What kind of wood is this?

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I need help trying to ID this wood.
I was hoping Larry, Chuck, Phillip or one of you other guys with imported woods experience could help me figure this out.
A guy down the street that does high end woodworking thought I might want this for knife handle material. He got it from someone who got it from someone else and so on. He thought it was Black Palm. I have seen photos of black palm but never in person.

The piece is 39 inches long and 4 inches by 3&5/8 inches and weighs 23 pounds. About twice what I thought a piece this size would be.

Any ideas?

The look is a lot like some Ipe I had but it seems a bit more open pored. It is just as heavy.

p001-1.jpg


End Grain
p002-1.jpg
 
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It don't look nothin' like black palm to me, Mark, I would have thought something like Tulip wood
 
Mark Knapp said:
It don't look nothin' like black palm to me, Mark, I would have thought something like Tulip wood
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I told him I was pretty sure it was not black palm, at least nothing like any photos I've seen. The wood is sort of fibrous but compact. The end grain is like open pores but real small (extra fine pencil point size) and you can see what is similar to growth rings. The 2 inch splinter I pulled out of my hand was sharper than a needle and stayed intact when I pulled it out. Similar but unlike any palm I have seen.
I don't know if I am making sense but it is unlike any hardwood or evergreen lumber I have seen. I know, the photos are crapola.
 
petah said:
Plain Koa?
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Nope, I've handled a bit of koa and other types of acacia and they are nothing like this. I know my photos are making this tough. If we don't get it figured out I will bring a piece of it to the Pasadena show and see if Larry from Gallery Hardwoods can ID it. He's pretty smart with the exotics.
 
Looks a lot like jatoba, aka Brazilian cherry. This species has hardness and weight comparable to Sonoran ironwood with open-pored, heavily interlocked grain. Hell on any cutting tool you put to it. Darkens a lot when polished and allowed to oxidise.
 
Ah...that's a rare piece of wood to get your hands on indeed! Especially for you!

I'm relatively certain it's incertus proprius wood. It may be rare/unknown to you, but I've seen plenty of it. Glad I could be of service :).

--nathan
 
Lignum vitae maybe? you did say it weighs twice as much as you would expect a piece that size to weigh. If you cut a piece off put it in water to see if it floats. If it doesn't then you know where to start looking at the hardness scale assuming you can find the first species on the scale that does not float. Even though it is not ipe, ipe does not float.

--edit-- I forgot that ipe is the third hardest wood in the world so if your piece did not float then it should not be hard at all to ID it.
 
I am hesitant to ask for an explanation of Nathan's post. I think I got it.

Not lignum, this piece is dry, not waxy.
Not eucalyptus based on comparison to red, blue, yellow gum varieties and a couple AU versions.

Not Jatoba. Had a piece on hand and grain was similar but not same.

Maybe on the greenheart? First glance the grain looks like mahogany.
 
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