- Stunning African Blackwood Pen Blanks
- Exotic Hardwood Timber
- Supplied as a pack of 5!
- Size roughly 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 6″ Long (the smallest size you will get)
- Turns superbly and polishes up to a high shine with ease
African blackwood heartwood is dark purple-brown with black streaks, giving it an almost jet-black appearance. The sapwood is creamy white, providing a strong contrast to the heartwood, though it is usually minimal or even absent in pen blanks. Traditionally used to make instruments—particularly bagpipes and oboes—African blackwood is also a beautiful timber for toolmaking, turning, and handles.
Native to Tanzania, Mozambique, southern Kenya, and parts of northeastern South Africa, the finest African blackwood is considered to come from Tanzania.
Thanks to its exceptional hardness and density, African blackwood can hold a sharp, clean edge and is widely regarded as one of the toughest timbers in the world.
The trees are very slow-growing: they take around 70–100 years to reach a harvestable size. Mature trees are usually quite small: typical trunk diameters are modest, and fully “clean” lumber (free from flaws, knots, cracks) is rare — much of the wood is unsuitable for large boards. For many harvestable trees, only a small portion yields high-grade wood like that used for musical instruments, making the timber, in a clean format quite rare.
