Geographic Distribution:
The wood commonly known by wood workers as Burmese Blackwood is known as Dalbergia cultrata to botanists and other scientists. Inclusion in the Dalbergia genus makes Burmese Blackwood a true rosewood.
Despite the common name, most of the D. cultrata that finds its way to the United States originated in other areas of Southeast Asia as opposed to just Myanmar (Burma).
For the sake of simplicity and common understanding I will refer to D. cultrata. from here forward using the common name Burmese Blackwood.
General Characteristics:
The heartwood of the Burmese Blackwood can be variable, ranging from a medium olive or reddish brown to a darker purplish brown, frequently with nearly black streaks throughout. As is so often the case with highly colored tropical hardwoods, the color will tend to darken with age and exposure to ultraviolet light.
The pale sapwood of the Burmese Blackwood is clearly demarcated from the heartwood.
The grain of Burmese Blackwood is often irregular. The texture is uniformly medium. Burmese Blackwood displays a very good natural luster when properly surfaced and polished.
There are no definitive data regarding rot resistance, the high density of Burmese Blackwood should confer a high degree of durability. Burmese Blackwood is known to be resistant to termites.
Working Characteristics:
There are not extensive reports regarding the workability of Burmese Blackwood but it is noted that it’s high density may make it difficult to work with.
Burmese Blackwood, as is true of most of the true rosewoods, has a high natural oil content that can complicated gluing. Suggestions for overcoming these problems is presented in this guide to gluing oily tropical woods.
Burmese Blackwood is reported to turn and finish well, taking a high luster when properly surfaced and finished.
Burmese Blackwood has a distinctive scent, which is common among true rosewoods, although the specific scent of Burmese Blackwood is unlike that of other rosewoods.
Pricing and Availability:
In the past, Burmese Blackwood was only occasionally imported as short and narrow boards or turning stock. Prices were in the mid to upper range for an imported hardwood.
Currently it is EXTREMELY difficult to source Burmese Blackwood due to the species wide inclusion of Dalbergia in the CITES Appendix II which prohibits exportation of both raw wood and finished products made from Burmese Blackwood. So, while it would be legal for me to transfer ownership of the Burmese Blackwood bowl I just made to another resident of the United States, I can no legally transfer it to anyone in any other country.
In this blog, I almost always recommend several vendors with whom I have done considerable business and in whom I have great confidence. These vendors are: West Penn Hardwoods, Bell Forest Products, NC Wood, WoodTurningz, Amazon Exotic Hardwoods, Griffin Exotic Wood, Exotic Woods USA, Got Wood?, and Wood Turning Blanks 4U.
At this time, I am unable to locate a source for Burmese Blackwood in anything other than pen blank sizes and over time these supplies will dry up as well. If you really want to work with Burmese Blackwood, look now as availability will on decrease as time passes and existing, currently irreplacable stocks, are diminished.
Woodfinder is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers. In your search for Burmese Blackwood this can be an invaluable resource provided you use multiple search terms to capture all the possible listings. I can’t speak to the quality of any of the listed dealers, but Woodfinder does have the advantage of allowing searches to be performed based on location which might allow an interested buyer to visit a listed wood dealer in person to hand pick pieces at a comfortable price.