Comparison of Wood Species

This listing is to provide helpful information on the comparison of wood species. Nothing is for sale with this listing.

We recommend natural color wood finished with tung oil. Maintenance of wood without stain is easier. On request we do apply stain but the final color depends on many factors so the color match is not accurate.

Customers often ask me for a comparison of the wood species. This is written to provide my thoughts on comparisons. To see photos of each wood click on the other listings in this shop section for each wood species.

I always recommend that the choice should be made primarily on the visual appearance preferences of the customer. All of the wood species that I offer (cherry, walnut, maple, red oak, white oak, ash) are high quality wood that is strong and durable for long lasting furniture. So the most important factor is that the wood appearance is great for the customer's decor.

The wood that I personally like best is cherry. I like the appearance of natural color cherry. I like the surface smoothness. And I like many colors of stain on the wood. Cherry with dark walnut or another dark stain is in my opinion as beautiful as walnut. But is does not look the same as walnut. Cherry is not as hard as oak but it is very durable.

Walnut has a distinctive grain and appearance that is great. Walnut wood is becoming more rare so the price continues to rise. Most providers of real walnut wood charge a price that is much higher than the added cost that I charge for walnut. Walnut wood is a little softer than the other hardwoods that I offer. It is still durable but I don't recommend it for a desk top or a surface that will receive significant ware (although the desk that I use is walnut and is very good).

White oak (which is not white) is the hardest wood on my standard offering list. It is a great choice for furniture that will receive the most active use (read that as children and pet impact). I sand the surface very smooth as with all of my woods but the surface of both white oak and red oak has very distinct grain that can be felt (not rough). This strong grain also is seen in the appearance.

Red oak has distinctive grain that actually has openings. Wine barrels are made with white oak, not red oak. Wine would run through the red oak (very very slowly). This attribute of red oak makes it the very best choice for ceruse. The ceruse wax stays in these grain lines and makes very distinctive patterns. Red oak is nearly as hard and strong as white oak.

Maple is the lightest color wood that I offer. It is the best choice if you want the light color or if you want a grey color with stain. None of the other woods look grey with a grey stain; they look grey brown. Maple grain is not prominent. So maple has the least character of any of the woods I offer. I recommend it for light color or grey but I recommend other woods to meet other requirements.

Wormy maple is the most dramatic wood that I offer. Appearance is the only factor in the choice of wormy maple.

Ash is also a bit dramatic. The grain is very visible and can create a beautiful vibrant effect. The wood is mostly a light color but it normally also has areas of medium brown color strongly contrasting with the lighter areas. Ash is as durable as cherry and maple.

There is one other hardwood that I use for structure; not for external visible wood surfaces. Poplar is classified as a "hardwood" but it is among the softest of "hardwoods". It has a soft surface but it is still quite strong because it is not brittle; does not crack easily. It has a light color and subtle grain pattern similar to maple. So it is a very good choice for drawer boxes and for structure that is not normally visible. Some furniture companies use poplar for external furniture wood. They offer solid hardwood "walnut" which is actually poplar with walnut color stain. And they offer solid hardwood "cherry" which is actually poplar with cherry color stain.


The Janka hardness test is a good indicator of the ease of denting the wood surface. But it is just an indicator of that one attribute. All wood properties vary significantly. The Janka table, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test, states that walnut has a higher Janka number than cherry or maple. My experience with walnut is that it is much easier to dent than cherry or maple.

As stated by the Janka table, it is true that oak is more difficult to dent or damage the surface than cherry or maple or especially walnut.

However, the Janka number does not say what the strength of the wood is. There are several other parameters that are good indicators of wood strength. One of the best is modulus of elasticity. Look at https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr113/ch04.pdf

You will be surprised to read that cherry modulus ratio is about .086 compared to white oak with .072, maple .065, and walnut .056. So cherry is stronger than white oak even though white oak is harder.

There are many other factors that determine the ability of wood to remain beautiful for 100 years.

The most important factor is avoiding frequent large swings in temperature and water content.

So my recommendation is that if durability is your highest priority and you like the looks of either white oak or cherry most, choose the one that looks best to you. But if you like both equally, choose white oak for durability. Or if you like maple, choose it. But if you love the look of walnut choose it. Walnut is a very good wood. My wife uses a walnut desk that has been in her family more than 120 years and it looks great. My desk is also walnut and it is durable and beautiful (but I don't hit it with a hammer).
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