Bethlehem Olive Wood

Through the following paragraphs, we’ll  introduce to you the Bethlehem olive wood as a raw material and its real value as a noble wood. 

Olive wood is not timber in the conventional meaning; one cannot buy it in boards and blocks, but in logs and branches that rarely exceeds 120cm/4feet in length and various diameters ranging from 3cm/ 1” to a maximum of 25cm/ 10”. Logs with diameters larger than 15cm/ 6”are very rare to get since they are normally hollowed from the inside and full of holes and fissures from the outside. Usually such logs are heavily inhabited by black scorpions.

Bethlehem olive wood is dense and heavy with a range of colors varying between creamy to golden brown with irregular dark brown grains. Alongside to its high water content (50-65 % when green) it contains a considerable quantity of oil and acids which makes it extremely difficult to dry without developing shrinks and fissures. At OlivArt we pay special attention to this matter, together with our special drying techniques and patience, we use the latest technology in kiln drying techniques to guarantee well dried products with as low as 8% of water content.

However, perhaps all the irregularities and problem generating nature of the olive wood, is what makes it one of the most beautiful, unique and attractive natural materials from which a vast range of artistic, religious, ecclesiastical and spiritual artifacts were and are made to be appreciated all around the world. Perhaps too, and due to its independent noble nature, it refuses to reveal its beuty unless when carved or hewed by experienced hands.