Finish for olive?

[John K Jordan]

I'm finally cutting into an old slab of Mediterranean Olive to make a wedding present (for a girl I've known since she was 4 years old!)

Has anyone used oil on Olive? I generally prefer the soft sheen of multiple applications of oil, such as Watco, but I've never tried it on olive. Will it darken it excessively over time? I know that watco oil doesn't play well with some woods - for example I put some on a beautiful piece of Cocobolo once and within 6 months it was almost as black as ebony. I'm doing some tests with different finishes but I don't have 6 months to wait - the wedding is in December! I've also used beeswax for these, melted into the surface with a heat gun, so that's another option.

I know that some finishes like lacquer and poly are less likely to affect the color of the wood and I've used them but for something that will be used for food I don't want a film on the surface.

I wiped on naptha on a section of the bottom to see how the oil might bring out the figure (sanded only with a bit of 220 by hand here):

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Naptha doesn't add any color (it's like putting water on it without the drawbacks of water) so the browns and yellows in this picture is about what it would look like with oil. I applied some oil to some sanded scraps a little while ago and the wood looks just like the photo.

BTW, if you haven't used naptha, try it. It doesn't affect the wood or any finish applied later, wipes away sawdust and sanding grit, doesn't raise the grain, and drys very quickly. Besides showing what the finish might do to the figure in the wood it helps me see hard-to-see sanding scratches, tearout, and other defects.

Any turners of olive out there?

JKJ

[Bob Waddell]

never turned olive but it is for sure an oily wood. could wipe it down with naptha or laquer thinner and then finish with a wipe water based poly. Water based does not darken wood as does oil based. Bob W

[Richard Dooling]

That sure look neat. Don't forget to post a pic of the finished item please!

The only olive I've turned was for a mortise and pestal so I just used butcher block wax/oil finish.

What about walnut oil? I just used that on a bread bowl and I've had nice comments on that.

[Mel Fulks]

Yeah. Really interesting material, and nice crisp detail. With that color and pattern I would call the gift a "peanut brittle serving bowl" ,which will always be entertaining when a guest reaches into a just emptied bowl and hits "rock bottom" faux candy.

[Stan Calow]

I've used olive wood for turned kitchen utensil handles. I used walnut oil. Not saying its the best, but feels good in the hand and easily refreshed. Since danish oil is a mix of varnish and oil, I'm not sure its a fair comparison. the handles I made 3+ years ago have gotten slightly more amber, but not much.

[Harold Balzonia]

I've found olive to be tricky (borderline annoying) to work with from beginning to end. Milling it gums up everything, turning it requires constant sharpening and it doesn't smell that great! Ive found finishing it is also an inconsistent venture...

here is a small bowl done with walnut oil...
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Heres a utility nut bowl with beeswax, carnuba, and orange oil...
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This is larger bowl is done with general finishes salad bowl finish (I think this is the best option I've used so far)....
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And finally a plate with rattle can lacquer... (yes that is a sliver of walnut on the edge... long story...)
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All of these were done from the exact same olive tree that was taken down in my neighborhood some while back but turned at different times. The oil finishes do darken things a bit, as you can see. There is no doubt the project that gets turned from your talented hands will be exceptional!

[John K Jordan]

All of these were done from the exact same olive tree that was taken down in my neighborhood some while back but turned at different times. The oil finishes do darken things a bit, as you can see. There is no doubt the project that gets turned from your talented hands will be exceptional!

Ha, thanks! I'm just glad I didn't blow it up. I left it a little thicker than usual since one corner seemed a little brittle when I first started on it.

Do you know what kind of olive that is? The third picture looks more like the olive I've used from Europe. I brought back a good-sized piece from Italy that had color and figure like that. The slab I'm working from probably came from a tree 18-20" in diameter. This may be very old olive too. It smells like other olive I'm familiar with but is dryer and not oily. It cuts nearly as creamy smooth as the oily stuff. I don't know exactly where it was imported from but my friend said it was "Mediterranean Olive."

BTW, I found a shop in Athens, Greece that was completely full of nothing but things made from Olive wood! He had everything from spoons to tables, most of it obviously hand made.

JKJ

[Harold Balzonia]

I don't know what kind of olive tree it was, but if there is a species of olive in the "Maximus giganticus" family, this would be it... the trunk was easily 40" in diameter at ground level. Here's a pic of the load in my trailer....

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I have a friend who has a tree removal business and calls me when he gets something interesting. Get this - he took this one out because the owner of the house didn't like the squirrels who were living in it!

My guess is the squirrels moved to the big tree in the guy's backyard....

[Jim Tobias]

John,
My experience of using Watco Danish on Olive has been positive. It only darkened about the same as Watco on Maple.....slight amber. But I had to put on thin coats and wipe off because of the oil in the Olive. Mine was on a Ketubah frame for a wedding and on a couple of small box tops.

Jim

[John K Jordan]

John,
My experience of using Watco Danish on Olive has been positive. It only darkened about the same as Watco on Maple.....slight amber. But I had to put on thin coats and wipe off because of the oil in the Olive. Mine was on a Ketubah frame for a wedding and on a couple of small box tops.

Jim

Thanks for all the responses. So far my tests with danish on scrap pieces have been positive. I also heard from woodturner John Lucas, turner/artist Ralph Watts and some others recommending I try wipe-on-poly so I'm going to test those too before I commit. I'm very glad to have all this finishing experience at hand!

JKJ

[Marvin Hasenak]

The Daly's brand of oil finishes has one that clear as water. I have used it on all kinds of wood, including olive with no yellowing. It s made in Washing state, I can't remember the particular one that was clear, but I believe it was Daly's Seafin Teak Oil. I would call before I order. If you want shine, you have to apply a lot of coats. I liked the finish, but disliked the fact I could not buy locally, nobody would even order it locally.

[Frank Drew]

John,

My brother lived in the south of France for years and one time sent me a chunk of olive wood, which I used to turn him and his wife a salad bowl. It has a pleasant, savory aroma when worked; I probably used Mohawk/Behlen's Salad Bowl Finish.

I used the offcuts, cut up even smaller, for smoking chicken on the grill.

[John K Jordan]

I used the offcuts, cut up even smaller, for smoking chicken on the grill.

That's a good idea - I'm going to have a lot of little pieces by the time I've used up this slab!

JKJ