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Comparison Of Hardness of Woods For Flooring

There are many methods of testing the hardness of flooring products. One of the most accepted methods is the JANKA hardness test. While the actual numbers have little meaning, the comparison between different species of hardwood can give the homeowner an indication of the hardness of the hardwood floor being contemplated as compared to other hardwoods.

The JANKA test involves pushing a steel ball (0.444″ in diameter) into a piece of lumber until half of the ball's diameter has penetrated. The force necessary to do this is measured in pounds-force and becomes the comparison between hardness of different lumber species.

The higher the number, the harder the wood. As a general statement tropical woods are harder than woods grown in temperate climates.

Table 1 lists the most common hardwoods by JANKA Number and alphabetically by species.

By JANKA Hardness Number

Wood Species

JANKA Number

Brazilian Ebony

Brazilian Walnut

Brazilian Teak

Brazilian Redwood

Brazilian Rosewood

Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba)

Mesquite

Caribbean Rosewood

Santos Mahogany

Asian Rosewood

Merbau

Jarrah

Hickory

Pecan

Kempas

Wenge

Zebrawood

Brazilian Maple

North American Maple

Bamboo Natural

Australian Cypress

White Oak

Ash (White)

Beech

Angelique Teak

Yellow Birch

Red Oak

Pine, Antique Heart

Larch

Teak

Brazilian Eucalyptus

Bamboo Carbonized

Peruvian Walnut

Walnut, American Black

Cherry (Black)

African Mahogany

Honduran Mahogany

Pine, Southern Yellow

Douglas Fir

California Redwood

3690

3680

3540

3190

3000

2820

2345

2300

2200

2170

1925

1910

1820

1820

1710

1630

1575

1500

1450

1410

1375

1360

1320

1300

1290

1260

1260

1225

1200

1155

1125

1120

1080

1010

950

830

800

690

650

420

Alphabetical By Species

Wood Species

JANKA Number

African Mahogany

Angelique Teak

Ash (White)

Asian Rosewood

Australian Cypress

Bamboo Carbonized

Bamboo Natural

Beech

Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba)

Brazilian Ebony

Brazilian Eucalyptus

Brazilian Redwood

Brazilian Maple

Brazilian Rosewood

Brazilian Teak

Brazilian Walnut

California Redwood

Caribbean Rosewood

Cherry (Black)

Douglas Fir

Hickory

Honduran Mahogany

Jarrah

Kempas

Larch

Merbau

Mesquite

North American Maple

Pecan

Peruvian Walnut

Pine, Antique Heart

Pine, Southern Yellow

Red Oak

Santos Mahogany

Teak

Walnut, American Black

Wenge

White Oak

Yellow Birch

Zebrawood

830

1290

1320

2170

1375

1120

1410

1300

2820

3690

1125

3190

1500

3000

3540

3680

420

2300

950

650

1820

800

1910

1710

1200

1925

2345

1450

1820

1080

1225

690

1260

2200

1155

1010

1630

1360

1260

1575