Queen Ebony

At the recent Brisbane Wood Show, I picked up some interesting ebony, hand milled in the Solomons, and sold by SITCO Australia. It is also known locally (in the Solomons) as Tubi, and is marketed as a premium hardwood and as part of the Solomon Islands eco-timber products. For those who understand Latin: Xanthostemom melanoxylon- Myrtacea

The timber looks really interesting, and initially starts out a whole range of shades.  It darkens significantly when exposed to air (although I’m not sure as yet over what period).  Some of the carvings that were displayed were as stunning as they were a deep, rich black. Many of the traditional wood-carvings done in the Solomons use this timber.

Solomon Island Queen Ebony

This piece has really picked up with the application of some burnishing oil, revealing some really interesting character.  As is readily apparent, is there is significant checking from all edges.

I have some other pieces that I bought at the show (as mentioned here), so will be really interesting to see how they come up in different applications, such as turned pens.  Ebony is typically a very expensive timber, even in very small quantities, so the size and pricing of this source of a very dark version (once it has sufficiently oxidised) is particularly interesting.  The colouring of the piece above is very light compared to the older samples I saw, so if it doesn’t really look like ebony yet, time will tell!

It is not currently recognised as a true ebony, (as in timbers from the Diospyros spp. family), but when you end up with a timber that becomes a stunning jet-black, close grained, heavy hardwood, what is in a name?