Rattray's Olive Wood Pipe

[OzPiper]

I have a number of friends who have bought Osage Orange pipes claiming if they are tough enough to last in the ground for 50+ years that they will work in their mouths. Osage Orange (it has another more common name, but I can't remember it right now) is the wood old time farmers would use for fence posts.

@Briar Lee will concur

 

[gamzultovah]

I’d always heard olive wood pipes didn’t last as long as briar. Myth?

Olivewood pipes, as they age, will produce micro-cracks due to shrinkage and use. This normally does not effect a very robust olivewood, but it will effect a delicate one. For instance, my Wallenstein Olivewood Horn has developed a micro-crack on what can be considered the topside of the shank that has now grown into an actual crack that my fingernail can fit into. It’s only a matter of time before this area fails. (The crack can be seen in the photograph.)

I noticed the same happening to a large, Italian, Olivewood Cavalier that I purchased. As stated, if the pipe is stout and solidly made (as the OP’s pipe appears to be), then these micro-cracks will not be an issue for a very long time, but on the whole, no, Olivewood will not outlast briar.