Olivewood Score

John Cahoon

John Cahoon

JWC Custom Knives
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Apr 13, 2017
Messages
2,155
So I was coming home tonight and saw some tree guys taking down a couple of olive trees. These were large ones with some of the branches at 12" diameters and probably 18"+ trunks. They were happy to get rid of some of it and it's real heavy for the sizes... There may be 100 scale sets in there depending on waste and curing. I'll paint the ends and any exposed surfaces and store them under a tree by a wall in 100% shade, in the Phoenix area so it's hot and dry. Should I be doing anything else for the next year?Olivewood Score redux.JPG

Here's my offer: They may be there tomorrow taking down the second tree and would be happy to let me take more if anyone in the Phoenix area wants some, I took more than enough for myself.

Trivia answer: Olive has been illegal to sell or plant in the Phoenix area for decades, at least 35 years since I got here, due to the pollens causing severe allergies.

Exit question: I have a list from here on what woods do and don't need stabilizing. Olive is in the either or list so what's the current opinion?
 
Olive wood was the worst wood I’ve used in 38 years for “walking” or shrinking/swelling. Early on I had to replace a few blades where the handles moved in every direction with our humidity. I wouldn’t touch it without it being stabilized by a reputable company.

Sure is some pretty wood though!
 
Nice score. I use to use a lot of olive not so much anymore. I never had any porlbems with movement but the stuff I was getting had been dead for several decades.
 
Well I checked the wood database and it has a janka hardness of 2700, pretty impressive, like I said it's clearly very dense, heavy for the sizes, and seems oily. But the site also states that "Olive has high movement in service and is considered to have poor stability." Maybe in a year or whatever when it's dry I'll experiment with a subpar grind from my box of shame and test it.
 
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It's the 2nd hardest wood native to Europe(after boxwood)
It can be beautiful if you get the good pieces but a lot is "mweeehh"
Don't oil it, hand sand to a high grit size

It cracks a lot during drying
 
My understanding is that Dave's experience is not unique as the wood has to be dried/aged for a LONG time before it finally settles down. Like a decade or more IIRC what I read a few years back.
 
Hi Horsewright Horsewright , thanks for that, interesting, I bet yours were beautiful as always.

Hi G godogs57 and Hengelo_77 Hengelo_77 yes I'm worried a lot about cracking in our hot desert. Is there anything more that can be done to minimize that other than painting the ends and stowing it in the shade? I was thinking maybe spraying it down with water every week or so to slow down the initial drying, at least during the coming summer. Unless I tarp it it will get rained on heavy at times during our coming monsoon season.

Hi jdm61 jdm61 I'll be periodically testing for moisture content, hopefully won't take a decade in our desert, I'm a man of a certain age after all! And once sub 5-7% or so will likely have it stabilized at K&G since I can drive up there on my way to camping. I'll call them to see what % moisture they prefer, then at least I can save shipping one way. BTW they have a neat shop up there so anyone passing thru I'd encourage to stop in and say hi!

thanks again guys for your valuable input.
 
I grew up in Phoenix, but now live in Carlsbad NM. Wood starts cracking at the pith (center of the log). If you can cut the pith out you have a better chance of the log not cracking. You could take some of the 12-18" diameter logs and split them down the middle and cut the pith out. Wood turners try to cut the pith out of bowls they turn. I would do that, then paint the pieces with a wax emulsion (Wood working stores sell it) or latex paint. Then I would put the pieces in a paper bag in a cool ( I know cool and Phoenix don't exactly go together) dry place for a couple of years.
Algerita wood (A local wood that grows in my area) is bad to crack. Once I cut some up, coated the pieces with varnish, then wrapped them up in wax paper and let them set for several years. It worked.
 
jwccustom57 said:
Hi Horsewright Horsewright , thanks for that, interesting, I bet yours were beautiful as always.

Hi G godogs57 and Hengelo_77 Hengelo_77 yes I'm worried a lot about cracking in our hot desert. Is there anything more that can be done to minimize that other than painting the ends and stowing it in the shade? I was thinking maybe spraying it down with water every week or so to slow down the initial drying, at least during the coming summer. Unless I tarp it it will get rained on heavy at times during our coming monsoon season.

Hi jdm61 jdm61 I'll be periodically testing for moisture content, hopefully won't take a decade in our desert, I'm a man of a certain age after all! And once sub 5-7% or so will likely have it stabilized at K&G since I can drive up there on my way to camping. I'll call them to see what % moisture they prefer, then at least I can save shipping one way. BTW they have a neat shop up there so anyone passing thru I'd encourage to stop in and say hi!

thanks again guys for your valuable input.
Click to expand...

My shop assistant Emma was wearing one yesterday:

ZlsyAiB.jpg


270DlnO.jpg
 
Hi Stacy, yeah I read somewhere around here it takes a year per inch of diameter for typical wood, a couple of my pieces are 6". I think I'll follow Tom Lewis Tom Lewis advice on one or two and see if it makes a difference too.

Gorgeous knife and sheath Dave, I'm a big fan of blond wood and I need to try one of those diagonal sheaths someday.
 
I Keep the green woods in a cardboard box that had a few ventilation holes in my garage or any where out of sun & rain. A year an inch is what I was taught as well ! Leaving them out side increases the chances of splitting etc
 
I don't know if it is smart but I'd cut off the sapwood first. It has no figure I'd only dry the heartwood
 
I think the most accurate way of telling if your wood has dried is by weight...

Weigh it after you’ve prepared it to dry, then weigh it periodically. When it stops loosing weight, it has reached equilibrium with the local humidity, and you’re not gonna get it drier without heat.
 
Hi R Rhinoknives1 my garage is chock full but it will be under a tree with 100% shade up against a wall, hopefully that will work. Hi A.McPherson A.McPherson weighing is a great idea thanks for that... I'm in Phoenix AZ so that's as good as a kiln right?
 
A lot of wood will develop bug problems when the wood is laying on the ground , I would be sure to avoid contact with the ground while drying.
 
Olive can be nice, though there is a lot of variety, some show a lot more color and figure than others.

Based on the photos you posted, your location, and the species I am going to go out on a limb and say your estimated yield is WAY higher than you will get. Olive cracks badly, logs are full of ingrown bark, bug holes, cracks, shakes and other defects. Cutting from logs, especially when you start with green logs have often depressingly low yields.
 
Well, I sprayed varnish on the ends last night, so it's painted and sealed, I'll mark with a number and weigh them tomorrow, then stow away off the ground as spalted said, and under a tarp in the location described. Hi Mr. Greenberg, yes I just cut up some dry Jacaranda and Acacia last night with very little cracking and got quite a few, but not as much as I'd hoped, there's a lot of waste on round limbs... too bad they don't grow square ones;).

You guys have a lot of great ideas so thanks a ton for that.... In the end I'll necromance...I mean post a new thread
 
Good times bad times you know I've had my share*. I was at the rental today paying for an A/C repair...SAD... but a neighbor was cutting the heck out of a large mesquite and he was more than happy to part with some. I ran home and got my chainsaw and went to work. It definitely did not offset the repair cost.

(* lyrics from Led Zeppelin for those who didn't get the reference)
Mesquite Score.JPG

I only processed it enough to get in the Bronco so I've still got some trimming to do before painting and storage.
 
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