[Simon F]

Hi All

Upon ringing the wood supplier that i'd expected to have boxwood in stock here in Australia, I was informed that they had little and didn't know when they'd get more!!! makes for difficulties in the short term!!!

I promptly did a search and found this site http://www.octopus.com.tr/store/?page=prod...;cat=32&mc= but don't know how satisfactory it would be, both on the variety and ordering from Turkey...

The hard bit here in Australia is getting wood - esp. with bark on - through customs and quarantine. Any suggestions on companies that can mail timber at a reasonable rate, that you'd trust???

Simon

[octopus wood works]

Hi Simon,
Yes I know them. I'm owner of Octopus Wood Works ltd. Turkiye.
Now you can supply 3-5 years seasoned boxwood from Octopus firm.
There are many experiences on web.
http://www.octopus.com.tr/store/?page=our_...p;mc=&id=76

Don't hasitate please to give an order.

Thanks.
Muzaffer Yeltekin
m.yeltekin@octopus.com.tr
skype octopuswoodworks

[Simon F]

Thanks Muzaffer

I'll contact customs/quarantine here to find out what must be done to import wood to Australia. They can be very strict!

Funny that you should have found my post on the forum!

Simon

[octopus wood works]

Hi Simon,
Your welcome. I don't know what will you buy? as logs or squares?
If squares no problem. No quarentine.
If you can buy wholesale as boxwood logs Yes. But we can to fumigation boxwoods. (1000 kg and up)
We are ready to help you.

Thanks
Good day.
Muzaffer

[Leon]

octopus wood works, on Mar 6 2008, 11:47 PM, said:

(1000 kg and up)

That's enough for, I guess, 500 kg of netsukes!

I'd love to see that pile!

[octopus wood works]

Hello Simon,
Now we can supply boxwood logs you, Click below link please for more details.
http://www.octopus.c...os/boxwoodlogs/
Our pricing is wholesale on web.

Back us please to my mail. info@octopus.com.tr it's better.
Because here forum not commercial place.

Thanks.
Muzaffer

[Bujalino]

I recently placed an order with Octopus. Anxiously awaiting the arrival. I suspect it will take a few weeks travel. Very large pieces are available.

Will let you know when they arrive.

Muzaffer communicates via email every step and is very cordial.

Best Regards,

Bill

[alain]

Try this link from Germany for boxwood , Dick fine tools

http://www.dick.biz/dick/category/dickcata..._225/detail.jsf

[octopus wood works]

Hello Bill,
You can find out your boxwoods. 3 years seasoned.
When you need master boxwood logs or squares, can supply Octopus.

Octopus

Attached image(s)

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[Bujalino]

All,


I received the piece shown in the photos from Muzafer. This wood is of very good quality. It is unusual to obtain such large pieces. The shipping took nearly 5 weeks but well worth the wait. I amvery satisfied with the wood and communications from Muzaffer. Prices on Octopus website included shipping.

Very Best,

Bill (Bujalino)

[Simon F]

Bujalino, on Dec 21 2008, 05:26 AM, said:

All,
I received the piece shown in the photos from Muzafer. This wood is of very good quality. It is unusual to obtain such large pieces. The shipping took nearly 5 weeks but well worth the wait. I amvery satisfied with the wood and communications from Muzaffer. Prices on Octopus website included shipping.

Very Best,

Bill (Bujalino)

Hi Bill

Can you tell us what the quality - in particular the moisture/oil component of the boxwood you received is like (esp the bigger sections). My question arises from my experience with large section or large logs of boxwood that I obtained here in Australia a little while ago. My boxwood is very dry as it is quite old (perhaps 60 years since harvest) and it spent many years sitting in the rafters of the previous owners shed, no doubt through some very hot summers.

Compared with the first boxwood I used some years ago - which was wonderfully strong and waxy, and aromatic when cut - my current wood is less dense and more like African Boxwood (Costello boxwood) to use. It suits my purposes when using it for pattern making, but is unsatifying for small 'one-off' carvings.

I have wondered if my boxwood's characteristics were due to it's size (suggesting that boxwood that is able to grow to such large size is in too easy an environment for hard and dense growth ) or that it has just been stored in poor conditions and lost too much of it's original oil and moisture content.

Look forward to your reply, and any other comments from knowledgeable boxwood uses, Clive, Cornel, Janel???

Best regards to you all
Simon

[Janel]

Hmmm, very interesting! Hi Simon,

The first "log" of boxwood I purchased long ago came from Laos via Eisenbrand. It is about 4.5 - 5 inches in diameter. It is hard, but it is a bit less dense than a boxwood hunk from Baltimore, Maryland that is 4 inches or slightly less in diameter. Two different climates, the one from Maryland experienced winters, the one from Laos I might guess that it did not experience such climate swings. I have received boxwood as samples from various people. One piece considered French Boxwood was very dense and yellow, and one from Africa is very dense and hard. One sample from Turkey carved nicely, was dense though not as dense as some of the others. Also used have been pieces from West Virginia that are not among the hardest, but it may be due to the age or need of removal for some reason or another from healthier specimens (wood provided by a gardener for a cemetery).

