Originally posted by mrcook4570
<br />Some of the Kauri is carbon dated to be between 30,000 and 50,000 years old. Most of the carbon dating ob the IBO is about 1500 years old.
There is, at least to my knowledge, only one radio carbon dating existing (and given away with the wood) for Irish Bog Oak penblanks. This dates the wood to the time of St Patrick. I have bought IBO from different sources, all coming with the same certificate of the Queen University of Belfast. Some of my suppliers in Ireland are telling me that this is a faked certificate. Here is an excerpt from an e-mail I got from one of my suppliers regarding the question if he has a radio carbon dating analysis done on his wood:
"I do not have carbon dating for this wood, and I suspect that the
carbon dating certificate that you received with your wood was fake.
Queens University Belfast Charges 1700 Euros for to carry out 1 carbon
dating. Who could afford to pay for this just to sell some wood?
Also another thing that would suggest that the Dating Certificate is
fake is that St Patrick came to Ireland in approximately 433 AD, that is 1573 years ago. Surveys of Irish bogs suggest that bog oak needs to be at least 2 metres from the surface in order to cut off the air supply and prevent the wood from decaying. Wood found above this level is usually rotten. Wood found below this level is usually preserved. Bogs grow at 1mm per year. If this wood was from the time of St. Patrick, it would have been 1.5 metres below the surface and rotten and unusable.
I think that this was just a selling scam to make his wood more appealable to Americans, most likely his wood is between 3000 and 5000
years old and most likely he is good with a computer and managed to
draw up a wonderful looking Carbon 14 dating certificate."
Lately, most wood is advertised as being 3000-6000 years old. I also believe that the older the wood is, the darker it is. Also, other species have been found in the bogs, like Beech, Yew and Pine, but mostly all wood found in the bogs sold is "Bog Oak", even if it is not oak.