Is walnut harder than oak?

No, walnut is not harder than oak. On the Janka hardwood hardness scale, walnut's rating is 1010. By comparison, red oak's rating is 1290, and white oak's rating is 1335. The Janka scale tests the amount of force required to embed a steel ball of a certain size into a hardwood species, and the higher the number, the denser and harder the wood. On this scale, oak ranks significantly higher than walnut. Explore a wide range of wood furniture on 1stDibs.