Light Ebony Wood - Pros/Cons?

[Travman]

I was perusing the websites of some of the GEC sellers. I noticed there were a few knives leftover from various runs that used "Light" ebony. The wood looks attractive, but of course nobody would ever think of it as ebony unless you told them. What do you think of light ebony? Is it less valuble?

Here are a few examples:

https://www.knivesshipfree.com/northwoods-knives-norfolk-whittler-light-ebony-wood/

http://gunstockjacksknives.com/Tidi...ck-Knife-Light-Ebony-Tidioute-771214EC-eb.htm

 

[picturerock]

It may be Macassar ebony, from Indonesia, which is noted for its variation in color. Gabon ebony from Africa is the variety that is pure black.

 

[Tilley Knife]

I believe it is just an issue of desired aesthetics. I have worked with both light ebony and dark ebony. The dark that I have used had a tighter grain than the light and I'm sure on some level, it is harder but I did not see an appreciable difference between the two. Wood density really isn't much of a consideration, when properly stabilized and finished, on a folder. At least not for me anyway. I have a couple of folders in light ebony as well as some gabon and I find them both quiet attractive.

 

[lambertiana]

I firmly believe that a lot of the ebony that GEC uses is macassar, although the two specific examples that you give do not necessarily look like macassar. Macassar can range from almost all light to almost all dark and is usually striped, with my favorites being the pieces that are striped half dark/half light.

Macassar is just as hard and dense as gabon ebony (same janka hardness, and macassar is slightly more dense). It is completely equal to gabon ebony in overall wear resistance and toughness. Buck used macassar for the handle scales on all 110/112 knives until around 1993 or so, IIRC.