Gaboon Ebony vs African Blackwood

[Erwincm]

Hi guys. I have been told that African Blackwood is superior in workability to Gaboon ebony while exhibiting the same rich homogeneous dark black color. I want a jet black riser on my next bow design and was wondering if someone could confirm the assertion the african blackwood would make a suitable aesthetic substitute for gaboon ebony. Thoughts???

Thanks,
Charles
Madison, AL

[Bowjunkie]

It CAN be a decent substitute, but don't buy sight-unseen because African Blackwood often isn't black at all. A lot of it looks more like walnut than ebony.

[dfrois]

I do not know those woods (unfortunately), but, since you mentioned you want a jet-black riser, perhaps you could research the ebonizing process. It's a chemical process where a weak acid reacts with tannins in the wood, and turns it black without (supposedly) hiding grain or altering mechanical properties. There was a thread here some time ago, that put me up to it.I'm going to try it soon on one of my risers. Mind you, not all woods react the same, due to varying tannin contents. Some may have to be prepared with a tannin solution beforehand.

DF

[Troy D. Breeding]

Bowjunkie just about pegged it. African Blackwood may not be totally black as you might think. Be sure to have it in hand before buying.

One thing that might help would be to have a bottle of black leather dye handy after you shape the riser. You can touch up areas that might not be as black as you like or even dye the whole riser before applying finish. I've used this method in the past, but make sure you give the dye a day or two to totally dry before applying finish.

Troy

[Dan Bonner]

Both species vary in color. It is rare to find a board of either one that is totally black.
Bonner

[andy nimmons]

I have some blackwood and it does not look dark at all

[Erwincm]

I'll be purchasing the riser wood from a company so I'll make sure it can be returned if I'm not happy with the color. A friend of mine also mentioned the idea of applying a black wood dye to the prepped riser. That sounds like a really good approach assuming the majority of the wood is dark to begin with and I'm only accentuating the "blackness" that's already there. Troy, is black leather dye as good as dyes made specifically for wood? If yes, I think I may already have what I need.

Other than color, what are the pros and cons of gabon ebony vs blackwood?

[BigJim]

Gaboon ebony is a short fiber wood and has a tendancy to crack especially if not properly seasoned it also has very little if any noticeable grain once finished.
African black is beautiful wood with nice grain (at times) but is often a purple wood. Once finished, the darker pieces will likely loose much of their figure. Nice wood and easy to work (compared to other exotic hardwoods) as long as it's dry.

As with all ebonies or very dense woods, it can be a nightmare to determine dryness. The wood stores rarely committ on actual mc of a specific piece releasing them from responsibility. It will be up to you. You can always take a chance, or determine the mc by having a piece big enough to cut at least a 1/2" of width or thickness off of and measure mc at the new cut. Be sure to adjust meter reading due to specific wood tested.
good luck, bigjim

[Troy D. Breeding]

I'm normally not a big fan of dyeing wood. I like to see the different natural tones the wood has to offer.

Like you I had a friend that wanted a totally blck riser. I had never used wood dyes at the time, so the leather dye was a shot in the dark. It made the wenge riser block totally black.

Denser woods may yeild a different result.

Troy

[Erwincm]

Thanks for the pros & cons summary BigJim. Troy, I spoke with the wood shop this afternoon and they are in the process of drying their latest batch of African Blackwood now. He did say this batch is very dark black, not purple. Also, he's willing to take it back if I'm not happy with the quality or color of the riser block. Since I need a 2" thick piece, they said it would likely be in the October time frame until the wood would be dry enough to ship. I'm patient and in no rush so I asked him to save 2 risers worth of wood for me. I figure if I'm going to wait that long I might as well make 2 bows ;-)