Ceylon ebony

Overview

Ceylon ebony (Diospyros ebenum) was the original ebony of commerce. Its heartwood is jet black, sometimes streaked with grey or dark brown, and the Wood Database remarks that the very best quality looks like black plastic. It is fine-textured and takes a very high polish. It is also seldom available today, and where it is, it should be bought with real caution.

Pros

• Deep, uniform black with high natural lustre (Wood Database).
• Fine, uniform texture; turns superbly and takes a very high natural polish.
• Black heartwood is very durable.
• Janka 2,430 lbf at 915 kg/m3.

Cons

• Difficult to work: density and a strong blunting effect on cutting edges.
• Difficult to dry, with checks and other defects, and can be difficult to glue.
• High shrinkage for such a dense wood: 5.4% radial, 8.8% tangential, 14.3% volumetric (Wood Database).
• Seldom available; prices very high.
• Reported sensitizer; eye, skin and respiratory irritation.
• Export restrictions and a Data Deficient conservation status.

Variants and subspecies

• Ceylon, East Indian and Indian ebony are names for the same species (Wood Database).
• Other ebonies are different species: for the striped Indonesian wood see Macassar ebony; Gaboon ebony, Diospyros crassiflora, is the African black ebony. The Wood Database says Gaboon and Macassar are more commonly available, though also very expensive.

Working and finishing

Treat it like any very dense ebony: carbide tooling, sharp edges and shallow cuts. The Wood Database advises it is difficult to glue and notes it turns superbly. Because of drying problems, buy stock that is already dried, and in small pieces. It is mostly used for small items (inlay, carving, instrument parts) where checking is less of a problem.

Staining and finishing colour

Not stained: it is already jet black. A polish, oil or wax brings up its high natural lustre. No source on stain behaviour was found.

Sustainability and handling

IUCN reports it as Data Deficient (1998 assessment). Not listed in the CITES Appendices (the Diospyros annotation #5 applies only to Madagascar populations; CITES Appendices text valid from 5 March 2026; checked 2026-09). The Wood Database says that, because of exploitation, exporting this ebony is restricted in India and Sri Lanka; Wikipedia says Sri Lanka bans harvesting and selling it. The US Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. 3372) makes trade in plants taken in violation of foreign law unlawful, so material from either country with no export documentation is a legal risk. EU deforestation rules cover wood and furniture from 30 December 2026 for large and medium operators (EC, checked 2026-09). This is a poor ethical choice for ordinary furniture. Reported sensitizer.

Popular projects

Inlay, carving, musical instrument parts such as piano keys, bridges and nuts, and turned objects (Wood Database).

Buying notes

Almost no lumber is on the open US market. Goosebay Lumber lists "ebony, Indian turning stock" (D. ebenum) as blanks, 1.5 x 1.5 x 18 in at $32.00 each, with other sizes on request. The $110 per bf price shown is for a different ebony and is only a proxy. Insist on the botanical name and written origin documents. A seller offering large, cheap "Ceylon" boards is suspect.