Each piece of boxwood, from different regions of the world, seems to differ from the others in some way. Whether it is the climate, or species, or just one tree/shrub from the next, the wood specimens that I have used all have their own characteristics.

You have asked a good question. Are the differences due in part to its particular species, the climate that it grew in? Does the drying and storage of the wood affect the quality of the wood?

Thanks for the question, Simon.

Janel

[Simon F]

Thanks for the comments Janel.

The first lot of boxwood I used was also yellowy to cream in colour. It was very waxy and cut in almost any direction. It was very hard and despite being quite tough work to cut by hand, rewarded the effort with smooth shiny cut surfaces that looked like burnished wax. This combined with a wonderful buttery smell - it smelled for all the world like fresh butter cookies! - made me fall in love with this wood. Sadly the source that I got it from stopped stocking timber some time ago...

The current stock I have does have some hard sections but lacks the smell, resilience and the ability to be cut against the grain at all

[Bujalino]

Simon F, on Dec 22 2008, 05:17 PM, said:

Hi Bill

Can you tell us what the quality - in particular the moisture/oil component of the boxwood you received is like (esp the bigger sections). My question arises from my experience with large section or large logs of boxwood that I obtained here in Australia a little while ago. My boxwood is very dry as it is quite old (perhaps 60 years since harvest) and it spent many years sitting in the rafters of the previous owners shed, no doubt through some very hot summers.

Compared with the first boxwood I used some years ago - which was wonderfully strong and waxy, and aromatic when cut - my current wood is less dense and more like African Boxwood (Costello boxwood) to use. It suits my purposes when using it for pattern making, but is unsatifying for small 'one-off' carvings.

I have wondered if my boxwood's characteristics were due to it's size (suggesting that boxwood that is able to grow to such large size is in too easy an environment for hard and dense growth ) or that it has just been stored in poor conditions and lost too much of it's original oil and moisture content.

Look forward to your reply, and any other comments from knowledgeable boxwood uses, Clive, Cornel, Janel???

Best regards to you all
Simon

Simon,

You are more the connisouer than I on smell and texture. This boxwood is similar to a piece I had carved into a meerkat some years ago and the only experience I can claim with boxwood. I do have many species of wood from around the world and find these pices from Muzzafer to be of high quality without checks or cracks. I was very pleased with my purchase and feel that anyone else could be as well.

Very Best,

Bill

[Simon F]

Bujalino, on Jan 1 2009, 01:09 PM, said:

Simon,

You are more the connisouer than I on smell and texture. This boxwood is similar to a piece I had carved into a meerkat some years ago and the only experience I can claim with boxwood. I do have many species of wood from around the world and find these pices from Muzzafer to be of high quality without checks or cracks. I was very pleased with my purchase and feel that anyone else could be as well.

Very Best,

Bill

Hi Bill

Thanks for the reply. Sorry for not saying so earlier -I've not checked back into the forum for a while...

[sergio]

Hi everyone. French boxwood is very dense and yellow, like Janel says. I try to choose little diameters, because when it's to big (6 or 7 cm and more) it splits. I take a piece of wood, and i look if my netsuke can be made with it, the dimensions of the wood are near my carving, if my netsuke is 2,5 cm, i take a piece with a diameter of 3cm. Often, i used a wood with a diameter of 4 cm. In france, there is a lot of boxwood, you can have it without payed, it's interesting because it's a nice wood to carve.

[Janel]

How lucky the carvers are to have so much boxwood nearby! I live in a region where people moved into it less than 150 years ago, and those first people were not bringing boxwood with them to plant! So any boxwood that is here is not large, and has to endure sub-zero F° every long winter. I have not tried to find any boxwood that has grown in Minnesota! Maybe large enough for ojime!

[Simon F]

sergio, on Jan 23 2009, 03:51 AM, said:

Hi everyone. French boxwood is very dense and yellow, like Janel says. I try to choose little diameters, because when it's to big (6 or 7 cm and more) it splits. I take a piece of wood, and i look if my netsuke can be made with it, the dimensions of the wood are near my carving, if my netsuke is 2,5 cm, i take a piece with a diameter of 3cm. Often, i used a wood with a diameter of 4 cm. In france, there is a lot of boxwood, you can have it without payed, it's interesting because it's a nice wood to carve.

Ah, Sergio, then maybe the boxwood I first used was French! It certainly was yellowish, and very hard. It was larger though - 6-10cm across. It had been cut through the middle however (split) to help lessen the splitting factor.

Maybe next time I'm in France I should bring my pruning saw...

[sergio]

Hi Simon, hi all. It's a photo of my boxwood. The biggest piece on the left is 8 to 9 cm diameter. On the right, the piece is 4,5 cm diameter, it's interesting because there is a nice mark in the heart. I made the netsuke in the boxwood just at the right, it's 4 cm diameter, it's my favorite.