fellow not far from me who has dry Bog Oak planks. And i mean planks. He has been drying them for the last 10 years and they are solid through. I may be getting some from him, he also has a couple of burls.

 

[jimm1]

Guys, if I can intrude here, I am looking for something like this, but not for penturning. My future son in law bought me this Irish clay pipe that I would like to make a small display stand for. I really strut my Irish heritage, so this would make a great mantle piece. Any ideas?
Jim

Mom's family is from County Clare
Dad's family is from County Cork

 

[keithkarl2007]

What size piece are you looking for? I will be meeting up with him tomorrow evening.

 

[jimm1]

What size piece are you looking for? I will be meeting up with him tomorrow evening.

Maybe a 1/2" or 3/4" thick - 3" x 10", 3" x 8" or something similar. How much does something like this cost.

Knowing my future SIL, I can't believe he would spend all that much on this clay pipe. LOL

 

[keithkarl2007]

Around $25-30 maybe i don't know. I haven't sold many blanks i usually trade them for things I can't get here like kits or blanks that would be exotic to me and other stuff. I have a piece of Irish Bog Yew around that size, heck i think i may have a small slice off my Bog Oak Burl big enough too. I'll check it out tomorrow.

 

[jimm1]

I have blanks cut from Jack Daniels Whiskey Barrels staves I could trade. I was going to use these to make my stand, but I think the SIL would appreciate it more if I got something "Irish"

Around $25-30 maybe i don't know. I haven't sold many blanks i usually trade them for things I can't get here like kits or blanks that would be exotic to me and other stuff. I have a piece of Irish Bog Yew around that size, heck i think i may have a small slice off my Bog Oak Burl big enough too. I'll check it out tomorrow.

 

[keithkarl2007]

ha ha i actually have staves from Tullamore Dew Whiskey barrells, i must send you a few pieces. There's a lovely smell from it and it almost makes me wanna chew on it.
Its funny, my mother likes whiskey but when i brought in a piece i had just turned she couldn't get the smell from it but i could.

 

[keithkarl2007]

You know what i have, well i haven't got it yet because its stuck. A flat piece of stone, its stuck in the roots of a bog oak log down on the bog and it must have grown around the stone when it was still standing. It would be heavy to ship I'd imagine.

 

[Russianwolf]

hey, Ken, i am reading all of this and now I know why you told me that hang on to that bog oak you sent until i get good at turning.
Mike, so what can we do for you to let lose of some that Bog and English oak you got. You know you are a pioneer of sharing spirit. (right?) and very good friends to newbies.

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. The pieces of IBO I'm hoarding are sculptural pieces for the most part. I have about 4 large pen blanks and maybe 10 smaller ones that I'm holding onto for now since it's getting so hard to find good stock. I did send dawn about 40 blanks worth, but some are what I'd call B grade needing some filling of checks (Turquoise or silver powder would be cool I think). Look for them when she gets a chance to update the site, or email her directly.

I also have some Irish Bog Yew from Keith and a single Irish Bog Pine blank that I got from one of my Irish suppliers a while back. Need to turn it round at some point.

The English bog oak, I just sent Dawn about 100 blanks of for exotics and she wasn't even out of the last batch yet. I can get it anytime in nice pieces, cut to just about any size. If you want bottle stoppers or pipe blanks this is a much better bet. I've posted pics of my friend harvesting 3 foot diameter logs.