Calling Mr Wood and other tree experts!

[bert333]

I think this is called Sabine
Looking it up comes up with.... Juniper
Are they the same? and can carved items be safely used as cooking tools?

few pics and a carving from a bit of it
Entitled 'a woman's love'
Carved as a cello
Standing it up as a woman
and when she plays her music, she fills her man's heart with love! you might have to use a bit of imagination on this one. Heart 'bowl' closest to top!
I am staggered by the beauty of the grain- beats prunus hands down!

 

[BJJJ]

Looks like Juniper, beautiful carving.

 

[bushwacker bob]

Looks like a Wellingtonia to me but there are Larix branches on the right of the top picture.

 

[Perrari]

Beautiful spoon carving & lovely grain. I see the cello, I see the heart but I cannot see the woman ?

 

[riggers]

I'm with the welintonia also it's def of the Cyprus family

 

[bert333]

Thanks for nice comments. I forgot to mention that the wood has a very strong and pleasant smokey piney smell.
I looked 'wellingtonia' aka sequoia and I don't think that is one. Too small and wrong leaves.
Only very close similarity so far is the juniper.
Is that one food safe?

 

[Goatboy]

Any chance of a close up picture of the cones we can see on the branches? Close up of leaf/needle form would be good too.

 

[DavidJT]

Don't know if Juniper wood is food safe, but of course berries are used in cooking, great in stews.

I have used juniper branches in a smoker, to smoke fish - which I was shown by an elderly Swedish relative.

 

[Goatboy]

Juniper is food safe.

 

[BJJJ]

Don't know if Juniper wood is food safe, but of course berries are used in cooking, great in stews.

I have used juniper branches in a smoker, to smoke fish - which I was shown by an elderly Swedish relative.

And the berries are used for flavouring gin I believe

 

[DavidJT]

And the berries are used for flavouring gin I believe

Yes - exactly!

 

[Goatboy]

Yes - exactly!

Also nice to crush a couple of green juniper berries into your glass of whisky

 

[Opal]

Beautiful spoon carving & lovely grain. I see the cello, I see the heart but I cannot see the woman ?

If you flip the pic to your right, there stands the woman.

 

[bert333]

sorry the trees are a loooong way from home and live in hot countries by the seaside! I have no other photos, just some wood :0) for more carvings
I've been comparing trees for hours on the web and it all keeps coming back to a 'variation' of the Juniper tree.

 

[Goatboy]

'Sok Bert,

Would've made ID easier that's all. I'm leaning on the juniper but not sure what type.

Sorry,
GB.

 

[Dreadhead]

wow love that carving!

 

[bert333]

thank you Dread
Ah HA!!
Mystery might be solved- I reckon it's this although I did not see any pine nuts anywhere.
Am sooooo glad I brought of this outwardly looking scruffy tree! that grain makes it all worthwhile !

so 1 question remains- do you reckon it's 'safe' i.e contains no toxins waiting to raid my stomach if I use spoons made of this on food??

 

[crosslandkelly]

That is a beautie of a spoon, glad you ID'd the tree.

 

[Goatboy]

Not sure Bert, Pinus sabiniana has needles in bunches (fascicles) of three, where as the tree in the pic has scale form leaves. Also the fruit form and size is wrong and the barks differ a lot with the pine nut being smoother - more like Scots pine.

 

[bert333]

arrggh! ah well - it can remain a mystery- the most important thing for me is that I can now recognise it (and I know where it and its mates live!!)