How hard is hardwood?

You’ve likely heard the term “hardwood.” You may even know that woods like maple or walnut are hardwoods, while pine is a softwood. But what does that mean? What makes up a softwood or hardwood? We’ll try to clear some of that up here.

Softwood vs hardwood

What does softwood and/or hardwood mean? Essentially, it is exactly what it says, hardwood is harder (more dense) than softwood. Is that a hard and fast rule? No, it’s not, there is some overlap between what is considered a softwood or a hardwood. Larch, for example is a softwood, but it is harder than some hardwoods. So, what is a softwood or hardwood?

Even though there is some overlap, a softwood is usually lighter and less dense than a hardwood. Softwood comes from coniferous trees and is less expensive and easier to work with than a hardwood. It is, however, less durable than a hardwood. Some examples of softwood include pine, spruce, and fir.

Hardwood is more durable than a softwood. It is more resistant to dents and scratches than a softwood. While more expensive, It is also more aesthetically pleasing than a softwood. Hardwoods are used to construct items that need to take more abuse, such as furniture. Examples of hardwood include maple, oak, and walnut.

Janka hardness scale

How do we quantify a woods “hardness?” That’s where the work of an Austrian researcher by the name of Gabriel Janka comes in. In the early 1900s, Janka devised a test to measure the density of wood. He used a 0.444” steel ball and measured the force required to press half of the ball into a wood sample. The more force needed relates to a denser, more durable, wood. Depending where in the world you are, the result is represented in one of a few different ways. In the US, it is measured using pounds of force (lbf), while Europe uses Kilograms of force (Kgf), and other locations use Newtons (N). Since we at GHW are in the US, we’ll use lbf for the purposes of this article.

A larger number of the Janka hardness scale means that a wood is more resistant to denting and scratching than is a wood that has a smaller number. Therefore, harder woods are used to construct things like furniture and used in flooring since they’re subjected to more abuse.

Below is a chart that ranks some common wood species.