Comments on: African Blackwood

By: Gary Williams

Gary Williams — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 12:49:46 +0000

In reply to Eric. Thanks Eric. BTW, I use this site all the time, awesome amount of very useful information. World of great information!

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 06:38:57 +0000

In reply to Gary Williams. I don't know a way to tell from looking at that distance at the face grain. Either way, it does look like it would be some expensive wood and not a cheaper alternative ebony type wood.

By: Gary Williams

Gary Williams — Sun, 02 Feb 2025 12:55:31 +0000

Eric, does this look like it could be Indian Ebony or African blackwood. This is a listing for sale and says it’s ebony but does not list the type. Can you help me on determining what it may be. Thanks

By: Hiep

Hiep — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 16:28:54 +0000

There is another tree also named African blackwood, Erythrophleum africanum. In fact, I found no plant of Erythrophleum genus on your site. Some members of this genus are considered ironwood due to their extreme densitity and blunder effect on saws

By: Cindy Potgieter

Cindy Potgieter — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 05:43:22 +0000

Good day. Please can you tell me the wood type, very, heavy.

By: Loren Javernick

Loren Javernick — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 07:03:18 +0000

In reply to ejmeier. I had success gluing it to maple once by turning the Blackwood first into a piece with 1/4” dowels coming off both sides, then drilled a 1/4” hole into the maple, glued them together, and turned the whole thing into a pretty cool spoon, maple with a Blackwood stripe in the handle.

By: Loren Javernick

Loren Javernick — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 06:59:23 +0000

In reply to Rick. You could probably do it but not a whole axe handle. Just the part where your hand grips? I’d say yeah. If u found a piece large enough to make an entire axe handle be ready to spend like $300 on it at least :D

By: Loren Javernick

Loren Javernick — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 06:53:40 +0000

African Blackwood is an absolute dreamboat on the lathe. You’ll need a sharp chisel but despite its rather immense hardness it cuts like butter, so smooth, and it can hold the finest detail. It’s my favorite wood to turn. I’ve never had a reaction to the dust either though I mostly don’t breathe it anyways. But some woods give me sinus issues, I haven’t noticed that with Blackwood for what it’s worth. It’s the cocoa butter on my French toast.

By: sven

sven — Sun, 17 Oct 2021 10:36:12 +0000

A turned bowl from african blackwood

By: Rohan Geldenhuys

Rohan Geldenhuys — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 02:19:16 +0000

In reply to Victoria Howard.

Hi Victoria….Do you mind posting a photo please?
Simplest explanation or way….
Sand or scrape somewhere (bottom) of the carved piece….
Expose the “fresh” wood!
If you see clear wood grain/ lines…..then its African Blackwood.
Ebony is just an odd pitch black “void” looking wood!!!

Another way: Africa is Quite big!
If bought in West Africa, then 99% of the time it will be Ebony.
If bought in Southern Africa, then it should be African Blackwood, and i presume she did..
Be advised, they do however polish these carvings with black shoe polish……might just end up with iron wood or leadwood polished to look like ebony.
So sand away! Hahaha