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Fun Fact Friday: Hardwood vs Softwood

Wood is generally separated into two categories: hardwood and softwood. But why is balsa wood, one of the softest woods of all, considered a hardwood? Why is a yew tree classified as softwood even though it’s much harder than many hardwoods?

The density of the wood actually has nothing to do with whether a wood is considered hard or soft. Instead, wood is categorized based on the type of seed the tree comes from. Trees that have seeds with a covering on them, either in a shell or a fruit, are considered hardwoods. Trees that have seeds that are unprotected are classified as softwoods.

So if toughness isn’t a factor in putting wood into categories, how can you determine how tough a piece of wood is?

The industry standard is to use the Janka Hardness Test, which measures the amount of force required to embed a .444-inch steel ball to half of the piece of wood’s diameter. You can learn more about this test and the trees it has tested by visiting this article on todayifoundout.com.

Author: Paige Greene
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