Most Common Reclaimed Woods

Reclaimed antique lumber is quickly becoming one of my favorite types of wood to work with,especially when I get to saw each wood plank from a beam, rather than planks already sawn to size. Beyond the obvious qualities of reclaimed lumber such as its eco-friendliness, it is fascinating to see how antique woods (Heart Pine, in this case) stand up to decades of use. Though there are many different species of antique wood to choose from, the most easily available and prominent are Heart Pine, Chestnut, and Oak.

Heart Pine has a rich history here in America being used in many different applications from plank flooring in homes, to ship building. Unlike the typical evergreen, Heart Pine is extremely hard due to its very slow growth. In fact, it rivals some hardwoods measuring 1225 in the Janka Hardness Test, whereas hardwood White Oak measures 1360. This level of hardness is due to the fact that Heart Pine takes anywhere from 200-400 years to fully mature. In comparison, Southern Yellow Pine measures just 870 on the Janka scale.