# How 'black' is African Blackwood?



## Damienw (Sep 4, 2014)

Hey all, 

I'm currently buying up materials for a long term desk project that i'm hoping to start in a year or two/when i've got some more free time and have actually assembled what i need for it. 

As its going to be fairly small, i've been contemplating veneering it with resawn african blackwood veneers, though i've been wondering as of late how much colour variation there is between pieces of straight grained african blackwood? 
Its hard to shop on the Gilmer site because their stuff's covered in wax. The last bit of african blackwood i bought off them looked black in the photos, but was much closer to a dark walnut colour in person once i'd scraped the wax off...

I'd like this desk to be as dark as possible, whilst still having some glow/chatoyance to it, which is why i'm steering clear of just using gabon ebony. 
If african blackwood generally tends to be lighter coloured, could someone suggest another wood that might fit the bill?

Here's a picture of the desk i'm planning on copying. 
The original is veneered with macassar ebony, though if possible i'd prefer to use something else either as dark, or in an ideal world, quite a bit darker.


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## bench1holio (Sep 4, 2014)

How about some 6240 y/o ancient redgum?

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 2


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## Damienw (Sep 4, 2014)

Looks like some pretty stuff, but i dont think its quite what i'm after for this one. 
Although it might just be the sunlight, it also looks a bit too lightly coloured for the look i'm going for. 

Out of curiosity though, how big is that piece?


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## bench1holio (Sep 4, 2014)

Yes damien its alot darker than in the picture, actually black when finished. 
That piece is about 1100 x 225 x 16mm from memory.


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## Damienw (Sep 4, 2014)

bench1holio said:


> Yes damien its alot darker than in the picture, actually black when finished.
> That piece is about 1100 x 225 x 16mm from memory.


That's got me a bit more tempted....may i ask how much you'd like for it?


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## bench1holio (Sep 4, 2014)

The guy I work with at the "working with wood" show owns the timber. 
I'll ask how much in the morning. 
He has around half a cube of it but mostly 90 x 50mm stuff.


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## Blueglass (Sep 4, 2014)

I'd love to see that with a little water on it. It looks almost quilted to me.


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## SENC (Sep 4, 2014)

If I wanted black/black, I'd pick gabon ebony. But if you're looking for some visible grain character I'd say ABW or ziricote. With a finish, both are going to be about as dark as can be but close inspection will still allow figure to be seen. Of course, there is variation in any of these woods (including ebony) so some pieces you may have to weed out.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## barry richardson (Sep 4, 2014)

Damienw said:


> Hey all,
> 
> I'm currently buying up materials for a long term desk project that i'm hoping to start in a year or two/when i've got some more free time and have actually assembled what i need for it.
> 
> ...


Cool project! is that a Ruhlman design?

Reactions: Like 1


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## phinds (Sep 4, 2014)

Like all of the ebonies, African blackwood varies greatly in color. It IS one of the ones that can, in some pieces, rival the best of Gaboon ebony for blackness. Check my site for numerous examples of each, and many other ebonies as well.

C{r}ook woods recently had a sale of some of the blackest Gaboon ebony you're ever likely to find. Really great looking stuff but the prices did live up to their {alternate} name. I don't remember for sure but I think the best stuff prorated out to about $120/BF

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Damienw (Sep 6, 2014)

barry richardson said:


> Cool project! is that a Ruhlman design?



Indeed it is!

Its one of his earlier pieces, though the original is just too small to be practical for me were i to copy it exactly, (at around 33" long by 19" wide) so mine's going to be scaled up by a little bit so that its 'JUST' big enough for me to actually use it.


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## Damienw (Sep 6, 2014)

Unfortunately i'm not just after woods that are extremely dark....i'm really after a very dark wood that still has some chatoyance and glow to it. 

Katalox, possibly with a thin coat of stain was going to be my backup if all else failed, until i got my shipment of it last year and realised it was more or less just a pretty colour with no real movement or light catching ability. 

Does ziricote tend to have the same kind of inner 'glow' that blackwood does? Or am i just going to have to bite the bullet and buy the blackwood? 

Its such a pain being in Australia sometimes....$1500-$3000 in shipping really makes buying heavier exotic slabs a pricey gamble haha


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## phinds (Sep 6, 2014)

Areas of zircote with ray flakes can be a bit chatoyant, but I don't recall it being so otherwise


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## barry richardson (Sep 6, 2014)

Ruhlman was big on using Macassar Ebony, but I take it that you have already ruled that out?


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## barry richardson (Sep 6, 2014)

@indonesianwood, who is in your neighborhood, so to speak, once showed some type of asian ebony that he gets, not completely black, that might be worth a shot....


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## Damienw (Sep 6, 2014)

barry richardson said:


> Ruhlman was big on using Macassar Ebony, but I take it that you have already ruled that out?



Indeed....in an ideal world anyway...

Earlier this year i bought a few of the bigger blocks of African blackwood burl that were for sale with the sole aim of using them for the veneers for the interior drawers of that desk, so if i were to just use macassar ebony either it'd be a contrast between woods that would be very 'unruhlmanesque', or else it'd mean i'd have to scrap the idea of using the blackwood burl for the interior in favour of using the ebony throughout. 

Added to which, impractical and expensive as it is, there's a part of me that just really wants to see what a full african blackwood desk would look like all french polished.


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## Damienw (Sep 6, 2014)

That said, i'm a patient person. 
I'm happy enough to wait and save for some time if i have to (plus my skills are nowhere near the level needed to produce that at a comparable standard....yet)


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## Damienw (Sep 22, 2014)

Well, i just got my first small billet of blackwood, and i must say, its awesome! 
Nice and straight grained, not quite as dark as i'd like, but still very much within the realms of what i wanted (and i can still use a very light coat of stain or some tinted shellac when it comes time to use it). 

There's enough in it to do the sides of the desk...now i just need to save and commit to buying two or three big slabs for the rest :)

Reactions: Like 1


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