EBONY DIOSPYROS FERREA
Common Name(s): Black Ebony
Scientific Name: DIOSPYROS FERREA
Distribution: West Africa, Southeast Asia, and the West Pacific.
Janka Hardness: 3400
Color/Appearance: The heartwood is jet black, if streaky, the streaks are always whitish or grayish, never yellow, red, or brown; it is clearly demarcated from the wide band of grey white sapwood.
Grain/Texture: Straight to shallowly interlocked grain, fine and uniform texture, and good natural luster. So that the final object looks attractive. It holds paint, polish, and stain well. A high quality wood, but trees are often too small to give much yield. Where size permits, the wood is used for cabinet work, walking sticks, ornamental carvings, boat-anchors, tool-handles, sheaths of weapons and for rafters.
Workability: It is fairly easy to resaw and cross-cut. Planing is easy to fairly easy and the planed surface produced is smooth.
Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Common Uses: Ebony Wood is known for making quality cabinet work, inlaying, musical instrument parts, and ornamental objects. It gives a great dark appearance, Ebony is good resistance to termites and insects. Due to its great stability and durability, it is suitable to use for furniture. It has many special properties that make it different from other hardwood.