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Common Name(s): Ipe, Brazilian Walnut, Lapacho Scientific Name: Handroanthus spp. (formerly placed in the Tabebuia genus) Distribution: Tropical Americas (Central and South America); also farmed commercially Tree Size: 100-130 ft (30-40 m) tall, 2-4 ft (.6-1.2 m) trunk diameter Average Dried Weight: 69 lbs/ft3 (1,100 kg/m3) Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): .91, 1.10 Janka Hardness: 3,510 lbf (15,620 N) Modulus of Rupture: 25,660 lbf/in2 (177.0 MPa) Elastic Modulus: 3,200,000 lbf/in2 (22.07 GPa) Crushing Strength: 13,600 lbf/in2 (93.8 MPa) Shrinkage: Radial: 5.9%, Tangential: 7.2%, Volumetric: 12.4%, T/R Ratio: 1.2 |
Color/Appearance: Heartwood can vary in color from reddish brown, to a more yellowish olive brown or darker blackish brown; sometimes with contrasting darker brown/black stripes. In certain species, there are powdery yellow deposits within the wood. Ipe can be difficult to distinguish visually from Cumaru, another dense South American timber, though Ipe tends to be darker, and lacks the subtle yet characteristic vanilla/cinnamon scent while being worked.
Grain/Texture: Has a fine to medium texture, with the grain varying from straight to irregular or interlocked. Moderate natural luster.
Endgrain: Diffuse-porous; solitary and radial multiples; medium to large pores in no specific arrangement, moderately numerous to numerous; tyloses and mineral/gum deposits occasionally present; parenchyma unilateral, winged, and marginal; narrow rays, spacing normal; ripple marks present.
Rot Resistance: Rated as very durable; excellent insect resistance, though some species are susceptible to marine borers. Superb weathering characteristics. (Ipe was used for the boardwalk along the beach of New York City’s Coney Island, and was said to have lasted 25 years before it needed to be replaced: an amazing lifespan given the amount of traffic and environmental stresses put upon the wood.)
Workability: Overall, Ipe is a difficult wood to work, being extremely hard and dense, with high cutting resistance during sawing. Ipe also has a pronounced blunting effect on cutting edges. The wood generally planes smoothly, but the grain can tearout on interlocked areas. Also, Ipe can be difficult to glue properly, and surface preparation prior to gluing is recommended. Straight-grained wood turns well, though the natural powdery yellow deposits can sometimes interfere with polishing or finishing the wood.
Odor: Ipe has a mild scent while being worked.
Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Ipe has been reported to cause skin, eye, and respiratory irritation, as well as other effects such as headaches, asthma-like symptoms, and/or disturbance of vision. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.
Pricing/Availability: Primarily sold as decking or flooring, boards for furniture or general use are sometimes availabe as well. Prices are moderate for an imported tropical species.
Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, Ipe species grow in very low densities, with mature trees only occurring once per 300,000 to 1,000,000 square feet (3 to 10 hectares) of forest area. This necessitates the clearing of large sections of rainforest trees (most of which are of little commercial value). Though uncommon, certified sources of Ipe are available.
Common Uses: Flooring, decking, exterior lumber, veneer, tool handles, and other turned objects.
Comments: Ipe is a wood of extremes: extremely dense and durable, as well as extremely difficult to work. Its incredible hardness and strength make it well suited for flooring applications, though it is referred to as “Brazilian Walnut” among flooring dealers—though it is not related to true Walnut in the Juglans genus.
Formerly placed in the Tabebuia genus, species of Ipe (H. guayacan, H. impetiginosus, H. serratifolius) were moved to the Handroanthus genus in 2007 based on genetic studies.
None available.
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This wood is not sustainably harvested. I would like to use it on my new deck but will not do so. https://www.terramai.com/blog/ipe-environmental-sourcing-issues/
Bolivian is sustainable, Brazilian is not. It is very popular and takes a longtime to regrow.
looking for recommendations for the best finish to put on exterior ipa. It is protected well from weather & sun. I will have some furniture on it. It does go into the entry of the house
Penofin oil. This wood is high maintenance if exposed to weather or sun.
