I'm a big fan of Olive wood, but, as a frequent pen turner, I find Ebonite, (OK,not a wood!), really interesting (probably not very healthy though!)
Different strokes! I've made some pipe stems from ebonite rod and my garage stinks for days each time. Working with it on the lathe isn't that bad, but the rough shaping of a pipe stem is mostly done with a belt sander and stinks of burning rubber.