Unique Characteristics of Cherry, Walnut, and Hickory

Heart Wood and Sap wood

Within the tree there are two distinct types of wood: heart wood and sap wood. Heart wood is the dark colored wood found in the center of the tree. The sap wood is located between the heartwood and the bark. This wood is lighter in color as compared to the heart wood.

There are two specific wood types offered by Osborne Wood Products that contain both heart wood and sap wood: Cherry and Black Walnut. Because these wood types can contain sap wood, they tend to have color variation. But don’t think that this is a bad thing. The coloring of the wood gives it an amazing authentic look.

Let’s take a closer look at Cherry. Cherry wood is moderately heavy, hard, and strong, and it also machines and sands to glass-like smoothness. Because of this, Cherry finishes beautifully. The heartwood in Cherry is red in color, and the sapwood is light pink. Components made of Cherry generally consist of approximately 25% sapwood and 75% heartwood. Cherry squares can contain up to 30% sapwood.

Black walnut is considered a rare wood type, and it is quite durable and strong. Its coloration can be light to chocolate brown, and may contain burls, butts, and curls. The sapwood is usually white in color, and may be as high as 25%, but we have it steamed to make it a light coffee color, allowing for better color uniformity.

Wood Grain

Another important element of a wood type is the grain. Grain patterns are very important when choosing the perfect wood type for a project. Three basic grain patterns include straight, spiral, and interlocked. Straight grains will run in a single direction through the axis of the tree while spiral grain spirals or wraps around the axis of the tree. Interlocked grain spirals around the axis, but it changes direction, alternates direction, and tends to interlock often.

If you are looking for strength, hardness, and durability; Hickory is the best commercially available wood in North America. The grain is normally straight, but can sometimes be irregular or wavy. Hickory has a coarse texture, with a great deal of color variation between reddish brown, lighter brown, and white. Hickory is one of the most distinct wood types we offer at Osborne Wood Products, due to its very striped pattern and texture.

When choosing the wood species for your next project, feel free to check out our wood types page. This page gives a short description of the wood types offered at Osborne. For more information or if you have any questions related to the wood species offered, call our friendly customer service representatives at 1-800-849-8876.

Looking for a wood type not on our list? Give us a call! We will see if we can make this wood type available for you.