I'm playing with the idea of making a full-sized ripsaw. I'd like to use stainless steel sawnuts and then some very dark and lustrous wood for a strong contrast between the handle and the plate/nuts. I'm thinking wood criteria (in rough order of importance) would be something like:

- Moderate or better stability
- Not brittle, able to take a few drops/dings
- Not too open-pored
- Dark brown or red, or black

And of course it has to come from a tree that produces chunks of wood 6" x 6" or more. My current thoughts are:

- Wenge
- Hunt for an especially dark piece of walnut
- Possible padauk

If I can't find anything natively dark enough for my taste, would there be any issues with taking beech or hard maple and ebonizing it?