I had been a long-time user of Penofin for hardwood (about 800sq ft of ipe deck/fence 4-17+ years old), but recently learned it tends to darken the wood especially if it’s exposed to full sun. After some research, I’ve now switched to Armstrong Clark for hardwood. Much easier application than Penofin as you can apply in full sun/heat and, if applied correctly, you don’t have to go back and wipe it all down. This was a big deal for me as there were no more oily rags to deal with! My deck was dry to the touch within a couple… Read more »
When the CITES rosewood ban went into effect a couple of years ago (since somewhat lifted…) we switched from Indian, Madagascar, and other rosewoods to ipe for guitar fingerboards. It’s fantastic in this application, and our customers accepted it instantly. It’s certainly as dense as ebony or the denser rosewoods, and it looks just fine.
I make dundun drumsticks out of it. After four years of work to find a wood that wouldn’t break up when slammed against the iron rings on dundun drums, I found ipe. It’s sensationally hard but not brittle. GREAT wood for durability. I buy cutoffs from deck makers, so there is no waste. I’ve heard that Brazilian ipe never needs any kind of finish when used in decks. Because it doesn’t splinter, it’s great for decks–so you can walk on it barefooted.
We have recently installed an ipe deck. It is really beautiful. We would like to keep it that way. We understand that placing items on the ipe may discolor the wood. We would like to set some planters on the deck. How would you protect the ipe. If we use risers what material would be best rubber, cork, terra cotta, nylon? If anyone has experience with this your help would be appreciated.
Thanks
I built two decks out of ipe 15 years ago. If you don’t stain the ipe with a uv-blocking stain, it will eventually turn grey. I suppose the areas under your items wouldn’t bleach out as fast as the areas exposed to the sun, but I haven’t had any discoloring of my decking. I applied semi-transparent stain to the ipe to keep it looking great. I have a grill on rollers, two tables, 8 chairs, and a few planters on the decks. I reapply the stain about every 5 years or so on the horizontal parts, making sure to apply… Read more »
Is your IPE Brazilian? If so it weathers beautifully with no finush at all. I’ve been using Brazilian IPE since 2003. Those decks continue to look marvelous. But Bolivian IPE is another story. Must be sanded yearly and oiled. If you want the grey look you must use an ooil with that pigment added otherwise you will have reddish brown.
Hello! I am doing research about wood types that are durable at moist and humid atmosphere and also maybe some water splashes. Any recomandatitions?
You could start with this list, filtered by “very durable” woods: https://www.wood-database.com/wood-finder/?fwp_decay=very-durable&fwp_commercial=6da0bd3c7c6cc1d259c7583e8615c9d3
I have a client looking for us to heat their IPE deck (not yet installed) for snow melting. Is IPE rated at the same ‘R’ rating as other walnuts?
Watch out for those supposed “black dots”. IF they are somewhat grouped up to inches apart or less, tben they are Powderpost Beetles. Heat treating the wood will kill the larvae, but watch OUT- they can spread to other woods easily. These beetle’s larvae do the damage, the final stage of which is to bore out the exit hole in the wood, fly around for 1-2 weeks, mate. and then the cycle starts over- new critters back into the wood- for another 10 YEARS bfore re-emerging !!
Is ipe water permeable?
I guess it may depend on your definition of “permeable.” Every single wood, including ipe, contains moisture and will reach equilibrium moisture content with the surrounding air based on the relative humidity. But more likely, perhaps you are thinking of an application where the wood could be used to contain a liquid? (Much like white oak is used for whiskey barrels — this application is known as “tight cooperage.”) If you mean the latter, my guess is . . . yes, but I can’t say with absolute certainty.
Figured pieces of lopacho can be gorgeous!
How do you prepare small pieces for gluing?
I’ve started wiping ipe pieces with acetone to remove sawdust and surface oils. It seems to be improving the glue hold.
Supposedly it is used to line the Panama canal…..
Termites hate it cause it’s so dense, thus wearing out saw blades!
Mild? This wood is one of the most odourous I ever worked with.
Still, is like some tea, but not mild at all.
I totally agree! I seem to notice it a day or 2 after sanding. I don’t know if it is the dust that is left behind. but to me it smell almost musty, like a wet towel that’s been balled up.
I was a landscaper for a decade in Louisiana. In 1991, I co-founded a landscape contracting company; plus design, installation and maintenance for over 25 years working exclusively in Manhattan, NY. I lived there (and a few years in Queens) most of the time as well. We sub-contracted the work for decking, lattice, pergolas, etc. I found ipe to be stunningly strong and rot resistant. Ipe really wears out blades. It is almost incomparable regarding strength, hardness, and the length of time it can last. When worked with properly, it can be quite attractive, depending on what is called for,… Read more »
Yep, it’s like machining metal, pilot holes must match the fastener for diameter and depth, screws have to be fastened at a specific torque setting or they’ll snap. The dust is definitely an irritant.
