TimberLedger

Pines

Hardness among the 13 pines here ranges from 380 lbf (Sugar pine) to 1,240 lbf (Caribbean pine). The flattest-drying is Caribbean pine; the stiffest is Ocote pine.

  • It holds a record among all 155 woods: eastern white pine has the highest T/R ratio.
  • The family crosses groups: Caribbean pine and ocote pine are listed as imports, the rest as U.S. softwoods.
  • The hardest is 3.3 times as hard as the softest, one of the three widest spreads among the 15 families here.
  • The largest step inside the family is the 330 lbf between Caribbean pine, at 1,240 lbf, and ocote pine, at 910 lbf.
  • 570 lbfmedian hardness
  • 0.41median density
  • 11,000 psimedian bending strength
  • 7.2%median face shrinkage

PinesOther woodsNorthern red oak, the usual yardstick

Eastern white pineJack pineLongleaf pineOcote pineCaribbean pine01,0002,0003,0004,000 lbf← softerharder →Ceiba, 240 lbfNorthern white-cedar, 320 lbfAtlantic white-cedar, 350 lbfBlack cottonwood, 350 lbfQuaking aspen, 350 lbfSubalpine fir, 350 lbfWestern redcedar, 350 lbfBalsam fir, 380 lbfCuangare, 380 lbfEastern white pine, 380 lbfOkoume, 380 lbfSugar pine, 380 lbfEngelmann spruce, 390 lbfAmerican basswood, 410 lbfNoble fir, 410 lbfRedwood (young-growth), 420 lbfWestern white pine, 420 lbfEastern cottonwood, 430 lbfObeche, 430 lbfPacific silver fir, 430 lbfLight red meranti, 460 lbfPonderosa pine, 460 lbfIncense-cedar, 470 lbfLodgepole pine, 480 lbfRedwood (old-growth), 480 lbfWhite fir, 480 lbfButternut, 490 lbfGrand fir, 490 lbfLimba, 490 lbfCalifornia red fir, 500 lbfEastern hemlock, 500 lbfBanak, 510 lbfSitka spruce, 510 lbfBlack spruce, 530 lbfAmerican chestnut, 540 lbfWestern hemlock, 540 lbfYellow-poplar, 540 lbfHura, 550 lbfRed pine, 560 lbfJack pine, 570 lbfYellow-cedar, 580 lbfRed alder, 590 lbfTamarack, 590 lbfDouglas-fir (Interior North), 600 lbfSpanish-cedar, 600 lbfIlomba, 610 lbfCativo, 630 lbfPort-Orford-cedar, 630 lbfDeterma, 660 lbfDouglas-fir (Interior West), 660 lbfPrimavera, 660 lbfMountain hemlock, 680 lbfLoblolly pine, 690 lbfShortleaf pine, 690 lbfCucumbertree, 700 lbfSilver maple, 700 lbfDouglas-fir (Coast), 710 lbfVirginia pine, 740 lbfAmerican sycamore, 770 lbfYellow meranti, 770 lbfDark red meranti, 780 lbfParana-pine, 780 lbfMahogany, 800 lbfBlack tupelo, 810 lbfAfrican mahogany, 830 lbfAmerican elm, 830 lbfWestern larch, 830 lbfBigleaf maple, 850 lbfBlack ash, 850 lbfSweetgum, 850 lbfSlippery elm, 860 lbfLongleaf pine, 870 lbfHackberry, 880 lbfWater tupelo, 880 lbfSande, 900 lbfOcote pine, 910 lbfPaper birch, 910 lbfBlack cherry, 950 lbfRed maple, 950 lbfRoble, 960 lbfTeak, 1,000 lbfBlack walnut, 1,010 lbfAlbarco, 1,020 lbfSouthern magnolia, 1,020 lbfSouthern red oak, 1,060 lbfAvodire, 1,080 lbfManni, 1,120 lbfAndiroba, 1,130 lbfChestnut oak, 1,130 lbfOregon ash, 1,160 lbfBlack maple, 1,180 lbfOvercup oak, 1,190 lbfWater oak, 1,190 lbfGreen ash, 1,200 lbfBlack oak, 1,210 lbfLaurel oak, 1,210 lbfKapur, 1,230 lbfCaribbean pine, 1,240 lbfSwamp chestnut oak, 1,240 lbfIroko, 1,260 lbfYellow birch, 1,260 lbfKeruing, 1,270 lbfAngelique, 1,290 lbfMersawa, 1,290 lbfNorthern red oak, 1,290 lbfAmerican beech, 1,300 lbfRamin, 1,300 lbfRock elm, 1,320 lbfWhite ash, 1,320 lbfPost oak, 1,360 lbfWhite oak, 1,360 lbfBur oak, 1,370 lbfScarlet oak, 1,400 lbfSepetir, 1,410 lbfSugar maple, 1,450 lbfWillow oak, 1,460 lbfSweet birch, 1,470 lbfPin oak, 1,510 lbfSapele, 1,510 lbfAfrormosia, 1,560 lbfHoneylocust, 1,580 lbfPeroba de campos, 1,600 lbfOpepe, 1,630 lbfBlack locust, 1,700 lbfPilon, 1,700 lbfKempas, 1,710 lbfPara-angelim, 1,720 lbfPiquia, 1,720 lbfPeroba rosa, 1,730 lbfAngelin, 1,750 lbfBenge, 1,750 lbfShellbark hickory, 1,810 lbfPurpleheart, 1,860 lbfShagbark hickory, 1,880 lbfJarrah, 1,910 lbfDegame, 1,940 lbfMockernut hickory, 1,970 lbfKarri, 2,040 lbfPignut hickory, 2,140 lbfSucupira, 2,140 lbfGoncalo alves, 2,160 lbfMora, 2,300 lbfCourbaril, 2,350 lbfGreenheart, 2,350 lbfTropical oak (roble), 2,500 lbfBubinga, 2,690 lbfBrazilian rosewood, 2,720 lbfKaneelhart, 2,900 lbfMacawood, 3,150 lbfIndian rosewood, 3,170 lbfBulletwood, 3,190 lbfAzobe, 3,350 lbfManbarklak, 3,480 lbfMarishballi, 3,570 lbfIpe, 3,680 lbfSugar pineNorthern red oak01,0002,0003,0004,000 lbf← softerharder →
Pines in colour among all 155 woods on the Janka scale.

