African Blackwood
Dalbergia melanoxylon
Also known as grenadilla, mpingo · Botanical Dalbergia melanoxylon
Revision history
- — Data re-verified in site-wide audit (formulas, sources, durability classes)
- — Working properties and comparable-species data cross-checked against listed sources
About African Blackwood
African Blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon) is one of the hardest timbers in commercial use, extremely wear-resistant and punishing on cutters, with a Janka hardness of 3,670 lbf (16,324 N) and a density of about 0.98 g/cm³. It grows in Africa.
At 2.9% radial and 4.8% tangential the T/R ratio is 1.66 — typical, and manageable in exterior joinery and cladding provided the gaps are designed rather than assumed. Its fibre saturation point is near 24%. Below it movement is modest at 4.8% tangential, but the 1.66 T/R ratio means one-sided sealing will still pull a panel out of flat.
At 980 kg/m³ a cubic metre of African Blackwood weighs about 980 kg air-dry — that figure, the 4.8% tangential and 2.9% radial movement and the 3,670 lbf hardness are the three inputs the calculators below actually consume. Select African Blackwood in any of them to get species-specific results for weight, moisture, shrinkage and hardness.
Working properties
How African Blackwood behaves at the bench and on the machine, drawn from international wood-technology databases and the woodwind-instrument trade.
Durability & use classification
African Blackwood is rated very durable (EN 350 Class 1), with the moisture-repellence that makes it the standard for woodwind bores that must hold precise dimensions for decades. Sourcing is the real constraint: it is CITES Appendix II listed (the genus-wide Dalbergia restriction, which covers finished products too) and IUCN near threatened — not yet biologically endangered, but at serious risk of commercial extinction. Trees are small and slow-growing, so wide clear stock barely exists.
Typical applications & suitability
Indoor — A specialty wood bought in billets for turning and instrument work — chosen for density, stability and the ability to hold fine detail, never for volume construction.
Documented end-uses: professional woodwind instruments (clarinets, oboes, flutes, piccolos, bagpipes — where it is called grenadilla), guitar backs, sides and fingerboards, knife and tool handles, chess pieces, walking sticks, inlay, carving and turned objects such as pens.
Comparable species
Species closest to African Blackwood by density, hardness, stiffness and bending strength, computed directly from the Vriksai species dataset rather than hand-picked.
Trade alternatives. Despite the jet-black look it is a true rosewood (Dalbergia), not an ebony — compare Ebony and Indian Rosewood. The instrument trade increasingly turns to mopane and other alternatives to relieve pressure on mpingo stocks.
Alternatives to African Blackwood
African Blackwood measures 3,670 lbf Janka at 0.98 g/cm³, EN 350 durability Class 1, movement rated Excellent. Anything replacing African Blackwood outdoors has to hold Class 1 durability and carry the load — so nothing below that class appears here, however well it matches on hardness. Read the numbers against the Janka scale and EN 350 durability classes.
For decking, marine work and structural exposure where the surface takes impact as well as weather. Expect slower machining, faster tool wear and more weight to handle on site.
Lighter sections, easier fixing and lower freight per m³ — while holding the exterior durability class. Useful where the spec is over-engineered for the actual load.
If African Blackwood is unavailable and the specification cannot change, these are the nearest substitutes across hardness, density, movement, stiffness, bending strength and durability class together — not on any single property. Lower distance means a closer match.
Computed from measured properties only — hardness, density, movement, stiffness, bending strength and EN 350 class. Price, availability and appearance are never inputs. Figures are representative values, not consignment absolutes: two species within a few percent are equivalent until verified on the material. Full method and the rules the engine cannot break.
Substituting outdoors is a match on durability class and movement first. Colour and grain can be matched later; a wrong durability class shows up as a callback in three monsoons. Where two candidates are close, compare them directly before specifying.
Compare African Blackwood side by side
The pairings below are the ones that actually come up in exterior and structural tendering. Every pairing shows the measured figures side by side; full matrix in the comparison index.
Calculators relevant to African Blackwood
Sized for exterior and load-bearing work in African Blackwood — spans, fixings, weathering gaps and freight weight. Full set in the tool index.
Understand the figures
Moisture content — EMC, FSP and service conditions · Strength properties — MOR, MOE and what they govern · Durability & fire — EN 350 classes and E84 ratings · Thermal conductivity — k-value and insulation behaviour.
Further reading. Wood moisture content explained · How to calculate board feet.
Common questions about African Blackwood
unverified no published source for this figure · WD The Wood Database (Eric Meier) · calc derived from the figures above · — no published source found