Ebony

Ebony is a member of the diospyros family. In the older trees, the wood is very black accounting for the reputation of this wood. Colors in actual pieces vary quite a bit with at least a little brown being seen in all but our upper grades. Truly black pieces are extremely rare now. Ebony can vary somewhat in density. Variances from .80 to 1.16 are possible. What today is called ebony is probably not the wood called by the Egyptians and in the Bible as ebony. It seems that african blackwood was the wood they were referring to. Ebony is darker however.

🪵 Good to know

🇺🇸 NO SHIPPING OUTSIDE THE USA–NOW A RESTRICTED SPECIES IF the item is marked with a *

Pen Blanks

Ebony pen blank Grade A

A grade, 3/4 square by 5-5.25 inches long Dried. Only waxed on ends, not whole blanks. We dewax to check quality and make sure they are not defective. Grade A is a black ebony that may have a little brown stripe or area in it. Sometimes they look all black when finished.

$6.00

35 in the stock

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Craft Blanks

Ebony 109-123

This photo shows this ebony with a coat of shellac. AIR DRIED COMPLETELY. (under 12%) See All four pics below of the bare wood sides of these pieces (this is what other vendors don't show--they only show the wood after finishing because that darkens it). Note that the grading system is based on us looking at the wood when it is completely bare wood, not finished. All pieces ARE dry (for real) of course. Note that ebony is a little bit more brittle then some woods, and just because it is dry does not mean it won't crack if you get it super hot sanding it (if you cannot comfortably put your hand on it--then is too hot) or by hitting it with a hard object like a hammer, or dropping it on a cement floor. PLEASE READ THE GRADING SYSTEM AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF A, A+, AA ETC. If two grades are shown, it is in between those two grades. When two grades are shown, the one that is closest to correct is listed first.

Piece 109

2 3/8 x 3 5/8 x 10 5/8 inches
A+/A grade
dried to 12% or less

$209.00

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Ebony 100-108

This photo shows this ebony with a coat of shellac. AIR DRIED COMPLETELY. (under 12%) Note that the grading system is based on us looking at the wood when it is completely bare wood, not finished. For all but the most expensive pieces, we are showing photos of finished wood. All pieces ARE dry (for real) of course. Note that ebony is a little bit more brittle then some woods, and just because it is dry does not mean it won't crack if you get it super hot sanding it (if you cannot comfortably put your hand on it--then is too hot) or by hitting it with a hard object like a hammer, or dropping it on a cement floor.

Piece 106

1.25 x 1.25 x 5 inches
A grade
dried to 12% or less

$15.00

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Ebony "Steel" A-H

Genuine Ebony that has been dyed black and stabilized. Ultra dense, heavier than Lignum Vitae. I call them "Ebony Steel". Even though this wood has a fine grain, a special stabilization program was able to impregnate a large amount of resin in these. They almost feel like picking up a piece of steel bar stock. Sanding is easy and produces a glass like finish. Note that interior color can vary and sometimes the deepest part of the core has a tan or grey streak in it, if there, it is usually about a round 5/8 inch core of differing color. Outside of that they seem to be this really unusual black graphite color.. .

Piece H

1.75 x 4.5 x 4.5 inches
Stabilized with resin

$88.00

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Knife Blanks

Black Ebony 402to409

High quality pieces in black Ebony. Dried wood. They couldn't be much more different than the pieces most companies sell: waxed , wet and often have bad areas you cannot see in photos. You can see everything in our photos, pieces are shown without a finish. To get an idea how much difference our cutting/selection makes with ebony, look at a piece like 403 or 404. That is often the entire yield of a piece that started out as a waxed 1.5 x 1.5 x 12. About 1 in 30 or less (3-4%) of the waxed 1.5 x 1.5 x 12's will turn into a cleaned up (dried too) piece that is 12" long and close to 1.5" square that is nearly black. We honestly cut away all the defects so you have a great piece every time. See the finish on the tops for idea of final color when finished. Note that we may need to spray your piece with a clear finish before it is shipped to protect it.

Piece 404

Black Ebony, dried, size: 1 3/16 x 1.5 x 3 3/8 inches

$7.50

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Piece 405

Black Ebony, dried, size: 1 3/16 x 1 5/16 x 6 1/8 inches

$28.50

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Piece 407

Black Ebony, dried, size: 1 1/16 x 1 3/18 x 7.75 inches

$14.00

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Ebony 300 to 306

Dried Black Ebony. Each piece is graded in the picture. Shown Bare wood, so with a clear finish they usually look all black, especially A+ and AA. They'll be coated with a clear coat before shipping to protect them.

Piece 306

Ebony, dried, size: 1 1/16 x 1 7/16 x 6.5 inches

$16.50

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Lumber

Ebony A-G

This photo shows some small pieces of ebony lumber, with high to rare high quality color. The bare wood appears a little reddish in the photo, it isn't really though, it is black. Grade above each piece, and the second side can be seen below: PLEASE READ THE GRADING SYSTEM AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF A, A+, AA ETC. If two grades are shown, it is in between those two grades. When two grades are shown, the one that is closest to correct is listed first.

Piece D

3/4 x 1 9/16 x 13 1/8 inches
A grade
dried to 12% or less

$33.00

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Bowl Blanks

Black Ebony 400to401

Dried bowl blanks in Black Ebony. Super rare to find dried bowl blanks in this wood because it is a lot of trouble to produce them. At least one of these has been drying for over 19 years, the other for at least a decade. Ebony cracks really badly if not dried super slowly/correctly but it is fairly stable and nice to work once dry like these. Note that we may need to spray a thin clear finish on these to ship them safely to you.

Piece 400

Black Ebony, dried (ready to work), size: 1.75+ x 4.75 x 4 7/8 inches

$84.00

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Ebony grading system: (Based on EXTERNAL appearances–generally the inside is the same but not always)
Grade B: Black/brown wood with noticeable lines that are contrasty dark tan/brown, and are usually not hidden without dyeing. Dye is cheaper than dark wood!
Grade A: Black wood with some dark brown or grey zones or areas, that SOMETIMES disappear through normal finishing or dyeing but usually WILL NOT.
Grade A PLUS: Black wood with occasional tiny brown areas (or sometimes AA grade in most areas but A in some others) that are noticeable when looking at the exterior of the bare wood
Grade AA: Very black wood that is almost all black on external surfaces even before finishing, though different people have different opinions of what black is so look at pictures before buying. Very occasional tiny off color areas allowed if overall very good black.
Grade AAA: Wood that is black as coal, very rare now–we haven’t had a new piece like this in years and encourage you to be skeptical if someone says they have perfect black wood to sell. We have investigated claims like that and have so far always found them to be false unless it is a tiny piece of wood (with the exception of a very few pieces of Madagascar Ebony). Some vendors take A or B grade wood and cover it in thick wax to make it appear they have AAA grade, we grade based on the bare wood color, which is completely different and based on our commitment to honesty.
Kiln-dried: Each size that is kiln-dried is specifically marked. Those not marked kiln-dried== are not kiln-dried but might be completely air dried, see description.

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Wood Types

Product Type

Color

Wood Properties

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Ebony

🪵 Good to know

Pen Blanks

Ebony pen blank Grade A

Craft Blanks

Ebony 109-123

Ebony 100-108

Ebony "Steel" A-H

Knife Blanks

Black Ebony 402to409

Ebony 300 to 306

Lumber

Ebony A-G

Bowl Blanks

Black Ebony 400to401