Ebony and African Blackwood question

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Lo/Rez

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Feb 10, 2013
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I've always liked the look of these two dark woods as handle material. From what I've read they are both very stable. Do they need to be stabilized prior to use on a knife?
 
Some folks do stabilize blackwood, but I have found it to be unnecessary as is the case with most, if not all of the members of the extended rosewood family. Ebony can be rather brittle whereas blackwood is not.
 
Thanks for the replys. I appreciate it. I like black walnut also, but I think that one definitely needs to be stabilized.
 
I find blackwood far more attractive and much more "stable" than ebony. Ebony tends to check and form tiny splits with age...blackwood just stays pretty. I also find blackwood easier to work with.
 
If I were to buy a block (within size limitations) of blackwood would I be able to resaw it with my little 9" bandsaw, or would I need a metal cutting band saw to do the job?
 
Lo/Rez said:
If I were to buy a block (within size limitations) of blackwood would I be able to resaw it with my little 9" bandsaw, or would I need a metal cutting band saw to do the job?
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Your little 9" with a relatively sharp wood cutting blade of....perhaps.....7-10 tpi or so.
 
Lo/Rez said:
Thanks for the replys. I appreciate it. I like black walnut also, but I think that one definitely needs to be stabilized.
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Black walnut actually does VERy well with a well done gun stock style oil finish like Birchwood Casey Tru Oil or one of the English style finishing kits.
 
I use a 9" bench top craftsman and have had no issues resawing any wood for scales. I use a 1/2" wide x 3TPI timberwolf blade and plan to buy another when it wears out.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I find blackwood far more attractive and much more "stable" than ebony. Ebony tends to check and form tiny splits with age...blackwood just stays pretty. I also find blackwood easier to work with.
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I stopped using ebony because of its checking problem. It is possible to stabilize ebony, but few are willing to do it.

African blackwood is bombproof once fully dried.
 
I got a couple pieces of African Blackwood from BurlSource and really liked it. I saw Gilmer Woods had a bargain box of African Ebony, and thinks "that's black and hard", so ordered it. Now I've got a good bit of ebony wood to find it's just not nearly as good as the Blackwood. That is borne out by the couple handles I've used the ebony on, just don't seem to do as good as the Blackwood.

Ken H>
 
My own personal taste is that I like the ebony stabilized and the blackwood natural. But that is just my personal preference.
I have had K&G stabilize the black Gaboon Ebony, Striped Indonesian Ebony and the Black & White Ebony. They all stabilized nicely. With B&W Ebony the white turns kind of gold.

My experience has been that African Blackwood has a bit more luster (flashy) than Ebony I have used.
Blackwood seems a bit harder to cut but you should be ok with a new, sharp blade.
 
Hengelo_77 said:
Is there a way to tell them apart?
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Blackwood almost always has a bit of brown in it. The best of truly black ebony...like used in Sheffield years ago..... has no brown whatsoever. I prefer black ebony. It is a coarser wood than blackwood but most seem to prefer blackwood these days. Blackwood is cheap compared to good ebony. Look very carefully for small checks in blackwood even though they may be filled with CA glues and never seen.......you still have to treat them. Both have to be very dry to be used successfully.
 
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My own personal taste is that I like the ebony stabilized and the blackwood natural. But that is just my personal preference.

Will you be offering any of the unstabilized blackwood, or has it all been sent out for stabilization?
 
Woodcraft has blackwood on special this month. 25% off. I bought six nice big pieces of it.
 
John L said:
Blackwood almost always has a bit of brown in it. The best of truly black ebony...like used in Sheffield years ago..... has no brown whatsoever. I prefer black ebony. It is a coarser wood than blackwood but most seem to prefer blackwood these days. Blackwood is cheap compared to good ebony. Look very carefully for small checks in blackwood even though they may be filled with CA glues and never seen.......you still have to treat them. Both have to be very dry to be used successfully.
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My experience is that if you hit "almost all black" blackwood with a little BSL, it will go all blacking short order. As fro price compared to ebony, good to hear that, but finding the 'instrument grade" blackwood like you would use for say a clarinet or oboe is not an easy or cheap exercise. Ebony and blackwood are two species of wood where you actually might pay extra for the stuff NOT having any figure.;)
 
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