Russian Olive Burl pen blanks

[Joebobber]

My wife cut up some russian olive burl. Lots 1and 2 are 5" long and lot 3 are up to 4.5" long. All are at least 3/4 but are not all completely square. Price is $25 a lot plus $8 shipping no matter how many you buy. Pictures show all 4 sides. Please claim in the comment section which lot you wanted. Thanks so much!

All sold but she was going to cut up more sometime next week maybe.

 

[JoeCallahan]

I've never turned olive burl before. Is it pretty stable? Or should I have someone get it in some cactus juice first?

 

[Joebobber]

Its not too bad Joe. There's no cracks or inclusions in it. I turned a rollerball the other day and it was just fine. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to stabalize it, but it's not like crumbly or soft.

 

[penicillin]

For those like me who didn't know, Russian Olive is a species of plant. It is very hardy, and has been growing in the US for over 100 years as an invasive species. It is not closely related to the olive trees where we get olives to eat, put on pizza, make olive oil, etc.

I doubt that these pen blanks came from Russia. It is just the name of the plant from which this wood came.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaeagnus_angustifolia

 

[Joebobber]

So anyway, these Russian olive trees grow all over in my area and this was cut a year or 2 ago. It was taken out by a late fall ice storm. It is dry and is beautiful wood.

 

[sorcerertd]

My neighbors had a Russian olive tree when we lived in NY. I absolutely loved the smell when it bloomed. I wish I had thought to get some of the wood when they had to take it down. Too bad I just spent so much on blanks. That's pretty, but I gotta lay low for a while.

 

[MRDucks2]

Was used in n a lot of landscaping at one time.

 

[wolf creek knives]

It grows pretty wild in Montana and a lot of ranchers use it to form barriers for their cattle. I know one thing, here in Montana they have some gigantic thorns on them. I found out the hard way

 

[Joebobber]

Lot 1 and 2 are sold. Just lot 3 is available

 

[Joebobber]

The wood, in my opinion, is similar to Chittum burl, only a little darker. The wood itself is usually a little more golden color (almost like a dark sumac), but this one has darker wood. Old growth maybe?