We just bought a house with a 1200 sq ft deck made of IPE. Unfortunately the previous owner stained or painted it. It needs to be refinished now as stained is coming off in areas n also moldy. We would like to return it to original color w a light transparent stain to bring out original color. Having tried a test piece it looks to be dark brown to reddish in color. Is this going to be possible and/or very difficult or impossible? Deck Co is talking about power washing it and sanding it. Any input would be helpful as… Read more »
Ipe is naturally dark reddish in color. I built two decks on my house 15 years ago and sealed them with Sikkens. Mold and mildew grew under the Sikkens after a few years, so I tried to remove it with a very powerful commercial pressure washer with no success. I ended up power sanding everything back to raw ipe, then sealing with semi-transparent Cabot Australian Timber Oil. That was 10 years ago and everything is fine. I just needed to reapply the timber oil to the horizontal pieces after 5 years. If you sand Ipe, I highly recommend wearing a… Read more »
Try power washing it first . Ipe has a very tight dense grain structure , when it it left to weather it develops a surface with suede like texture . There are oil finishes available for Ipe that will enhance the natural colour .The best maintenance is to keep it clean and wash it with a biodegradable deck wash has some hydrogen peroxide in it , and re oil as req’d. How often you have to do this will depend on your local climate of course .
Almost any stain with Zinc will help prevent mold/mildew/algae/fungus from growing. Also use atleast stainless steel fasteners, should you need to (bronze variants will be very expensive), because iron/steel, even galvanized ones will cause staining (reddish/rust). You should probably sand the whole thing down and get a fresh start, get rid of any old stain as any old adhesives/stains/paints will never hold well onto a new application/coating — think about trying to glue together anything that has old glue on it (and not removed completely before re-gluing).The brazilian ipe i’ve worked with is typically a medium brown in color, though… Read more »
Ipe doesn’t take stain or finishes like lacquer due to its density and doesn’t even need to be water sealed this is why the previous owner’s finish is coming off, it was only on the surface. Ipe does polish to a high mirror like shine depending on how much of it’s natural oil it still has. It does “dry out” with age and UV rays can discolor it to and aged/weathered greyish look. UV coatings are recommended for decks and floors. Ipe is extremely hard and very scratch resistant because of it’s density so it takes a very long time… Read more »
Guayacan comes from lignum vitae trees. It is a reddis color with hints of yellow in a very tight grain. You will know it because your saw blades will wear out faster than you have ever seen!
I installed open 12 yrs and lasted well
I live in south Louisiana with high humidity environment and I want to use this on second story deck. It will get direct sunlight pretty much all day. Deck is large (16′ x 33′). I tried yella wood 1 x 6 treated deck boards and they lasted less than 7 years. I’m thinking about using 2 x 6 (or 2 x 8). How hard is this to screw down compared to normal deck boards?
Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
Ipe is very hard, and pilot holes will be needed.
I made a patio table of Ipe and Tigerwood, that needed 1/4″ lag bolts in the endgrain. It cracked, even with an almost-too-large pilot hole. I had to make a ‘tap’ from a lag screw to tap threads into the wood.
Some decking lumber companies sell Ipe with slots milled in the edges, and stainless clips that fit the slots. Drilling the deck is not required.
I have a client looking for us to heat their IPE deck (not yet installed) for snow melting. Is IPE rated at the same ‘R’ rating as other walnuts?
I am not sure if it is accurate, but I heard it has the same fire rating as concrete… I can believe it.
Ipe is not related to walnut. In about every characteristic it is about as far away from Walnut as you can get. Calling Ipe “Brazilian walnut” is a marketing tool.
Ipe has the same fire rating as concrete or cast iron!
When we bought our patio furniture we were told it was ipe. However when one of the chairs fell into the pool it floated, just barely, but it floated. Did we get ripped off?
Not necessarily, especially if the moisture content was below the standard 12%, which would be plausible if the relative humidity was low.
YES!!! Ipe sinks like a stone!!!
Ipe sinks like a stone, if it floated it wasn’t all ipe
Hi, somebody sold me this wood like Guayacán, but it doesnt look like Guayacán because it is much clear And when I see it closer it has like little black dots. So I began to think he fool me. Please can you help me with your opinion.
