Species data
Pink Ivory
Berchemia zeyheri - a hardwood from southern Africa. Also sold as red ivorywood.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 3,230 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 2,193,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 1.04 |
| Density | 64.9 lb/ft3 (1,040 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 5.41 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 7.2% tangential / 4.8% radial |
| Indicative price | $80.00 per board foot (estimated) |
Values are at about 12% moisture content. Density is specific gravity times 62.4; a board foot is one twelfth of a cubic foot, so weight per board foot is that density divided by twelve. Anything marked estimated is our own figure, not a measured one.
How Pink Ivory compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 96% of them, heavier than 94%, and stiffer than 84%. Hard enough to be tough on edges and on machinery. At this density a full sheet or a long board gets heavy fast; check the shelf-sag and weight tools before you size anything.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Pink Ivory it weighs about 28.8 lb. A stack of ten is 288 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Pink Ivory is about 2.6x as hard and 1.49x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 7.2% tangential against 4.8% radial, a ratio of 1.5 to 1. The wider that ratio, the more unevenly a flatsawn board moves across its width as humidity changes, and the more it wants to cup; anything near or above 2 to 1 is worth quartersawing or restraining for panels and wide tops. This one moves comparatively evenly.
Woods of similar hardness
Closest to Pink Ivory on hardness in this database: Cumaru (3,330 lbf), Massaranduba (3,130 lbf), Gaboon Ebony (3,080 lbf), Ipe (3,490 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Hard on cutting edges and prone to tearout when figured, yet turns and finishes nicely
Durability. Rates highly for decay resistance and stands up to weathering exposure remarkably well
Typical uses. carving, veneer, inlay, knife handles, billiard cues, chessmen, turned objects.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (citing USDA FPL and related sources). This imported species is not listed in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional change coefficient table, so CT/CR and movement source are omitted. Uses, region, durability and workability summarized from The Wood Database. Price indicative.
These calculators are for planning and estimation. Engineering results (shelf sag, wood movement) use published average material properties; real boards vary by grade, grain, moisture and defects. Verify load-bearing designs with a professional.