Ebony ...is it worth the extra

Unfortunately I myself started to want to own and play with pieces used either in major tournaments or those endorsed by important chess players. I was perfectly happy with the standard Staunton with German Knights sold by DGT in 1998, then the 2013 WCC set was released. That particular chess bug bit me hard. 

The type of gloss they put on any wood nowadays make them all look the same. Shiny and a bit plastic-like. I rub all that off with alcohol or something stronger and the woodgrain will become visible. Don't think any type of wood is glossy naturally. I like normal ebony when grain is visible and the wood is mat-black or with some dark brown through it.

Ebony is prone to cracking. For this reason alone I stay away from Ebony. Wenge I believe is a better wood if your really want a dark chocolate brown to black. However there are not many sets made out of Wenge. Ebonized Boxwood is a preferred finish if I am wanting a black set. That's just me. Ebony is good for boards but I just can't bring myself to own an Ebony set due to the cracking nature this wood is known for. 

Here's one set out of Wenge.

https://www.houseofchess.com/wenge-wood-boxwood-chess-set-pieces-yugo-zagreb-staunton-4-inch-102-mm-2-extra-queens-wooden-storage-box.html

That’s the first time that I’ve seen wenge chess pieces. I always envisioned wenge to be deep dark brown. Those pieces sold by Houseofchess.com are lighter to the point you can see the grain of the wood. 

Thanks! I've only seen Wenge in guitars before. I read it's incredibly hard but difficult to finish smoothly and can be brittle.