Wood | Hardness Scale # |
Hickory | 1820 |
Hard Maple |
1450 |
QS White Oak |
1360 |
Oak (Red) |
1280 |
Walnut |
1010 |
Brown Maple |
999 |
Cherry | 950 |
Elm | 830 |
Heart wood is the darker section in the inner part of the tree. This is the portion of the tree that is used in non rustic furniture because it's natural resistance to decay and durability. Heartwood can endure for hundreds or thousands of years. Remarkably, a tree can thrive with it's heartwood hollowed out. Technically heartwood is considered dead once it's formation is complete, but there is debate if it's truly dead since it because it can chemically decay organisms.
Rustic cherry or hickory is cut from the outer part of the darker heartwood. It is the younger and less developed portion, and therefore, knots and pits are common and may be filled with black epoxy or left natural.
Sap wood is the lighter colored wood in the outer rings and is generally not used for furniture. Cherry sap wood is occasionally used but must be specified.