The Future of Ebony....

[Les Backshall]

I think it's also worth remembering that this is a partnership called Taylor-Madinter. Some might find this article interesting:

http://yaounde.usembassy.gov/taylormadinter.html

It appears that the main concern of the Camaroon government is that their ebony has been sold too cheaply, and they now want a better return for it. Fair enough, and this deal will bring better living conditions to those working in the industry there - which no-one could argue with. However, although sustainability is mentioned a couple of times, there is no detail as what this actually means with respect to the number of trees to be felled and how they will be replaced.

Les

[Scot Tremblay]

Scot - You surely didn’t expect everyone to join the Bob Taylor fan club. I thought the post was intended to stimulate some debate.

No Tony, I didn't expect everyone to jump on the fan club van and you're correct in that I brought this to everyones attention to stimulate debate. My concern is, that we as humans are all too quick look for and embrace the negative side of things and possibly pass up an opportunity to better the situation at hand because of preconceived or speculative notions of the others intentions.

As Tuk says,

the hard facts are that Taylor is a business not an environmental program

which, in principle, I agree with. However, the real "hard fact" is that we really have no idea, at this point, if Taylor is making this change strictly for self centered business reasons or after spending time with the people in the region where his wood is harvested, has had an epiphany and truely wishes to lead his company towards being "environmentally" conscious. Until he proves otherwise or we develope the ability to see inside his head and know his thoughts, anything other than taking Taylor at his word is "speculation".

I don't believe for a moment that this decision by Taylor is the ideal solution to our issue of dwindling forests. The truth of the matter is that until we run out or find synthetic materials that we all can embrace, the trees are going to be cut and we are still going to use the material, any initive that utilizes 10 of 10 rather than 2 of 10 trees is a positive step, I believe.

[Marcus Dominelli]

Just because Bob Taylor is a businessman does'nt mean he has bad motives or is somehow ethically challenged in any way. One can be a forward thinking, progress businessman, or the opposite.
But the decision he made is pretty simple: Get more useable ebony from the forests, the locals get paid better, and maybe we pay a bit more for 2nd grade ebony, but big deal, we can afford it.

The resource won't last forever either, but we can count on guys like BT help come up with alternative materials when the ebony is gone.

I owned a nice Taylor once, but I sold it. It had a wolf tone

[mqbernardo]

well, i´m afraid of the spirit of the forest - so it´s stripy ebony from now on!

BTW, all the ebony (gaboon/sri lanka/madagascar) i got so far (maybe around 30 boards) has been jet black/almost jet black, even if i wouldn´t mind stripes in it at all - i guess that was just chance.

[Les Backshall]

The discussion on ebony has made its way into Fine Woodworking magazine. Some members might be interested in the 'discussion' there: there's a contribution from Bob Taylor about half way down the page.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/47684/should-woodworkers-say-goodbye-to-ebony/?&lookup=auto&V18=&V19=&V20=&V21=&V22=&V23=&V24=&V25=&V26=&V53=&V54=&Taun_Per_Flag=true&utm_source=email&utm_medium=eletter&utm_content=20120609-hand-tool-smooth-curves&utm_campaign=fine-woodworking-eletter

Les

[Les Backshall]

With regard to other endangered/illegal materials e.g. Brazilian Rosewood, a point often made is that it's the large companies (furniture makers etc) who were/are responsible for situation - us instrument makers only account for a tiny fraction of its use. Can we say the same for ebony - I'm not aware of any other large scale users of it?

Perhaps when it comes to ebony, it is us who are responsible for the current situation - and we should be looking for, and promoting, alternatives without delay.

Les

[tony soprano]

Does anyone have any info on bamboo as a replacement for ebony?

I recall a radio broadcast many years ago that was about that very subject. From what I recall it suggested bamboo is as hard as ebony, very stable, glues well , takes a dye and because it is a rapid growing plant would be a natural replacement.

Since then I have heard nothing! I also cant find any info on the web.

Did I dream it? Or did the pandas get there first?

[David Schramm]

Pakka wood or Dymondwood has been used by Rick Turner for years for fingerboards. http://www.rutply.com/products/dymondwood.html I've experimented with it and it is a great alternative.

Another good alternative is what Greg Smallman and sons have been doing for the past 11+ years with their milled carbon fiber/epoxy fingerboards. They have a better feel than ebony and are not affected by changes in humidity. I've made a few of them. Re-fretting is not as easy as with ebony.

[AndrewF]

There's a small link between this thread and harmonica combs - Hohner use mainly pearwood, but also bamboo is used, and a lot of independent harmonica makers are using dymondwood. I was surprised at how solid and hard pearwood is. Presumably the hardness is the factor that links all three.

[David Schramm]

Interesting. On my Hohner harmonicas the pearwood swells from the moisture. Can you post the link? I'd be interested in reading it. My asthma and allergies are so bad I can't play harmonica as much as I used to. We live in the worst city in the USA for asthma and allergies.

[AndrewF]

What I meant was, there seems to be a connection between these uses for such woods.

[Vlad Kosulin]

Here is what Taylor wrote about harvesting:

"People want to know about reforestation. That is a very complex subject. Briefly, you have to start with legality. Think about it. We have to insure all the wood is legal. In the case of Cameroon we actually have to help fix the contradictions in their forestry laws. We've been invited by them to help with that. That will set the stage. Next, is to get an inventory so we know how much ebony there is. There are ways to do this, and there is motion on that project already. And then. replanting could occur, but the best way to replant is to simply not kill the forest, then it takes care of itself. That's what FSC methods ensure. We do not have a concession of land, but have to work within other's land. That's the law. I could say we planted tress and people would feel good, but the real work is what i just mentioned. I've learned a lot about it and we have very astute professionals working with us. Someday I hope to have very specific reports on the true, actual, health of the species in Cameroon."

Some can say 75% of legal export permits controlled by single company is no good. I would agree, but let's not forget that illegal export is still times bigger than legal one. Let's help the government win over illegal logging first. Taylor owns only 2 sawmills which still lose money because of higher operational expenses caused by no bribe policy if he is honest. If they make it profitable, it will clear the road to some other businesses, including local ones, and help their country.

[jnb]

While on the other side of the coin Gibson have been fined for using illegal ebony imports

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19153588