Where do you get your Bethlehem Olive Wood

[Clint Baxter]

Hi all. I wanted to pick up some of the Bethlehem Olive Wood for some pens and some light flat wood projects. I tried one source and had all kinds of issues with getting a product and the larger blanks I finally received could not be used for turnings at all. Wondering if anyone has a source that they'd recommend for getting genuine "Bethlehem Olive Wood" blanks. I need some blanks up to 1-1/2" square, 12-18" in length. I'm not out to bash my bad supplier and have no intention of revealing which company I dealt with. Just wanting to find some recommendations for a good source.

Thanks, Clint

[David DeCristoforo]

Ummm... Bethlehem?

[Don Palese]

I've have very good success here: http://www.bethlehemolivewood.net/.1catalog/index.php?p=page&page_id=olivetree

Takes some planning (timewise) but good products .. they have a distribution center in Texas -- and an 800 number

[Jim Burr]

Word of caution Clint;
Under Jerusalem law, olive trees can't be cut down. Only fallen trees and pruning's can be used for sale. As you may guess, BOW of size may be a little hard to find. About 7-9 years ago, there were several dozen pallet loads of California olive wood shipped to Israel. Now it's BOW because that's where it was re-shipped from.
Instantly, a few thousand dollars of COW is now a few million worth of BOW. Although most suppliers issue a Certificate of Authenticity...sometimes those are suspect as well.

[John Altberg]

Ummm... Bethlehem?

Beat me to it, David, and identical sarcasm only works once!

[Ken Glass]

Same as the others, http://www.bethlehemolivewood.net (http://www.bethlehemolivewood.net/.1catalog/index.php?p=page&page_id=olivetree), and try and talk to Darwish if you can. He's very nice and funny too boot.

[sam upton]

Ken,
Try Mannie. I know that he has the pen blanks & he may or may not have the other. If not, he will probably know when to get the larger blanks.
Sam
www.woodenwonderstx.com (http://www.woodenwonderstx.com)
l

[David E Keller]

Ken,
Try Mannie. I know that he has the pen blanks & he may or may not have the other. If not, he will probably know when to get the larger blanks.
Sam
www.woodenwonderstx.com (http://www.woodenwonderstx.com)
l

+1 for Mannie if you want BOW. Honestly, I think the stuff from California is nicer looking and cheaper to boot!

[Clint Baxter]

Thanks for the posts. My client would like the authentic wood, (or at least the wood that has the certificate of authenticity). As such, we're talking BOW. I did receive some very nice pen blanks when I ordered, but the larger pieces were the issue. I feel safe in that I received pruned wood, (the one blank is obviously a small branch that has wane on all four corners and pith throughout the center. A second has pith at the end that exits midway down the blank. A lot of wane on that one as well. The third had deep checks on multiple sides that I'll probable fill and use as best I can. The items were shipped from Jerusalem, so I am can assure my customer that the wood came from there.

Clint