Care Instructions
Cleaning
1. Wash with warm, soapy water.
No fancy detergents or techniques required
2. Air or towel dry
Relax and enjoy a cuppa
3. Periodically rub in some cooking oil
Every couple of weeks will do it
All products are finely sanded several times and protected with vegetable or cooking oil so that the item will not get rough or tarnished.
Apply some vegetable or cooking oil periodically (every couple of weeks): this will keep the lustre in the timber.
To maximise the life of your product, please do not wash in the dishwasher and keep items out of direct sunlight.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs
Can I put a platter or board in the dishwasher?
We recommend you simply hand wash your timber platter or board with warm, soapy water to protect the timber and ensure your platter or board stays looking great for a long time.
What oil should I use to maintain my purchase?
Your favourite cooking or vegetable oil is fine - there’s no need to purchase anything extra.
I’ve left it pretty late and I need it ASAP - can you help?
Send us an email and we will organise express post shipping within Australia for you.
I can’t find the exact right thing - can you make it for me?
If you’re looking for one of our existing products in a specific size, shape or timber type and it’s not available online just shoot us an email and we can look into making a custom piece just for you.
Our Timbers
Tasmanian Blue Gum (Tas Oak)
Tasmania’s floral emblem and a hardy, resilient and multi-purpose time. It is ideal for wood stirrers, spoons, platters and chopping boards having a tight, fine grained timer.
It is also has a very important role in sustaining local bird life and occurs in tall open forests in south-eastern Tasmania and to a lesser extent along the eastern coast of the State and on King and Flinders Islands in Bass Strait.
The stunning flowers are usually inaccessible appearing higher in the canopy – for the bird life to enjoy.
Tasmanian Celery Top Pine
A natural, durable, tough, and fine-grained timber. The wood is creamy white when freshly cut and darkens to a mellow rosy gold hue over time and with exposure to sunlight. It also wears smooth with age and use.
It has a hardness, strength and density not normally associated with conifers. It is light and easy to work with and has been long employed in the traditional crafts of boat building and spindle turning.
The timber is valued for its durability and features such as knots, which are sound and hard, providing character. It grows in Tasmania’s wet mixed forest and rainforests commonly with myrtle and sassafras trees.
Tasmanian King Billy Pine
Although not quite as old as Huon pine, it has been known to grow to 1800+ years. Similarly their rot-resisting qualities are not as phenomenal as Huon, but they have been successfully stockpiled for perhaps hundreds of years: an ability almost unheard-of in most other timbers.
For this reason alone, King Billy is popular for its durability as well as its fine grain, light weight and warm, subtle tones.
Tasmanian Blackwood
An acacia with stunning heartwood that is golden brown, often with narrow bands of of darker colour indicative of growth rings. Sometimes colourful reddish rings are also present offering a stunning array for displaying your food on platters and chopping boards.
The grain is usually straight but sometimes wavy, producing a fiddleback figure - also ensuring its longeivity.
In Tasmania, Blackwood occurs in freshwater swampy areas, on lower valley slopes and even exposed hilltops. Even though it grows in a range of environments, Blackwood develops best in the lowland wet forests in the far north west of the state.
Tasmanian Myrtle
Grows in the temperate rainforest areas and is mainly found in the north-west and west of the state, though small communities thrive on the Tasman Peninsula and South Bruny Island. In wet eucalypt forests it grows as an understorey tree and as a small shrub at higher altitudes when exposed to wind.
The heartwood can be pink or a more popular warm reddish brown, and may also feature traces of orange. It is believed the richness of colour comes from the quality of the soil it grows in. The deepest red myrtle comes from highly fertile soils on basalt. The colour is vibrant combining subtle variations in tone and texture producing a surface alive with character and individuality. It is a striking fine grained timber and the vibrancy of its colour shows off an eclectic range of foods.
Tasmanian Blackheart Sassafras
The most variable and dynamic colouring of all Tasmanian timbers. It is normally a beautiful and pale creamy grey to white, but can be streaked with rich browns and black heart.
These streaks occur when a living tree suffers some sort of trauma, such as storm damage, that allows fungus to enter into the wood and stain it. Far from being a problem, this is actually what makes blackheart sassafras so recognisable – and so sought after.
Tasmanian blackheart sassafras is one of the most abundant species in Tasmania’s native rainforests, particularly throughout the eastern and western mountain ranges, as it thrives in cool, damp, well-drained soil. It is highly prized for decorative work and no two pieces are ever the same. It is versatile, while being strong and light, and rather easily worked wearing smooth with time and use.
Tasmanian Huon Pine
Often considered the prize of Tasmanian timbers, known for its durability and workability, making it one of the best known boat-building timbers.
The wood contains a natural preserving oil with an unmistakable perfume, and its fine and even grain makes the wood exceptionally easy to work with hand tools. The richness of its golden colour and figure make it one of the most desirable timbers for cooking stirrers, serving implements and salad servers.
The ‘Piners’, early timber getters, searched the inhospitable wilderness of Tasmania’s West Coast to cut and haul out the Huon Pine logs. It only occurs on the west coast and in the state’s South West and is now a protected species, making it extremely valuable. In addition it can grow to be 2,500 years old which means some of them started life BC. Add to this the fact that they do not start to reproduce until 600 to 800 years of age and you have a very special timber with remarkable properties.
Shipping & Returns
Shipping
Postage and Handling:
All items will be securely gift wrapped for postage.
Last minute shopping? Need your item yesterday? Please contact us and we can organise express postage at an additional cost.
When will it be sent?
Orders are generally posted within 3- 5 working days of the date they are placed.
If an order is required to be sent urgently please contact us and we will organise Express Post shipping (within Australia) at an additional cost.
How long will it take?
From Tasmania to a Metro area interstate allow approximately 3-6 business days*. Allow a couple of additional days if you’re outside of an Australia Post metro area.
Busier times (like Christmas or Easter) and interruptions to Australia Post can affect these timeframes. Check in with Australia Post for more up-to-the-minute information.
*Please note that these timeframes are provided by Australia Post and are outside of our control.
Returns
Please take care in selecting your item as refunds are not offered if you change your mind.
We take great pride in the quality of our products, however sometimes items can get damaged in transport.
If you have purchased one of our products that is damaged, please contact us within five (5) business days for an exchange or refund. Postage fees are not refundable.
If you are returning an item, please be sure to send the item by registered, traceable mail. Please include a note with your address and daytime phone number along with your request and a copy of your sales receipt.
A credit will only be made to a customer after the returned product is received by us in accordance with the above guidelines. Out the Back reserves the right to modify its exchange and return policy. If you have any questions about our returns policy, please contact us.