Frequently Asked Dutch Questions.

Why does such a small piece of Ebonywood cost so much?

Common Ebony retails between 25.000-30.000 euro per qubic meter. About 5 years ago that figure was 18.000 euro.

But there is more to be told on the accessoires we sell.

We only use authentic African Blackwood. In Swahili language this is called Mpingo, and by wood traders it is called Grenadilla. The latin name for this specific Ebony is Dalbergia melanoxylon (east Africa). Closely related Ebony is Diospyros Crassiflora (central Africa). Common Ebonywood is Diospyros Celebica. It sometimes occurs by mistake that wood traders mix up with Gabon Ebony, Diospyros Dendo.

Many accessoires are beeing offered at the marketplace, recently from the far east. The far east has great sources of tropical wood. It is an easy thought to presume that all Ebony is equal no matter what source, but this is not so. Ebony accessoires made in the far east are sourced from Srilanka, Diospyros Ebenum, or Indonesia, Diospyros Tomentosa, or from Andaman, Diospyros Marmorata.

Some 'Ebony' accessoires turn out to be fake at close inspection. Likely Ashwood which has been impregnated with black paint.

There are recordclamps offered at Ebay.hk and the following picture shows one of these. At a close look it is a mediocre piece which even shows year rings. Ebony at all? but besides quality issues the producer makes a capital mistake: the 83mm diameter is too large. With 83mm diameter some cartridges will collide just before the run-out groove and a damaged cantilever may result! And so cheap-cheap may turn into a sad story, because any overhaul on a precious Allaerts, Lyra of Koetsu cartridge is indeed expensive.

Although there may be a reasonable stock in Ebony quantity, those supplies are frequently visited by instrumentmakers and wood craftsmen. If we only care for authentic African Blackwood, one can imagine the real fine pieces become harder and harder to find during time. And because of the intrinsic nature of Ebonywood with its sapwood, spint, wormholes and cracks, it becomes some sort of goldmining when we explore those supplies. And after all that we still pay -remember the retail per qubic meter- including hidden irregularities which we don't want to see in a finished recordclamp..

The bigger the finished product the harder it gets to create something truly fine.

So maybe 60 to 70% of a promising piece of African Blackwood is workable. After the drive to our suppliers and spending a day on selection, we proceed in our workshop. The prefabricated pieces at the picture below account for many hours labour on our Emco turning lathe. After this stage yet another guessed 15% loss during cutting and turning.

photo: front piece shows sapwood and although a superb dense piece it cannot be used. Notice the high graphite level.

Now we have the fine prefabricated pieces, and further cutting, milling, sanding continues. A final inspection on trueness and measurements and a special one time coating applies. The finished products are stored at roomtemperature for some time and lastly inspected. After this: 'ready for sale' .

We hope to shed a light on working with African Blackwood / Mpingo: the 'Singing Wood'.