Russian Olive Burl origin

[gerberpens]

Could someone tell me from what country, region, state, etc. Russian Olive Burl is harvested? Is it a rare burl, or is it widely available?

I just made a pen with Russian Olive Burl and the customer wanted to know where the wood comes from, and I said, "I'll check on that."

I tried a Google search, but only find items that were made from Russian Olive Burl.

Thanks for your help.

Gary

 

[Mikey]

If you just do a search for Russian Olive, a bunch of sites pop up that tell you where the stuff is. From what I saw, it is a common tree in many areas of the US as well as other areas. In fact, from the pics i saw, the shape is that of a crabapple tree.

 

[gerberpens]

Thanks, I did a search for Russian Olive Burl and not Russian Olive. I found what I needed.

Gary

 

[YoYoSpin]

Russian Olive trees are as common as dirt here in the Colorado Springs area. They grow wild and are generally considered an undesirable tree...not very attractive. The wood itself is extremely hard, by far and away the hardest I've ever turned. Burls are pretty rare, at least around here. I've only seen a couple after 9 years of looking for them. If you're ever in the area, check with Colorado Springs City Forestry department and you can probably pick up a few tons of the stuff for free.

Here’s a link to the Colorado Springs current tree removal plan for the downtown and north side of the cityareas...lots of free wood! http://www.springsgov.com/Page.asp?NavID=5133

 

[gerberpens]

Thanks Ed. I wish I'd known that back in July. My family spent one day in Colo. Springs on vacation. What was I thinking! I took my kids to Garden of the Gods and the Air Force Academy. Next time we're Colo. Springs for vacation, we'll all go looking for Russian Olive trees! I'm sure my boys can't wait.[]

Gary

 

[Ryan]

You can come cut all you want here. They sprout up all over the place. I know that Bill (Ilikewood) has/had some R.O. Burl a few months back.

Ryan