Walnut (Black)
Dark, straight-grained hardwood that machines and finishes exceptionally well. The traditional choice for gunstocks and high-end furniture, and stable enough to hold fine detail.
Properties
- Family
- Wood
- Category
- wood
- Species
- Juglans nigra
- Density
- 0.66 g/cm³ · 660 kg/m³
Densityhow walnut (black) compares
Wood propertiesUSDA clear-wood values at 12% moisture content
- Species measured
- Black walnut (Juglans nigra)
- Specific gravity
- 0.55
- Janka side hardness
- 1,010 lbf · 4,493 N
- Modulus of rupture
- 14,600 psi · 100.7 MPa
- Modulus of elasticity
- 1.68 ×10⁶ psi · 11.58 GPa
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 5.5% radial · 7.8% tangential · 12.8% volumetric
Source: USDA Forest Service, Wood Handbook — Wood as an Engineering Material (FPL-GTR-190, 2010), Table 5–3b, for clear straight-grained specimens at 12% moisture content. The grey figures are converted at 1 lbf = 4.448 N, 1 psi = 6.895 kPa and 1 GPa = 145,038 psi; the inch-pound numbers are the published ones. Specific gravity is oven-dry mass over volume at 12% moisture content, so it sits about 12% below the working density at the top of this page (0.55 × 1.12 ≈ 0.62 g/cm³). The two come from different sampling programmes, so a few species differ by more than that.
Applicationswhere walnut (black) is normally specified
Appearance & workabilitytrade experience, not measured values
- Origin
- Eastern and central North America
- Appearance
- Rich chocolate-brown heartwood, often streaked darker; straight to gently wavy grain
- Working
- Works and finishes beautifully by hand, and holds carved detail well at a moderate weight.
Unlike the USDA figures above, these lines are not measurements: they carry no units and no single source. They describe how the timber is generally found to behave rather than what it is guaranteed to do — read them as the consensus of the trade, not as a specification.
Practical notes
- Density is for air-dried stock at about 12% moisture content
- Steam-treated sapwood is sold as walnut but is paler and less durable
Lumber sizeswhat walnut (black) weighs in each nominal size
Lumber size databaseDressed sizes are the same for every species — a 2x4 is 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 in in oak as much as in spruce. What changes is the weight, and that is derived here from walnut (black)'s density of 0.66 g/cm³.
Tools used on itmatched on the wood family, not on this page
All toolsWhich tools work a material is a property of the family (Wood), not of the individual species — so this list is the same on every wood page, and changes when the tool data changes rather than when this paragraph does.
Frequently asked questionsthe questions this page answers about Walnut (Black)
How hard is Walnut (Black)?
Janka hardness is 1,010 lbf — the force needed to push a steel ball halfway into the wood. Higher is harder; this is the number quoted when a wood is specified for floors, worktops or butcher blocks.
How dense is Walnut (Black)?
Density is 0.66 g/cm³, and the USDA table gives a specific gravity of 0.55.
How much does Walnut (Black) move when it dries?
Green to oven-dry it shrinks 12.8% by volume — 5.5% radially and 7.8% tangentially. Movement across the grain is what opens joints, so a species that moves a lot wants room to move.
What is Walnut (Black) used for?
Typical uses are Furniture, Cabinetry, Gunstocks and Carving.
How does Walnut (Black) work with hand and machine tools?
Works and finishes beautifully by hand, and holds carved detail well at a moderate weight.