Pau Ferro vs Brazilian Ebony

    I used to have a Pau Ferro neck and I currently own a Brazilian Ebony.  They seem almost exactly alike to me. The Pau Ferro seemed to have just a bit more slickness, and I think I can get a better grip on the Brazilian Ebony.  The Ebony has that perfect mixture of slickness and friction, but you can't go wrong with either one.
 
I had both and prefer the Pau Ferro.  I agree with Wizards assessment.  The Pau seems very hard and slick.  I also think it is a no cost option while the Brazilian will set you back a few bucks.

The Pau Ferro I have seem can have a great deal of color variability too.  From dark black to a tan (like cream in coffee) color.
The Brazilian ebony tend to look like dry rosewood to me...just my 2 cents.
 
Well not being able to build Pau Ferro online, I looked at base pricing for Strat necks (no additional adds) in the showcase. This is neck shaft and fretboard being the same wood species.

Pau Ferro is 342
Brazilian Ebony is 255

Other than wood, the necks are identical.  Was thinking of considering Brazilian Ebony neck for a previous specced Pau Ferro build to save the almost $100
 
Ok.  After your comment I looked.  I was assuming fretboard only.  In this case pau ferro is only $10 more.

Since you are talking whole neck it is likely high.  I think it has to do with availability of the wood.  I too looked for a pau ferro neck a while back and they are expensive and usually custom jobs
 
I've had both and prefer the Pau Ferro, but that's not a knock on the Brazilian Ebony. It's a close call. The Pau is slightly slicker, but I'd probably decide it on aesthetics. My all-time favorite is still Gabon (black) Ebony over Pau Ferro. Matches anything and feels incredible, especially burnished and with big, fat stainless or gold frets. Same thing with Bloodwood as a neck meat feels just as good, but it's tougher to get that to match well with many finishes.
 
Many thanks.  As I don't know when I can get the Pau Ferro neck and the possibility that there will not be availability, I feel OK with BE as a backup.  PF will remain 1st choice.

Also looking up wood densities, that BE was pretty much the 3rd most dense wood consistently.  BE's specific gravity was 1.27 while PF was .72 as I recall.
 
I have a Warmoth Pao Ferro over Padouk neck and it's the best neck I have ever played. Cagey polished it for me and made the frets perfect. It's just so very, very nice.  :hello2:
 
Thank you for the kind words. I'm quite serious about quality and playability, so I always pretend somebody's gonna compare my work to a Plek machine's output and I need to be the better choice. Kinda like the "John Henry" of neck work. Can't let the machine win. Hopefully, it won't kill me :laughing7:
 
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