Sorry for the English, I’m from Bolivia
It wasnt Ipe, it was Caranda (Proposis) :(
Its Prosopis…
We’ve install this timber as a flooring for some of our clients, it is indeed very hard and durable. If it is required to be treated with hard wax oil finish, you have to make sure that suitable oil is used, as it doesn’t absorb the normal Hard Wax oil very well, due to it’s density. It is recommended to use “thin” oil suitable for exotic wood species.
hi ,
can you make a compare between ipe and guayacan?
to be on the safe side consider wearing a
dust mask if you are milling /sanding this species. definitely keep the dust out of your eyes. I’ve seen a few eyes swell up reacting to exposure.
Some fun facts about Ipe.
It has the same flame spread rating as concrete.
Untreated, it will last 75 years outside.
Your back hurts after laying an Ipe floor, but your house won’t blow away as easily. ;-)
Depending on how much direct sun you have; you could be fighting a losing battle. As Patrick says use a deck brightener. I haven’t tried the Penofin Marine, but have tried the Ipe Oil sold for this wood. It does not work in full sun! I contacted the manufacturer and they said it would last one year. I said my deck was in full sun (Toronto). He said it might need to be coated twice a year. When I said it only lasted two months, he said that’s about right…. I’ve recently found a German clear finish at a trade… Read more »
The wood does shrink over a period of a month or two inside. I have found that the shrinkage depends on whether the wood is closer to the heart or the exterior of the tree. That being said, the flooring can be slightly different widths from the supplier, having acclimatized there for a period of time. The wood is oily. Unless the glue used was compatible with oily wood, it would hold. As previously mentioned, Titebond 3 does work, but it is recommended to clean the surface of oil with a solvent. Humidifier? I haven’t found the flooring to absorb… Read more »
Jim,
You don’t happen to have any pics of your floor, do you? We are considering Ipe on 2000 sq ft of a new build. We live on a lake in Ohio. I’d love to see how your floor looks!
Of the Tite Bond glues, “3” is the only one that can have a chance with the oily wood. Cleaning the surface does help.
IPE actually comes in three different shades naturally. The wood colour is predicted by the colour of the flower produced by the tree.
Também é uma madeira muito utilizada para envelhecer bebidas no Sul do Brazil, em substituição ao Quercus..
I have seen this wood used as a laminate in recurve bows for its compression strength and and stiffness, but I cannot find a good source for it. I know that it could be purchased as decking from a lumber company, but I worry I might have to order it by the train-car load, depending on the lumber company (and to insure I get a bow-quality board). My local wood emporium also sells it, but it only carries pen blanks and some other miscellaneous boards from I don’t know where. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting a couple 48″x6″x1.5/2″… Read more »
Where are you? I can give you 3 sources in the Toronto area. From 4/4 to 16/4 and up to 24′ long in some dimensions.
Your gonna need a car jack and some winch cable to pull 1.5″ of this stuff back far enough to shoot an arrow.
Maybe I’m not sure what you’re trying to do, but it sounds like you’d want to use a drill bit, and not a saw. A 1.25″ diameter circle, correct?
I’d use a 1 1/4″ forstner bit. If you have to drill a lot of holes, get one that’s carbide tipped for longevity. Otherwise, a cheapie would do fine for one hole; though I’ve found if you pre-drill a small 1/8″ pilot hole for the bit, it can help it cut faster. https://amzn.to/1mcSzEX
I made a Tobacco Pipe with Ipe, and polished it with beeswax. I was reluctant to oil it, since it felt oily in my hands and I am glad I went for the wax, as it brought out the subtle colours and hints all over the grain. To finish a small surface, wax is definitely the way to go with this wood.
From one pipe maker to another–that’s gorgeous! Congrats!
Wax is truly the best thing to use if your going for that look and that pipe is sweet, but we use it for a great deal of applications along the New Jersey shore and allowing it to naturally gray is the most common way it is done because of the natural resins in the wood, that oily feeling you felt. I read a few people recommend using mineral spirits on it and that is a no no, if you want to treat it at all and don’t want it to fail I recommend an acetone wipe first, then stain… Read more »
I did my swim platform for my boat in ipe and it is beautiful! ipe loves to be sanded and it loves to be cut and routed. there are however three broken off drill bits hidden in the project from pre drilling screw holes. ace hardware is only 2 blocks away :-)
You need to hold your drill steady. Brace yourself against something so you don’t sway. I drilled 1200 3/32″ x 3/4″ deep holes in my “Abaco” (similar wood from Brazil with the same hardness rating) wine racking with a small hand drill with one HSS drill bit. The holes were for the insertion of brads to hold SS name plates.
