Olive wood question

T

Taximanny

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Jul 27, 2015
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Ok was at a store this afternoon and in the cutting board section I see this olive wood set of 4 cutting boards about 1/4" thick each.
Beautiful grain and very dense. Was going to pick it up for knife scales.
For 16$ I can't go wrong.... I think.
So took a pic and thought I would get your thoughts on it.

Did a quick Google to see if it needed stabilized... But got yes's and no's

The tag says it from Italy that all I know.
 
$16 for all 4? Even if you send them away for stabilizing it will be a great deal! I don't if they need to be stabilized, but I have a related question. There must be some finish on them. You must have to remove the finish before sending them to be stabilized right?
 
They are not going to give you matching scales, and the preservation to make a cutting board may not be what you want for a knife handle.

Most olive does not stabilize well.

Check a few suppliers. You can get blocks that can be split into book matched scales, or buy scales for about the same price as that cutting board. Olive wood is fairly cheap. I sell top grade blocks at the knife show for $20-25. Woodcraft sells olive wood very reasonably. 1.5X1.5X6" is $15. That will cut two sets of 1/4" thick knife scales. They sell pre-cut and sanded knife scales in olive wood for $13.
 
How thin can someone get buy with olive wood for scales?

If used I would like to got 1/8" max
Along with peening them.

Thanks for the info
 
Taximanny said:
How thin can someone get buy with olive wood for scales?

If used I would like to got 1/8" max
Along with peening them.

Thanks for the info
Click to expand...

But you wont. Assuming you use a 1/16 inch bandsaw, you are going to have rough faces, and lose maybe another 1/16 - 1/32 of an inch on either side after flattening, thats assuming you have zero wobble which on 1/4 thick you certainly will. Its not worth it.
 
Not just talking about the cutting boards....I've already passed them up.

Really wood in general...
Are oily wood better for thinner scales without the high risk of cracking while peening?
Vs hardwoods?
 
I was just given a slab of olive wood and cut a chunk out for a wa handle. It's a burl with some curl in it. The only problem is there's quite a few cracks dictating where I make cuts.
I don't plan on having it stabilized.
The curl is directly below the block I'm holding in this pic.
5C2BDF9A-17CF-4232-88D9-643F0BE5BB7C_zpsaybg9mm2.jpg

Quick coat of tru-oil to see what I got
709612BD-63A4-4812-9A73-4293630FAC3B_zpsmqoqyyce.png
 
My local woodcraft had some really nice (and old) olive logs. They were at 6% moisture and not badly cracked. I bought one for $100 and cut it into about 70 nice handles. It was a really smart buy.
 
I have often been tempted by Olive cutting boards, bowls, trays etc that I've seen at different cooking stores for knife handles too. So far I've resisted but sure seems like they have some really figured pieces.
 
There's a woodcraft and rockler out in west county. Woodcraft especially had some very nice cocobolo and Blackwood.
 
Stacy kind of brought this up, but my understanding is that olive works best when it has been allowed to dry for a LONG time. That is apparently the best way to "stabilize" the stuff.
 
Taximanny said:
Not just talking about the cutting boards....I've already passed them up.

Really wood in general...
Are oily wood better for thinner scales without the high risk of cracking while peening?
Vs hardwoods?
Click to expand...

In short, yes, but not directly because of the oils. Over all, most oily woods are harder than so called dry woods. Lignium, Cocobolo, ebony and so on are a lot harder than oak or maple. But preventing cracking in peening is different. That takes into account the crushabilty and elasticity of the wood. Rosewoods, as well as stabalized woods like maple, walnut and most domestic burls are pretty good about peening without causing much damage. Its the more brittle woods that pose a cracking risk, things like ebony, Desert ironwood, snakewood and so on. Personally i make a VERY tiny counter sink on the faces of scales if the wood im using is one prone to cracking.
 
If I'm using brass pins, which peen over a lot and a very hard, brittle handle it make a tiny counter sink. The pins are often 1/8, I use a 1/4 bit to just slightly counter sink the handles so the pins have some space to mushroom out and not risk cracking the wood
 
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