Black Limba Cribbage Board — Korina 3-Track (Ready to Play)

Cabin weekend, cards on the table, the rye poured: this is the Black Limba cribbage board that earns the seat at the head. A 3-track board, CNC-engraved and hand-finished, ready to play tonight.

First, the wood. I build every Black Limba cribbage board in my Virden, Manitoba woodshop from solid limba — known to luthiers as Korina. Most importantly, this is the West African hardwood Gibson used on their 1958 Flying V and Explorer guitars. Its pale golden body runs with bold black streaks that only show up in the lower portion of older trees, and as a result supply has tightened to the point where no two boards are ever the same.

What makes a Black Limba cribbage board different

Black Limba is not a substitute for walnut or maple — it sits in its own category. Because Korina is dense without being heavy, the board feels balanced in the hand. Meanwhile, the streak pattern shifts across the surface in ways no two slabs repeat. I sand each one smooth and oil-finish until the streaks practically glow. The figure in yours exists nowhere else.

How to play with it

Each board ships ready to use tonight. Inside the box: six wooden pegs (mixed colors), a full deck of playing cards, and a soft velvet drawstring bag for both. The center track carries an engraved maple leaf — a quiet Canadian punctuation. Either way you score, the 120-point layout runs cleanly across the surface and reads at a glance from the seat across the table.

Care, custom work, and shipping

First, wipe the board with a soft dry cloth after use. Second, avoid prolonged direct sunlight and standing moisture. Finally, a light coat of butcher block or mineral oil once a year keeps the Black Limba glowing — the wood will darken and deepen with age, getting more beautiful, not less. Other hardwoods built on request: walnut, maple, canarywood, padauk, purpleheart. Ships from Virden, Manitoba via Canada Post with tracking, typically arriving in 1–2 weeks across Canada and 2–3 weeks to the US.