When I visited my brother who is living in Indonesia, I noticed some beautiful cutting boards in his house. Tropical hardwood, with rich veins, a pleasure for the eye if you ignored the great taste of the dishes. Anyway, I learned that it was Kayu Hitam. Did not ring a bell, untill I found (Ithink it was Google Translate) that ist was Macassar Ebony, or in french “Ebène de Macassar”. That was quite possible, as he had stayed a number of years in Palu, which is the new name for Macassar, located on the island of Sulawesi.
A few months later, a package turned up in the mail. My little treasure. After carefully ripping the block on the bandsaw, I could start the playtime. The penbox I made has ribs of reddish padouk wood.