It could be olive wood, or it could be chance. I had a handsome no-name "Made In England" straight smooth billiard carved of briar, and it cracked right where the shank met the bowl, on the top of the shank.
It wasn't dropped or manhandled in any way.
I didn't want to smoke it to death, and a friend wanted a few pipes for decor (a Lucky Strike smoker who had finally quit), so I gave it to him.
I have about 90 pipes in rotation, and I've owned more, and that's the only one that has cracked on me.
The walls on that pipe look pretty thick. You might get away with smoking it for some years, but it bears watching. You don't want the ember in your lap.