Kingwood

Kingwood (Dalbergia cearensis)

Common Name(s): Kingwood

Scientific Name: Dalbergia cearensis

Distribution: Brazil (and occasionally from Mexico)

Tree Size: 30-60 ft (10-20 m) tall, less than 2 ft (.6 m) trunk diameter

Average Dried Weight: 74 lbs/ft³ (1,195 kg/m³)

Basic Specific Gravity: .98

Hardness: 3,880 lb_f (17,240 N)*

*Estimated hardness based on specific gravity

Bending Strength: No data available

Elasticity: No data available

Shrinkage: No data available

Color/Appearance: Heartwood is a dark purplish or reddish brown with darker black streaks. Sapwood is a pale yellow.

Grain/Pore: Pores are medium to small. Grain is usually straight, with a fine texture. Can occasionally have interlocking grain.

Durability: Reported as being very durable in decay resistance, and is also resistance to termites.

Workability: Tends to be difficult to work due to its high density. Kingwood has a moderate blunting effect on cutters, and tearout can occur during planing if interlocked grain is present. Can be difficult to glue do to an abundance of natural oils and high density. Turns very well and takes a high polish.

Smell: Has a mild odor similar to Cocobolo when being worked.

Safety: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Kingwood has been reported as a sensitizer. Usually most common reactions simply include eye and skin irritation. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.

Price Range: Likely to be very expensive, and seldom available as lumber; Kingwood is most often seen as smaller turning stock, with its cost being on par with other scarce exotics in the Dalbergia genus such as Tulipwood or African Blackwood.

Comments: Considered a true rosewood in the Dalbergia genus, Kingwood is among the densest (and probably strongest) of all the rosewoods. There is very little mechanical data available on Kingwood, though given its weight, and its relation to other rosewoods, it’s likely to be extremely stiff, strong, and stable.

In terms of its history, Kingwood supposedly got its name from several French kings (Louis XIV and Louis XV) that preferred the wood in the use of fine furniture.

Kingwood is seldom available in large pieces due to the small size of the tree itself, and is instead used as accent pieces and inlays for furniture, veneers, tool handles, and other small turned and/or specialty items.

Related Species:

African Blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon)

Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia nigra)

Burmese Rosewood (Dalbergia oliveri)

Cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa)

East Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia)

Honduran Rosewood (Dalbergia stevensonii)

Madagascar Rosewood (Dalbergia baronii)

Sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo)

Tulipwood (Dalbergia decipularis)