I found this in a bunch of wood I bought from the estate of a pen maker. They appear to be section of barrel staves. The wood is as hard as a rock. I tried to clean a piece up on the jointer, but I quit because I was afraid I would ruin the knives. I did cut a piece on the band saw to see what the end grain looked like. Any thoughts as to what species this might be, and why it is so hard?