Also pulling the drill in and out as you progress with the hole helps to clear the flutes cutting down on the rotation resistance.
I made this patio table of IPE. it is an incredibly beautiful wood which I finished with about 5 coats of oil based exterior poly. The top was glued up with Titlebond III using hardboard splines and three years later it looks like new. I wanted something heavy as we live on a lake and strong winds are common. It weighs around 150 lbs and hasn’t moved an inch even when everything else got blown over the side of the deck!
It’s not and acronym IPE as in “eye pea ee,” it’s a word: Ipe, and pronounced “ee-pay.” You may be confusing it with the faddish IPA “India Pale Ale” beers that all the cool kids think makes them sound like beer-O-philes when they order it.
it’s IPÊ.
the right pronunciation is ee-pe (the same sound as the PE in PEndulum)
I used ipe wood to build a frame for a verticle, living garden. It is p
lanted with succulents. I’ve never made them out of this type of wood. Is there any chance that this type of wood could be harmful to the plants? Or did my client just not water her living wall???
Yes, IMHO there is only one thing to use for Ipe. I have 2 decks with Ipe slat fences all around and my whole house uses Ipe “shiplap” siding. 1/2 of it is either full western or southern sun, rain and salt weather, being about 500yds from the beach. I used Penofin Marine everywhere and on the siding it is still a rich brown after about 2 years. The slat rails have slightly weathered, but are a light brown, not silver like our teak table. It’s probably time I gave them a little touch up, but a whole refinish is… Read more »
I don’t know when this was written, but ‘sustainability’ needs to be updated as Ipe logging is causing concern with regards to deforestation in the Amazon
Just added an update, thanks.
I just finished a huge ipe deck that turned out great it took 2 months….we routed all posts to catch 2×4 railings…now i have a bad cough. I would wear a mask for sure. And it burns your skin a bit when u sweat. As far as tooling goes if u have nice blades and sharp chisels its not a problem.
I was extremely apprehensive
about working with Ipe, but found it wasn’t as difficult to cut, drill,
or glue as I heard. I’m not saying it was easy but it was doable. I made
3-5 ft. benches and a shade fence and what I found out about Ipe was
that it was very easy to sand. That really surprised me. I started with a
high grade 50 grit down to 150 to a perfect finish. I don’t recommend
Ipe benches though as they are extremely heavy unless that’s what you
are looking for.
Hi there, I am currently building a table out of Ipe, could you tell me what type of glue that you used? I heard a lot about how difficult it is to glue and am worried it won’t turn out.
I built a deck of tigerwood with ipe fascia/step risers… I built it myself for the long term, with hidden fasteners and stainles hardware. We were getting some landscape planning work done and the yahoo who marked the garden bed outline with orange spray paint got some on one of the fascia panels. (not pictured, but it is at the front right side.) Now I’d like to remove that paint – should I attempt to use a solvent, such as lacquer thinner, mineral spirits or varsol, or sand it off and re-stain/re-oil? We treated the wood with Penofin penetrating oil… Read more »
The ipe was hard on the cutting tools, but you know, the marks left by the steel strapping that wrapped the wood for shipping came out easily enough with sanding sponges. It seemed to get little or no damage from that. I gave it a once over with 100 grit belt sander to even out the lighter/less oxidized areas before oiling it. The upper deck boards are tiger wood and the pergola posts are select cedar 6×6 with a chestnut oil stain (Penofin). Regrettably the tiger wood looks great for a couple of weeks after cleaning and re-oiling, but goes… Read more »
Beautiful looking deck! My deck is ipe (Brazilian I think) and we’re having trouble finding a product to stain it with. We tried with one general purpose stain and it dried with a “sand-like” finish (almost looked like someone had sprinkled fine sand randomly in moderate amounts). Can someone please recommend a good product to stain ipe with? I’m looking for something with a bit of a red-wood looking finish. Thanks!
From one pipe maker to another–that’s gorgeous! Congrats!
Did you boil the wood or attempt to dry it in any way before making the pipe to aid breaking it in? How does it smoke?
