Frank Perry Ebony Wand

For the highest overtones on all size bowls Handcrafted in England

Ebony is a hard, dense, and very stiff wood that can be polished to a very smooth finish. These characteristics give ebony wood wands the ability to tease out the highest sounds from a wide range of singing bowls. The wood is black with occasional hints of dark brown and is heavy in your hand.

True Ebony comes from equatorial West Africa and is an over exploited and endangered species. The ebony we use is technically “African blackwood” from central and southern Africa. This wood is not listed as endangered by either of the worldwide wood sustainability indices CITES or IUCN. For singing bowls African blackwood wands are actually better than true ebony, it is much denser and harder which makes it better for teasing out the very highest of tones.

Frank Perry has one of the oldest and largest antique singing bowl collections in the United Kingdom. Frank is a master at bringing out individual tones from bowls. One of his secrets is small wands made from fine wood that he hand-turns on a lathe at his home in the south of England. The wands are smooth to the touch and finished with a nice flair on top. Even though the wands are small – six inches long and no more than half an inch in diameter – they are very powerful. You might think such a small item can be used only on small bowls. While it is true it is easier to use them on small bowls, unlike the Nepali ringing sticks Frank’s tiny Ebony wood wands can bring amazing sounds out of the largest singing bowl.

Frank’s wands require a light and steady touch. With some smaller bowls, these African blackwood wands will allow you to isolate and magnify hidden tones in the 6th or even 7th octave. Once you get the hang of them they are incredible instruments.