Ebony-Going Going Gone

Another agrees... That's me... Although none of my other safe queen ebony sets have hairline base cracks, the 20 year old set I posted here does. It's my regular player and I just love it !

safe queen ebony sets

Robb,

Could you elaborate on what you mean by this? Thanks

It means sets that you collect in mint new condition that are not played, but collected

for their beauty and safely stored in good conditions..

Btw Robb, I did not catch a mention of the aging done by chess bazaar on their sets.  I am assuming it is not a aged very long considering the price. 

Like all woods, ebony exhibits dimensional shrinkage. You can also find boxwood pieces that are cracked if they have been left in conditions that allow them to dry out completely. Wood is a lovely material for chess sets — it is pleasing to the eye and to the touch and can be carved into wonderfully detailed pieces — but if you want your set to last, then you need to look after it. The very fact that there are lovely boxwood and ebony Staunton sets that are over 150 years old shows that ebony is a very good material for chess pieces.

I don't know that retail price is a good indicator of how long the wood has been aged for. If you buy a set straight from India, you would expect to pay less than if you bought the exact same set in the West. By the bye, it has often been said that the cost of carving the knights accounts for about 50 per cent of the cost of a set.

Not sure about any manufactures aging etc... But I know good ebony when I see and inspect it. As I've always said though ya get what ya pay for in most instances...

But how do you know if you have dyed striped ebony or a pure black ebony? And why is one good and one (presumably) not good? Can you tell us what ebony was used in your chess sets from your inspection alone?

Yes, you get what you pay for, but when you buy a chess set you're paying for a lot more than just the wood. There are the costs of carving, transport, storage, customer service, and all the other myriad costs of running a business.

I have once again pestered Chess Bazaar, and I have learned it is customary to leave the ebony wood to dry for a short period (weeks to months depending on condition), and then proceed to finish drying in a kiln.

A bit more research around the internet has told me this is fairly normal, and 100% dry aged wood is rare and commands a premium. 

Chess Bazaar also confirmed none of their ebony is dyed at all. 

Google the numerous threads on how to tell if something is genuine ebony. As I mentioned before there is much information available for ebony used in numerous hi end items. You may want to read about African Blackwood and Macassar Ebony as well as the "other links" I previously provided. Try this, order a extra pawn for your set and open the bottom or cut it open and see what's inside... :) One dead give a way is the price. Trust me Gaboon ebony is Very expensive and any chess set using well aged Gaboon is gonna be Very expensive as well.

Here's a link that you can all use to identify any type of wood used in your chess sets along with it's properties...

http://www.wood-database.com/

Thanks, but I wasn't asking how to tell ebony from non-ebony — I was asking how you can tell what you call "good ebony" from presumably bad ebony and what is bad ebony anyway? Is Macassaar ebony bad ebony? Is good ebony only the kind that's already been pushed to endangered status? And how do you tell bad or not so good ebony that has been dyed completely black from ebony that was naturally completely black? I mean you did tell us that you know good ebony when you see and inspoect it, so please enlighten us.

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strngdrvnthng wrote: Andy, Macassar ebony is not jet black throughout but is striped black and brown and is beautiful in its own right. Some people prefer solid black Gaboon ebony...I do for chess pieces and the fretboards of my guitars...but for furniture making I have used Macassar Ebony. The only way that I have found to determine the quality of any wood is by examining the boards and selecting by hand before processing...even then you don't know the moisture content, age, whether it was kiln dried or air dried...if your supplier is good then you'll have a choice of quarter sawn as opposed to rift or slab sawn lumber. As far as price is concerned it has been my experience that retailers will charge what they believe they can get and it is not a reliable indicator of quality.

Thanks, yes, I know what the differences between the ebonies are, I just want to know what Rob considers "good ebony" and how he can tell it from other ebonies, especially one that has been dyed. Despite being labelled striped ebony and therefore presumably not so good ebony, Macassar is what Jaques used for their sets, which are generally regarded as the very epitome of quality chess sets.

Speaking as a cabinetmaker for almost twenty years, Macassar Ebony is beautiful but is not uniformly black but is black with brown stripes. It is sometimes mistaken for Cocobolo which is striped brown and black and more closely resembles Brazilian Rosewood than Macassar. (It makes beautiful guitars though...I'm lucky enough to have several guitars made from Brazilian Rosewood, on which there is now a moritorium. The same thing is happening for the Ebonies, sadly).

I did not start this thread for flaming or challenging purposes. As the op and collector of other hobby items besides that of chess that use ebony, it was meant to be strictly informative.... It is what it is. Gaboon Ebony reigns King. With that said, my point has been made along with the links I've provided for the knowledge of woods being used for ebony pieces... It is not to "dis" other forms of ebony but to enlighten those that might have purchased a set at one time or another that were expecting midnight black pieces but ended up with the striped pieces as described in this thread and other threads of individuals returning pieces for replacement or complete sets that did not appear as the advertised pictures they were expecting. I also have many gorgeous items of rosewoods and cocobolo etc and also enjoy it's beauty, but I for one want my ebony jet black as God made it, not me.

...oh... One more thing... Ya may wanna try this... Take a black light or ultra violet or one of the newer bright LED lights and look at your black ebony pieces... You might be surprised at what you see...nuff said.

Even viewing ebony pieces under direct sunlight can reveal 'flaws' hitherto unnoticed.

And it has been, but I'd still really appreciate it if you could tell us how one can tell if their chess pieces are made from, say, naturally pure black Gaboon ebony, naturally pure black Macassar ebony, or an ebony that has been dyed completely black. This would be helpful for those who might have been told that their sets are one type of ebony or that they haven't been dyed and want to make sure of that. I've looked at the items you linked to and done some searching of my own and haven't found anything that addresses this point.

Thanks in advance.

I'm not the ebony police, so if ya haven't figured it out by now by the information already provided, such as a black light and other means as already described, then just call your manufacturer and simply ask them. You might ask them also to describe their sets more clearly rather than just use the general term ebony... I think everyone gets the point by now and no further explanation needed... Here's an example why I ask the manufacturer before purchase... When HOS first advertised their Dubrovnik series it was listed as ebony and boxwood. Of course at that price I messaged them to ask about the ebony and received a prompt reply that indeed it was ebonized and I would assume the ad has been changed by now... I mentioned price before as well being a possible indicator of the type of ebony. With that said, it was what prompted me to question the HOS Dubrovie at such a low price of $199. It doesn't mean that it's not a nice set, but it's up to the buyer to know what one's purchasing. The point being... Ask before you debit... It's not rocket science...

Thanks Robb, but I can't ask an unidentifed maker of a 100-year-old chess set, and even my two modern sets were bought 20 years ago from a retailer, not the manufacturer, so I can't ask about them either. I have gone through the links you've provided, I really have, and I've read more besides and nothing I've found deals with the question I asked. Okay, so you say use a blacklight, but what are the "other means" already described? I just don't understand why you won't just help me out here and tell me. Why is it such a big secret?