Grows In: India
Hardness: 3250

DESCRIPTION
Indian ebony is reported to be rare and is one of the most expensive timbers on the commercial market It is notably hard, heavy, and strong, and also has a high natural resistance to decay Because of it hardness, Indian Ebony is very difficult to work with both hand and machine tools Pre-boring is always required for nailing and screwing, but the wood turns well and can be brought to a first class finish.

COLOUR RANGE
The heartwood is black with reddish or brown streaks, which can be sometimes be grey-brown, pale brown or yellowish brown. The grain is usually straight but can be wavy or irregular, and has a fine texture, giving the wood a distinctive metallic lustre.

COLOUR CHANGE
Highly variable in color and grain contrast. Dark brown with black stripes to mostly black with slightly lighter brown or even salmon colored stripes. Some pieces are light chocolate brown with fairly widely spaced black streaks; others are almost pure black with only some showing of a dark brown background. Sapwood is light gray. This is not what most people think of when they think of ebony since it is usually nowhere near being pure black. It can be a very attractive wood due to the striking alternation of black and brown or it can be more murky when the brown is nearly black and the distinction between black and brown is fuzzy.