African Blackwood - Ø32x280 mm

African Blackwood, also known as grenadilla, is a rare and highly sought-after wood that primarily grows in the dry, warm regions of southern Africa, particularly in countries like Tanzania and Mozambique. The wood comes from the African Dalbergia genus and is known for its dense, hard structure and characteristic dark color, often ranging from deep black to dark purple with subtle lighter streaks. This distinctive color tone can vary slightly from tree to tree, giving the wood a unique and exclusive aesthetic appeal.

Properties
African Blackwood is often found in round billets with a diameter of approximately 32 mm and a length of about 280 mm, making it ideal for precise woodworking tasks. Each billet has a through-hole with a diameter of about 4-8 mm. This hole is not uniform, so the size may vary slightly from piece to piece, which may require adjustment for certain applications.

The wood is extremely dense and hard, making it highly durable but also challenging to work with. Hand tools and machinery wear quickly on the dense material, and experience and care are needed to work the wood without it cracking. In return, the fine, tight grain provides an unusually smooth and polished surface, making it highly desirable for products where aesthetics and finish are important.

Uses
African Blackwood has a wide range of applications but is particularly used for products that require both durability and aesthetics:

- Musical Instruments: The wood is frequently used for clarinets, oboes, flutes, and other woodwind instruments. Its density and resonance provide a rich, clear sound, and its durability ensures that instruments made from African Blackwood can last for many years.
- Woodturning: Due to its beautiful dark color and dense structure, the wood is ideal for turned items such as jewelry, bowls, and art objects.
- Knife Handles: African Blackwood is also commonly used for exclusive knife handles, where its dense structure ensures the handle is both durable and visually appealing.
- Veneer: The wood's deep color and unique grain patterns also make it a highly sought-after material for veneer in luxury furniture and paneling.

Dimensions and Variation
All dimensions are given as approximate measurements, as natural variations in the wood's growth can cause differences in length, diameter, and hole size. These small deviations may affect the processing of the wood but also give each piece a unique character.