African Blackwood (Mpingo)

African blackwood, known in East Africa by its Swahili name mpingo and botanically as Dalbergia melanoxylon, is a small savanna tree of the legume family. It is sometimes also known in trade as "grenadilla." Its timber is counted among the densest and hardest wood materials known; in pipe making this density is both an advantage and a source of difficulty.

The Tree and Its Wood

Mpingo grows in seasonally arid regions in a belt stretching from Senegal to Eritrea, south through Tanzania and Mozambique to the northeast of South Africa. Its height generally stays between 4 and 15 meters, and its trunk is often forked and irregular; this makes obtaining large, flawless blocks difficult. The tree takes more than sixty years to mature.

The heartwood is almost entirely black, in some pieces leaning toward dark brown or purple, with a grain pattern hard to make out with the naked eye. The surrounding sapwood, by contrast, is very thin and pale yellow; the sharp color contrast between the two layers is the material's most recognizable feature. Its measured average density runs around 1,270 kg/m³, meaning it sinks in water. Measurement tables give its Janka hardness as 3,670 lbf; this value places it at the very top rank among trees traded commercially.

Use in Pipe Making

Mpingo is not a bowl wood like briar; its place in pipe making is mostly as a complementary component. Thanks to its high density, which lends itself to fine threading and holding sharp detail, it is known to be favored for shank extensions, tenon bands, and decorative rings. Some makers are also said to cut the mouthpiece (stem) body itself from this wood; for its place among mouthpiece materials, see the mouthpiece materials entry.

Working the material is not easy. Because it quickly dulls cutting edges, it is difficult to shape with either hand tools or machinery; this is why it is often shaped on metalworking lathes in instrument workshops. On the lathe, however, it gives an exceptionally clean surface and reaches a deep gloss even without finishing. For general use of woods other than briar in pipes, comparisons are offered in the woods other than briar in pipes and alternative woods used in pipe making entries.

Conservation Concern

Mpingo is also the primary body wood for wind instruments such as the clarinet, oboe, and bagpipe; this demand has placed heavy pressure on the slow-growing species. The species is assessed as "near threatened" on the IUCN Red List. Because the entire Dalbergia genus falls under CITES Appendix II, international trade, including in processed products, is subject to documentation requirements. Among the initiatives built on sustainable harvesting and replanting, the leading ones are the Mpingo Conservation & Development Initiative and the African Blackwood Conservation Project, both working in Tanzania. For this reason, the mpingo used in pipe workshops mostly comes from small offcuts left over from the instrument-making industry.