What is Olive Wood?

Olive wood is a beautiful type of wood and is used in many luxury goods. You might even own some olive wood but how much do you even know about it? Well live woods scientific name is Olea europaea, O. capensis. It comes from olive trees that grow from 25 to 50 feet tall. The diameter of these trees can reach anywhere from 3-5 feet. That’s seriously one big tree. Its color is creamish yellowish brownish with dark brown or black contrasting grains. The grains are really what makes olive wood stand out so much. The grain is typically curly or wavy in shape. The grain itself may be straight, interlocked, or wild. The wood itself is fairly easy to work with, the only problems that may occur is that the wood is subject to cracking when working with a lot of grain. When working with the wood you actually get a distinct scent that is somewhat fruity.

So what makes olive wood so special and valuable? Well since olives are a huge economic importance in the Mediterranean, the trees are never harvested for their wood. So, all olive wood is limited to tree clippings, branches, and trees destroyed by storms or disease. This is gives value to the olive wood, especially the bigger pieces such as an olive wood fruit bowl or chess set because it requires a large piece of wood like a tree trunk or very thick branch to craft. Olive wood is most commonly used to craft high end furniture and kitchenware. In fact it is most prized for carving spoons.

Olive trees have been around for a very long time. The earliest record of olive tree groves were recorded to be around 4000 B.C. Many people tie olive wood into religious backgrounds. This is because olive trees are quite prevalent in the holy land of Jerusalem. Olive trees are actually quite significant in most religions, however for everybody olive trees are a symbol of peace and beauty. Because of its importance to the world, BeldiNest always crafts its olive wood with care and passion, to be sure to provide the best olive wood products on the market.