I have an interest in supplementing my exotic handle material collection with some 'bog oak', 'bog wood', or 'Morta' as it is sometimes called.
Of course, I went to Ebay to see what is out there. I found this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Russian-Bog-...#ht_196wt_1153
and this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bog-oak-blan...#ht_264wt_1153
These look like new oak that some enterprizing lad has soaked in black dye and is trying to pass off as the genuine article to make a fast buck. The pores are open and fresh looking..., just not very 'old' looking. Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel a scam here.
Where can I get genuine bog oak/bog wood? Are there American importers? I already have a bunch of ancient Kauri, but the black bog wood looks very interesting.
I also find it interesting that Kauri does not turn black in a bog like other species, even at ten to twenty times the age (up to 50k years).
Any help would be great.
Thanks