# Phillipine ebony burl



## Mike1950 (May 3, 2022)

Bought as phillipine ebony burl. Not much info available. Very hard and very heavy. Have quite a bit. Sold one chunk to @bhatleberg . Anybody with any experience with this wood.misted and dry.

Reactions: EyeCandy! 6 | Way Cool 1


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## Tony (May 4, 2022)

Mike, did you ever try out that festool RO?

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mike1950 (May 4, 2022)

Tony said:


> Mike, did you ever try out that festool RO?


 It might be a close relative to my lathe. It has done nothing but get in the way so far. I have not even plugged it or the ROS in. Once I get past wedding my time will open up..

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Mike1950 (May 21, 2022)

@phinds @Mr. Peet
I got more info from seller.

Reactions: Way Cool 1


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## Mike1950 (May 21, 2022)

This and katalox are close to same weight and hardness.

Reactions: EyeCandy! 6


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## phinds (May 21, 2022)

It's one of the many ebonies that have "macassar ebony" as one of its MANY common names, but I don't think it's what is normally referred to as macassar ebony. It's also called Ceylon ebony (and Sri Lanka ebony) since that's one of the places it grows, along w/ the Philippines. That's all I got.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mike1950 (May 21, 2022)

phinds said:


> It's one of the many ebonies that have "macassar ebony" as one of its MANY common names, but I don't think it's what is normally referred to as macassar ebony. It's also called Ceylon ebony (and Sri Lanka ebony) since that's one of the places it grows, along w/ the Philippines. That's all I got.


Do you have sample?


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## 2feathers Creative Making (May 21, 2022)

Mike1950 said:


> This and katalox are close to same weight and hardness.
> 
> View attachment 227206
> 
> ...


That one has cracks in it but with some epoxy, it would make a nice end table... could you find the other half of that cut? Is it maybe 1/2 inch thicker? You could resaw that for me right? It would be more in my price range if you would throw a scrap in that I could make a base out of.

Naw, never sold to the public myself...

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Mike1950 (May 21, 2022)

2feathers Creative Making said:


> That one has cracks in it but with some epoxy, it would make a nice end table... could you find the other half of that cut? Is it maybe 1/2 inch thicker? You could resaw that for me right? It would be more in my price range if you would throw a scrap in that I could make a base out of.
> 
> Naw, never sold to the public myself...


It will have more cracks and dents in it if you show up asking for table slabs.... grrrr

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Mr. Peet (May 21, 2022)

Mike1950 said:


> Do you have sample?


I have a single sample of straight grained, flatsawn, taken over pith. No burl samples.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mike1950 (May 21, 2022)

Mr. Peet said:


> I have a single sample of straight grained, flatsawn, taken over pith. No burl samples.


Give me size.


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## Mr. Peet (May 22, 2022)

Mike1950 said:


> Give me size.


Basically IWCS sizes, 3" wide by 6" long by 1/2" thick. I often get stock just a shade or so over to allow movement and adjustment for Eastern atmospheric and elevation changes. After a month or so, I like to finish the sizing myself to get a better feel for the wood. Having a bit of sapwood or even a touch of natural edge just adds to the educational presentation.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mike1950 (May 22, 2022)

Mr. Peet said:


> Basically IWCS sizes, 3" wide by 6" long by 1/2" thick. I often get stock just a shade or so over to allow movement and adjustment for Eastern atmospheric and elevation changes. After a month or so, I like to finish the sizing myself to get a better feel for the wood. Having a bit of sapwood or even a touch of natural edge just adds to the educational presentation.


I will watch for something you and Paul can share.

Reactions: Thank You! 2


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## phinds (Jul 5, 2022)

Mike, I got the two burl pieces today. Thanks very much. Boy Howdy! You were *serious *about "hard and heavy" ! 

@Mr. Peet I'll put the bigger piece aside for you.

EDIT: just checked the density and was surprised to find that it is "only" 66lbs/cuft. It feels even heavier than that.

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 1


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## Mike1950 (Jul 5, 2022)

phinds said:


> Mike, I got the two burl pieces today. Thanks very much. Boy Howdy! You were *serious *about "hard and heavy" !
> 
> @Mr. Peet I'll put the bigger piece aside for you.
> 
> EDIT: just checked the density and was surprised to find that it is "only" 66lbs/cuft. It feels even heavier than that.


Has a little sap- the sap floats. heart- sinks like a rock

Reactions: Informative 2


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## phinds (Jul 6, 2022)

@Mr. Peet the larger of the two pieces, 6" x 3+" x 1 1/8" (on the left) is yours and if you're careful w/ the bandsaw you'll get two samples out of it.

Reactions: Like 2 | Thank You! 1 | Way Cool 1


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## Mr. Peet (Jul 7, 2022)

phinds said:


> @Mr. Peet the larger of the two pieces, 6" x 3+" x 1 1/8" (on the left) is yours and if you're careful w/ the bandsaw you'll get two samples out of it.
> 
> View attachment 228764


Careful is getting harder to do. Kinked one of brother's band-saw blades over the weekend. They look great.


