Why are they so damn expensive?

Because they're alive and have feelings, too?

same reason those tiny houses are more expensive than a decent double wide home.

I thought live edge meant it still had the bark on it

I wouldn't call that table a live edge table.

I'm like 3toe, I thought they had natural bark, or wane, edge on them that were worked up to look good. That table looks like somebody free handed the edge with a cheap jigsaw and rough sanded it.

From Wikipedia

Live edge or natural edge is a style of furniture where the furniture designer or craftsperson incorporates the natural edge of the wood into the design of the piece. Live edge furniture often incorporates gnarly wood, such as Alligator Juniper, mesquite and salvaged wood that could not be used in conventional woodworking. There are special challenges involved in working with this type of wood, and several methods for live edge have developed. Some leave the natural holes and cracks in the wood while other artists fill them with resins.

No it’s not.

Live edge slabs are worth what a person will pay. I got a buddy that has built some and they are nice.

When you guys create your own internet I expect it to have the correct definitions, until then I am stuck using the shitty one that is out there today. So what ever you want to call the tables represented in the hundreds of images on the internet, why are they so expensive?

https://www.google.com/search?q=liv...VRlAoAQ_AUIESgC&biw=1408&bih=689

Simulated at best

Because "art" and "trends" and "natural" and "quinoa".

This. ^^^ That ain't a live edge table.

I've got a giant slab I'm preparing to make a coffee table out of. In researching for this, it looks like the bark has got to come off before finishing because it will not stay on after finishing and as the slab dries over time. At least that's what sources I trust are saying.

That pic above is not a live edge slab.

the bar in my trophy room is a live edge 3" thick slab of beautiful black walnut two foot wide and six feet long. I removed the bark with a knife and finished with a hand rubbed epoxy finish over Tru-oil.

Fred, can you post a pic? I would like to see if that finish is what I might want for a bar in a game room.

One of the reasons for the high cost is the labor. There is a lot of hand work involved in planing and sanding, removing the bark, smoothing out the limb bases, filling knots and cracks. Each piece is unique, and poses unique challenges. This is a poor quality pic of some live edge redwood floating shelves that are being installed in my dining room. The contractor worked for days to transform the raw slabs to finished shelves.

sent you a pm