what's the attraction with ebony?

sappyg

sappyg

Joined
Jul 21, 2010
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599
i've noticed many here speak fondly of ebony scales but my searches have left me wondering... what's the attraction?

members in the know always seem to gravitate towards it and now i think i'm missing something. i've always thought bone more desirable than a wood but that doesn't mean that i know what's good. is it more related to by gone sheffield production or is it just aesthetically more pleasant? also, older ebony looks daarker and consistant. does it darken with age and become more monotone?

i'm looking for some good comments and some shameless pics.
 
For me, it is very aesthetically pleasing. It is also a very, very stable wood and can last a lifetime. I also like it because it lacks a contrasting grain structure and provides a solid/smooth look to the knife. I'm not saying its the best wood out there, but I sure think it's dandy looking on some knives ;)
 
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Black is the new black. Black Micarta, G-10, knives with those materials look elegant, sober, business-like. Ebony has the added "benefit" that it is a natural material; and a very dense and stable wood at that. Ebony in general, not only in the knife world, is a highly coveted and admired wood. Artifacts carved in ebony, not to mention furniture made with ebony, are very beautiful and expensive, and rare.

Not all ebony is perfectly black, sometimes it has faint streaks of color. Somewhat like cocobolo which can be found in many different tones and veins.

Of course, if we are talking about a Bose knife with ebony scales, please just send it over because you won't like it and you wouldn't want it anyhow. :eek:
 
High grade ebony is amazingly tough. It's ranked third from the top in the Janka hardness scale; tested by measuring the force necessary to embed a .444-inch steel ball to half its diameter in wood. It's over 120% harder than the hardest "rock" maple.

I learned to appreciated it as a musical instrument fingerboard material. It's durable enough to stand up to round-wound steel bass stings year after year without appreciable wear.

It's probably the toughest natural knife handle material available, but it can occasionally crack if it's allowed to dry out. A little wood oil and/or Renaissance wax, etc. can keep it looking good for centuries.

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1. It feels nice in your hands. A nice smooth wood texture.
2. It looks nice. Black, smooth and timeless. Many old traditionals were ebony and to me it looks great on a traditional pattern with carbon steel.
3. It's natural. Micarta and G10 are great but its nice to see something from nature on your knife. Just like bone and antler.
4. It works. It's stable enough, tough enough and simple enough.
5. It can be something else to obsess over when caring for your knife if you want to. I like to inspect for dings, go over it with a little steel wool and add a little linseed oil sometimes.
 
It's a matter of taste, some people like bone, some people like stag, and some people like wood. For those who like wood, a good ebony has classy elegance. It is very hard and durable. And there is a historical connection - ebony was popular for knife handles long before bone was widely used. I have a number of old knife catalogs, and you don't see bone becoming prevalent until around 1900 or so. Bone was used before then, but ebony and cocobolo were more popular. Here are a couple modern examples (sorry, nothing from Bose, if someone wants to send me one I won't turn it down):
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Ebony can be dark brown with noticeable streaks, but the higher quality ebony is solid black. It does darken a little with age, but I have antique slipjoints close to 100 years old that were used but are still not solid black. I have some really high quality ebony waiting for another chance to be put on a knife, the one in the middle here is wearing scales from the same block:
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Ebony is very dense and heavy, but there are lots of different types. Some are stable and mainly black (like most African varieties), but some have streaks and may or may not be stable. There are a number of Asian ebonies.
Some ebony is likely to crack, especially if it hasn't been dried properly.
 
Here's a Case Bose Norfolk in ebony. I'm not a huge fan of wood scales on slipjoints, ebony is the exception. This happens to have some lighter streaks in it, but they have darkened since I've had the knife.

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The ebony handle,on this 100 yr old I Wilson knife was put on there by Tony Bose.
It goes well with the vintage blade,is extremely durable & it feels great & offers good grip.This knife see's action.
Sometimes its a darn fine choice.
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-Vince
 
This years forum knife will be my first in ebony. If it is as nice as the examples I'm seeing here, I think I'll be pleased.
 
lambertiana said:
Ebony can be dark brown with noticeable streaks, but the higher quality ebony is solid black. It does darken a little with age, but I have antique slipjoints close to 100 years old that were used but are still not solid black. I have some really high quality ebony waiting for another chance to be put on a knife, the one in the middle here is wearing scales from the same block:
Knives12-11-07011.jpg
Click to expand...

I love how black that ebony is on the middle knife, beautiful. I love dark wood scales on knives with or without lighter grains. They age and darken very nicely with character. I also think black and steel is a classic color combo whether its black wood, micarta or bone. Even though not as tough as synthetic materials, ebony is definitely one of the most durable woods out there.
 
lambertiana said:
It's a matter of taste, some people like bone, some people like stag, and some people like wood. For those who like wood, a good ebony has classy elegance. It is very hard and durable.
Ebony can be dark brown with noticeable streaks, but the higher quality ebony is solid black. It does darken a little with age, but I have antique slipjoints close to 100 years old that were used but are still not solid black.
Click to expand...

couldn't say better than this :thumbup:
 
Arty makes a good point. This discussion has been about Gaboon ebony. There are other members of the diospyros family that look different. The best known is macassar ebony, which best shows its beauty in larger pieces. Here are a few examples:
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Buck used macassar on the 110 and 112 during the '70s and early 80's
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And this is kamagong, an ebony from the Philippines
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Macassar ebony sometimes has purple streaks running through it, and some has green as well, a very beautiful wood, no two pieces are alike. It's important to get bookmatched pieces or both sides of the knife could look completely different.

Eric
 
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