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## phinds (Jul 7, 2022)

Mr. Peet said:


> Kinked one of brother's band-saw blades over the weekend.


Ouch. Herbie doesn't seem like someone you want to piss of even if you ARE his brother


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## Mike1950 (Jul 7, 2022)

Mr. Peet said:


> Careful is getting harder to do. Kinked one of brother's band-saw blades over the weekend. They look great.


what were you sawing to kink the blade. I bet it was not a square piece of wood.


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## phinds (Jul 7, 2022)

Mike1950 said:


> what were you sawing to kink the blade. I bet it was not a square piece of wood.


I assume it was a really weird, kinky kind of wood. Goth, maybe.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Arn213 (Jul 7, 2022)

phinds said:


> It's one of the many ebonies that have "macassar ebony" as one of its MANY common names, but I don't think it's what is normally referred to as macassar ebony. It's also called Ceylon ebony (and Sri Lanka ebony) since that's one of the places it grows, along w/ the Philippines. That's all I got.


It is definitely not Macassar ebony or Ceylon ebony- it is “Kamagong” (locals also refers to it as “mabolo” because of the associated fruit that it bears, kind of like a fuzzy haired Georgia peach that we have here in the US). It only grows and indigenous to the Philippines- it is very hard and very dense. It is traditionally use as a fighting stick in the art form of martial arts, “Arnis or Eskrima” specifically to the Philippines. The thing is that Macassar ebony also grows there and people can confuse the two. There are vendors out there in parts of Asia like Thailand, Indonesia, etc. that markets what they sell as “kamagong”- it does not grow in any other parts of Asia period. It gets more confusing as these are commonly refer to as “ironwood or as ebony”. It is a true “diospyros”. All this information I am stating here are facts.

I have travelled to the Philippines several times and visited a lot of furniture showrooms and guitar builders where you will see an all solid wood dining room sets (other forms of furniture type) made from these and guitars built from this wood. There was also a large showroom here in SoHo NYC that showcased a lot of Asian made furniture- they had a dining room, living room and settees. They tend to be more predominantly black with streaks and not the black and tan typically confused about this species. This species is also restricted by Philippine government and PI forestry department because of exploitation and over harvesting. I have actually a log that was brought here back by a GI (west coast) that was stationed in the Philippines (Clark Air base) back in the 80’s. He freighted as much as he could and he had some beauties- he had a burl that was like 250 pounds and it was blackish brown with streaks in it.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## phinds (Jul 7, 2022)

Kamagong is a name used by numerous ebony species, many of which also have Ceylon ebony as common names.

Diospyros blancoi
Diospyros discolor (synonym Diospyros philippensis which is different than Diospyros philippinensis)
Diospyros ebenum
Diospyros inclusa
Diospyros melanoxylon
Diospyros mindanaensis
Diospyros philippinensis
Diospyros poncei
Diospyros pyrrhocarpa


mabolo is a common name used by at least 32 different species, including 5 ebony species:

Diospyros blancoi
Diospyros discolor
Diospyros everettii
Diospyros montana
Diospyros poncei


The intersection of those two common names includes
Diospyros blancoi
Diospyros discolor
Diospyros poncei

But I THINK it's just Diospyros poncei in this case and if so, then it is indeed not Ceylon ebony.

The only common names I have for Diospyros poncei are
ebony, philippine (philippines)
kamagong
mabolo (philippines)
kamagong, ponce (philippines)

SO, @Arn213 thank you for that additional information

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## Mike1950 (Jul 7, 2022)

The man I received it from is Phillipine.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1 | Informative 1


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## Mr. Peet (Jul 8, 2022)

Mike1950 said:


> what were you sawing to kink the blade. I bet it was not a square piece of wood.


Warped Red oak onion burl that was slabbed 3 years ago. Must of had some tension. Bigger issue is my lack of looking first, he had on a 3/16ths scroll blade, not the 1/2" he usually has on.


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## BoonareeBurl (Aug 20, 2022)

Mike1950 said:


> The man I received it from is Phillipine.


Just saw this post/thread. Mike, will you be posting any of this incredible burl for sale/trade? I'd love to get a small piece for a pen blank.

Thanks.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mike1950 (Aug 20, 2022)

BoonareeBurl said:


> Just saw this post/thread. Mike, will you be posting any of this incredible burl for sale/trade? I'd love to get a small piece for a pen blank.
> 
> Thanks.


I will be back cutting it in September. Hit me up then.

Reactions: Like 1


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## BoonareeBurl (Sep 2, 2022)

Mike1950 said:


> I will be back cutting it in September. Hit me up then.


Hey Mike. Just a friendly reminder ... not to forget me when you cut up this ebony burl this month. I've only been on Wood Barter for a few weeks now, and even in just that short time I've seen how quickly wood goes, so I wanted to make sure I'm on your list. Thanks!


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## Mike1950 (Sep 2, 2022)

I will revisit this in next two week.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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