Wood Janka Hardness Comparison Calculator
Compare Janka hardness of common woods for flooring, furniture, and tools.
Find dent resistance scores from balsa to ipe and rank picks for your project.
Janka Hardness Score
Janka Hardness Test
The Janka hardness test measures the force required to embed an 11.28 mm (0.444 in) steel ball halfway into a wood specimen. Result is reported in pounds-force (lbf) or newtons (N).
Why it matters:
- Higher Janka = harder, more dent-resistant, harder to work with hand tools
- Lower Janka = softer, easier to carve, dents more easily
- Direct predictor of flooring durability and tool handle longevity
Common wood Janka ratings (lbf):
| Wood | Janka (lbf) |
|---|---|
| Softer / softwoods: | |
| Balsa | 100 |
| Western red cedar | 350 |
| White pine | 380 |
| Eastern hemlock | 500 |
| Douglas fir | 660 |
| Southern yellow pine | 870 |
| Medium hardwoods: | |
| Cherry | 950 |
| Black walnut | 1,010 |
| Soft maple | 950 |
| Yellow birch | 1,260 |
| Red oak | 1,290 |
| White oak | 1,360 |
| Hard hardwoods: | |
| Ash | 1,320 |
| Hard maple (sugar) | 1,450 |
| Hickory / pecan | 1,820 |
| Wenge | 1,930 |
| Purpleheart | 2,520 |
| Very hard / exotic: | |
| Teak | 1,070 (varies) |
| Sapele | 1,510 |
| Brazilian cherry (jatoba) | 2,820 |
| Cumaru | 3,540 |
| Brazilian teak (cumaru) | 3,540 |
| Ipe / Brazilian walnut | 3,684 |
| Lignum vitae | 4,500 |
| Australian buloke | 5,060 |
Interpreting Janka for projects:
Flooring durability:
- Below 1,000: too soft for residential flooring (dents easily)
- 1,000-1,500: good residential flooring (oak, maple)
- 1,500-2,500: excellent durability (hickory, brazilian cherry)
- Over 2,500: commercial / high-traffic — overkill for most homes
Furniture:
- Cherry (950) and walnut (1,010): perfect for chairs, tables — easy to work, attractive
- Hard maple (1,450): countertops, butcher blocks — high stain resistance
- Oak (1,290-1,360): traditional furniture, doors
Carving / hand tools:
- Below 800: ideal for hand carving (basswood, butternut)
- 800-1,200: workable with sharp gouges (cherry, walnut)
- Over 1,500: power tools mostly (oak, maple)
Tool handles:
- Hickory (1,820): the gold standard — axe, hammer handles
- Ash (1,320): bats, rake handles
- Oak (1,290): tool boxes, mallets
Outdoor decking:
- Cumaru (3,540), Ipe (3,684): premium exotic decking — outlasts pressure-treated 4-5×
- Cedar / redwood: low Janka but rot-resistant, traditional choice
Density vs Janka: Density (lb/ft³) and Janka usually correlate — denser woods hit higher Janka — but not always. Some dense woods (e.g., hickory) have unusually high Janka for their weight class due to wood structure.
Working caveats:
- Higher Janka requires sharper tools, slower feed rates, more frequent blade replacement
- Some hard woods (ipe, cumaru) blunt blades fast — use carbide or replace HSS regularly
- Drilling pilot holes is essential at Janka over 1,500 — wood splits otherwise