how black is ebony supposed to be ? , was given a plank of it today ,and its not exactly black, more of a very dark brown, and hard as steel. bob
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how black is ebony supposed to be ? , was given a plank of it today ,and its not exactly black, more of a very dark brown, and hard as steel. bob
Robyn - there are many differnt Ebonies - depends which country it originated in. Some of the African Diospyros species are pretty hard, but the Sri Lankan Ebony, and some other (origin unknown) I've had is very workable - turns beautifully.
Colour of all ebonies can be pretty variable, I think - the really good stuff is jet black, but it can be chocolaty, and one piece I've got is striped with much paler streaks in between the really black wood. We have one species in northern Aust. which is only deep black in the very centre, from the couple of bits I've seen. I suspect quite a few ring-ins get passed off as Ebony, too, so unless it came from a reliable source, don't swear by the identification!
Cheers,
I was given this little piece on the weekend to try out. Black as black can be - bottomless. I'm not even going to try and take a picture of the egg I made - just imagine a polished, slightly stretched 8 ball :U
Won't know the species until I get conformation from the herbarium but guessing diospyros humilis.
I think it varies depending on how you cut it.
The outside of ebony is white
Do you mean the sapwood is white?
And that thread is 9 years old in case you didn't notice. :doh:
Some pictures of ebony from Western Uganda.
I have had them sitting around for quite some time, just in case I need it.
Absolutely amazing contrast between the sapwood and the heart. Thanks for showing.