I’ve used ipe wood recently as a top rail for a railing project and I found it to be extremely hard and difficult to cut (we used carbide tipped saw blades). Drilling was just as difficult. I would recommend using carbine bits. It is also a very heavy wood.
It was often used to make bows and works well for this if backed with hickory. Use laminates or otherwise it will pressure check. My friend is highly allergic so do use a masks. Carves wonderful and I have made some nice fly rods from it.
I was extremely apprehensive about working with Ipe, but found it wasn’t as difficult to cut, drill, or glue as I heard. I’m not saying it was easy but it was doable. I made 3-5 ft. benches and a shade fence and what I found out about Ipe was that it was very easy to sand. That really surprised me. I started with a high grade 50 grit down to 150 to a perfect finish. I don’t recommend Ipe benches though as they are extremely heavy unless that’s what you are looking for.
David,
Interesting observations about the color change. Have you found that you can go the opposite direction as well? (i.e., going from dark red brown to a lighter yellow).
I’ve been working with Ipe on a ceiling project, where I used it as a 2.5″ wide strip at the ceiling peak. Raw cut wood had extensive yelllow deposits/stain, not removed by further sanding or cutting. According to web search, this material is lapachol: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapachol Experimentation and research indicated that color of material is pH sensitive, so I tried treating with a variety of common household acids and bases. The best treatment was a quick swipe with a rag lightly moistened with ammonia, which instantly converted the stain from yellow to brownish-red associated with untreated wood. After two weeks, the… Read more »
The ipe was hard on the cutting tools, but you know, the marks left by the steel strapping that wrapped the wood for shipping came out easily enough with sanding sponges. It seemed to get little or no damage from that. I gave it a once over with 100 grit belt sander to even out the lighter/less oxidized areas before oiling it. The upper deck boards are tiger wood and the pergola posts are select cedar 6×6 with a chestnut oil stain (Penofin). Regrettably the tiger wood looks great for a couple of weeks after cleaning and re-oiling, but goes… Read more »
I built a deck of tigerwood with ipe fascia/step risers… I built it myself for the long term, with hidden fasteners and stainles hardware. We were getting some landscape planning work done and the yahoo who marked the garden bed outline with orange spray paint got some on one of the fascia panels. (not pictured, but it is at the front right side.) Now I’d like to remove that paint – should I attempt to use a solvent, such as lacquer thinner, mineral spirits or varsol, or sand it off and re-stain/re-oil? We treated the wood with Penofin penetrating oil… Read more »
Dave:
I have a piece of IPE ( 7 3/4″ x 8 3/8″ x 2 3/4″)at home that has a density of 1.12 SpG.
Duane Keck
I make drumsticks for dunduns (West African hand drumming). We often beat the sticks on 1/4″ steel hoops on the sides of our drums and that will tear up almost any wood, no matter how hard (ebonies, rosewoods, lignum vitae, etc.). After four years worth of research for a tough-enough wood, I found ipe. This stuff is not only enormously hard and heavy (as you noted), but tremendously acoustic and TOUGH. I test all of my blanks by taking a piece @ 1/2″ square and @ 14″ long, put on a glove to protect my hand, and bang it repeatedly… Read more »
BTW, here is a picture of some of the sticks I make. I use the hardest, darkest, straightest heartwood I can find. Then I fine-sand them to a gloss and apply a bit of wax and buff. The design is a rounded-off square, which is done to prevent them from rolling and also to aid in gripping when the drummers’ hands sweat (any rough grip like knurling is out because it would also cause abrasion). The sticks are so hard, smooth and heavy that they feel almost like stone or metal in the hand and are incredibly acoustic.
Just curious, if dunduns are West African hand drums, why do you need drumsticks?
LOL. Have you tried beating white oak with rocks and concrete. After being continuously amazed by white oak, I predicted to a friend that it would stop bullets. Of course we had to try it. It does work extremely well at stopping bullets. The test wasn’t very scientific. We didn’t test it against a lot of other woods, different calibers, distances, or anything. We did try a couple of other pieces of wood that we had laying around, but they weren’t the same thicknesses or anything. Mostly it was just having a few laughs with a gun and some chunks… Read more »
Hi used ipe on a decking , lovely to work with although very hard, smells a bit like corn , does effect breathing and would say use a mask. After returning to the job its turned that lovely grey colour. expensive but worth it.