Ironwood
Ironwood is a common name for a wide variety of african trees
or shrubs that have exceptionally hard or dense wood. Because it
is so
dense it will not float in water, carving anything from it can be
extremely difficult.
African
ironwood has a dark red or deep reddish brown color. The timber is
rated very
durable.
To
properly care for your ironwood carving, apply
a light coat of brown or neutral paste type shoe wax, then polish with
a soft cloth.
Ironwood (Olea Capensis)
Olea Capensis has dark brown heartwood
and is attractively figured, fine-grained, hard and heavy and although
it is difficult to work it is widely used by African artists.
South African black ironwood
(Olea laurifolia) holds the
Guinness World Record for the world's heaviest
wood with a specific gravity of 1.49. The bark is used locally in
medicine.
