I'm carving a very small piece of Padauk as part of another project. When it's cut by a knife or chisel the wood becomes very smooth and black, like being glazed. Sometimes it is very difficult to sand off.

At first I was using a piece of 80g Mirka Abranet I had nearby and that helped somewhat. Then I recalled that used/old abrasives can sometimes burnish the wood instead of abrading it, so I pulled out a new piece of the same abrasive and sanded with it. This was more effective in removing the black glaze.

I've also read that iron can cause the tannins to change black but I wouldn't expect the chisels or abrasive to do that.

Any ideas?

Dwayne