The Janka Hardness Scale • Nov 05, 2007
The Janka Hardness Scale is a measurement of the force necessary to embed a .444-inch (11.28 mm) steel ball to half its diameter in wood. It is the industry standard for gauging the ability of various species to tolerate denting and normal wear, as well as being a good indication of the effort required to work (nail, saw, carve, etc.) the particular wood.
The Red Oak, which has a Janka rating of 1290, is the industry benchmark for comparing the relative hardness of different wood species. Since the hardness of the wood varies with the direction of the grain, both side testing and end testing is performed on wood.
Here are some examples of various woods and their Janka Hardness Rating. Obviously, this is only a short list of all the available woods but hopefully will give a good representation of the most common ones.
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