2071 African Blackwood

Comments: To be considered the original ebony, African Blackwood was imported and used in Ancient Egypt thousands of years ago. Even the name “ebony” has an Egyptian derivation as “hbny”—which has been shown to refer to primarily to Dalbergia melanoxylon, rather than the species which are considered to be ebony today: such as those in the Diospyros genus. In addition, African blackwood is technically in the Rosewood genus (Dalbergia), and is more stable and resistant to movement and warping than other types of ebony.

African blackwood is considered to be among the hardest and densest of woods in the world; indeed, among some 285 species tested, (including Lignum Vitae), Gabriel Janka originally found African Blackwood to be the very hardest. Unfortunately, many online sources list African blackwood’s Janka hardness at only ~1700lbf—which seems very unlikely given its confirmed specific gravity.

Common Name(s): African blackwood, mpingo (Swahili), grenadilla

Scientific Name: Dalbergia melanoxylon

Distribution: Dry savanna regions of central and southern Africa

Janka Hardness: 3,670 lbf (16,320 N)

Color/Appearance: Often completely black, with little or no discernible grain. Occasionally slightly lighter, with a dark brown or purplish hue. The pale yellow sapwood is usually very thin, and is clearly demarcated from the darker heartwood.

Workability: Very difficult to work with hand or machine tools, with an extreme blunting effect on cutters. African blackwood is most often used in turned objects, where it is considered to be among the very finest of all turning woods—capable of holding threads and other intricate details well. When made into clarinet or oboe bodies, the wood is typically processed on metal-working equipment, giving it a reputation as being metal-like in some of its working properties.

Pricing/Availability: African blackwood is very expensive, on par with true ebonies such as Gaboon Ebony in the Diospyros genus. Since the tree grows so slowly, and is generally small and gnarly, available boards tend to be narrow—though large clear sections have occasionally been harvested from older trees that yield bookmatched guitar backs (~8″ wide).

Sustainability: African blackwood is listed on CITES appendix II under the genus-wide restriction on all Dalbergia species—which also includes finished products made of the wood. It’s also reported by the IUCN as being near threatened. Technically it doesn’t meet the Red List criteria of a vulnerable or endangered species, but is close to qualifying and/or may qualify in the near future.

Common Uses: Musical instruments (guitars, clarinets, oboes, etc.), inlay, carving, tool handles, and other turned objects.

Information obtained from the wood database......


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Simply amazing

Mark Hepburn said:

Simply amazing

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Thanks Mark......

BTW: Good to hear that you are back in the saddle again.....after a bit of a hiatus.

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Classic Odie work taken to a new high - Wonderful looking!

Gene Pitstick said:

Classic Odie work taken to a new high - Wonderful looking!

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Thank you, Gene.....

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What a gorgeous finish! Beautiful Odie!!

Nicely sized piece of Blackwood Odie….I see lots of finials there, haha! Beautiful bowl!

Lou Jacobs said:

What a gorgeous finish! Beautiful Odie!!

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Russ Braun said:

Nicely sized piece of Blackwood Odie….I see lots of finials there, haha! Beautiful bowl!

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Thank you Lou and Russ......

Russ....if you think blackwood for finials is expensive.....wait until you find a piece big enough to make a bowl!....will make you blink!

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