Ranked by hardness

Hardest first. Density is specific gravity; shrinkage is volumetric, green to oven-dry.

#WoodJanka, lbfDensityBending, psiShrinkage
1Caribbean pinePinus caribaeaSG 0.68 · 12.9% shrinkage
1,240
0.6816,70012.9%
2Ocote pinePinus oocarpaSG 0.55 · 12.3% shrinkage
910
0.5514,90012.3%
3Longleaf pinePinus palustrisSG 0.54 · 12.2% shrinkage
870
0.5414,50012.2%
4Virginia pinePinus virginianaSG 0.45 · 11.9% shrinkage
740
0.4513,00011.9%
5Loblolly pinePinus taedaSG 0.47 · 12.3% shrinkage
690
0.4712,80012.3%
6Shortleaf pinePinus echinataSG 0.47 · 12.3% shrinkage
690
0.4713,10012.3%
7Jack pinePinus banksianaSG 0.40 · 10.3% shrinkage
570
0.409,90010.3%
8Red pinePinus resinosaSG 0.41 · 11.3% shrinkage
560
0.4111,00011.3%
9Lodgepole pinePinus contortaSG 0.38 · 11.1% shrinkage
480
0.389,40011.1%
10Ponderosa pinePinus ponderosaSG 0.38 · 9.7% shrinkage
460
0.389,4009.7%
11Western white pinePinus monticolaSG 0.35 · 11.8% shrinkage
420
0.359,70011.8%
12Eastern white pinePinus strobusSG 0.34 · 8.2% shrinkage
380
0.348,6008.2%
13Sugar pinePinus lambertianaSG 0.34 · 7.9% shrinkage
380
0.348,2007.9%

Source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook (2010), Tables 4-3, 4-4, 5-3b and 5-5b. How we use the data · Compare or filter these woods · Guide: Hardwood vs softwood in numbers