Olive??

[flexi]

Well, did anyone hear the POP..... that was me pulling my finger out!!
A very good friend has a holiday let in Cyprus, on his last trip he collected a piece of Olive wood about 70 years old....could I make a pen from it...heck yeah!!
Err you sure this is olive?? It is rock hard and very bland!!
Still turned very nice though.....5 coats of melamine...it's now on its way back to Cyprus

 

[Les ELm]

Nicely turned and finished.

Les

 

[fortress]

That looks very nice Mark, are those lines burned?

 

[Penpal]

Like the lines they add to the design and pen overall,consistant colour to the timber makes for a beaut pen IMHO.

Peter.

 

[angelo49]

Nicely Done Mark!!
My niece has an Olive tree on her property, of all places, Freehold, New Jersey
And yes, I made a pen, but it looked like I used a piece of 2 x 4
She has about 10lbs. of Olives curing in brine for the last couple of months.

 

[Phil Dart]

Makes a nice pen though, what ever it is. Those black lines sex it up nicely too.

 

[pittswood]

Hi Mark,
Yes, some Mediterranean olive wood can/is very pale with no grain in it. I have some from Malta, just like that piece. Mine came from my Uncles farm in Malta, his is the Maltese black olive tree. So, maybe the wild olive is better grained that the hybrid type. i also have some wild olive and that,s got very nice pattern grain.
Kelvin

 

[flexi]

That looks very nice Mark, are those lines burned?

Yes they are.....I use the tip of a skew just to cut the surface of the blank and then a wire burnish wire( Turner's Retreat) to cut deeper and blacken

 

[Pierre]

Looks more like hornbeam or holly!!!

 

[Pierre---]

The well-known ribbons of dark wood on a creamy background comes from the hart of the trunk. The wood beneath the bark, or the one coming from young branches can be as yours. The odour while turning is rather distinctive though, not far from the smell of the oil.

 

[Bill Mooney]

A very nice pen Mark. I like the burn lines, they set the Plain blank off nicely & bring it to life. I use Formica for my burn grooves.

 

[wm460]

Great looking pen Mark.