Walnut
Appearance
COLOR: Heartwood ranges from a deep, rich dark brown to a purplish black. Sapwood is nearly white to tan. Difference between heartwood and sapwood color is great; some flooring manufacturers steam lumber to bleed the darker heartwood color into the sapwood, resulting in a more uniform color.
GRAIN: Mostly straight and open, but some boards have burled or curly grain. Arrangement of pores is similar to hickories and persimmon, but pores are smaller in size.

Properties
HARDNESS (JANKA): 1010; 22% softer than Northern red oak.
DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: Excellent (change coeffi-cient .00274; 26% more stable than red oak).
DURABILITY: Moderately dense, very strong, good shock resistance. Not as dent-resistant as oak.