You did well on a tricky one Dave! And you were lucky with a new wood! From time to time you have the opportunity to try these rare mythical woods where somebody was talking about somewhere. In most cases they leave you dissapointed and you know why you stick with your osage or yew. Not so in this case....I think you were lucky. Bad thing is: We have no russian olive here around to try.
I lately tried the euopean buckthorn and was not dissapointed. But the mythical Purple plum for instance I only tried once....resilent, but heavy and sluggish, like most plum.
And today got mail from my indian horn supplier. he absolutely insisted to send me some of his local woods to try, free samples. well, I will laminate when the time has come, maybe after finishing my orders,.... All of these woods do not seem very dense, so my expectations are low....
However, I also got that berberry stave gifted by a friend....man this wood is so beautyful. Even brighter yellow than any osage! Lets' see....
Simon