I'm working again with African Blackwood. I've forgotten that drilling through it is like drilling through asphalt.

It's been a while since I worked with African Blackwood and I've forgotten that drilling a hole through it is like drilling through asphalt. Even though I used several bits under the  requirement measurement, all of them began to heat up half way through the process.  

The pen I'm making is the Baron style like the one attached to the article. It will be slightly different as I have a bit more of the sapwood on the pen body, but in contrast, I have a little spec of heartwood right at the stop. This goes to show that even though the same wood is used, every single piece will be different.  

A here's a little interesting fact about African Blackwood: it was originally considered part of the ebony species, but later on it was moved to the rosewoods.