Thread: Black wattle, the hardest wood

Originally Posted by BobL

Dry Wattle Black {Acacia mangium} is rated at 1750 lbs force hardness while Wattle Green {Acacia decurrens} is 2250 lbs.
Both are softer than Gum Spotted {Eucalyptus maculate} being around 2470 lb

The hardest reported wattle is Wattle Lakewood {Acacia enervia} and at 4150 lbs is the 12the hardest wood on earth.

Wattle Australian Ironwood {Acacia excelsa} is 4050 lbs and 16th hardest.

All other Wattles are less than those above.

REF: Wood Species Janka Hardness Scale/Chart By Common/Trade Name

Sorry to rain on your parade Bob but I wouldn't be staking anything of value on the info on that website - more species missing than there are included - on both the hardest and softest woods lists. Most of those things are compiled from forestry departments lists from around the world so they only include commercially viable or popular timbers .

Originally Posted by TTIT

Sorry to rain on your parade Bob but I wouldn't be staking anything of value on the info on that website - more species missing than there are included - on both the hardest and softest woods lists. Most of those things are compiled from forestry departments lists from around the world so they only include commercially viable or popular timbers .

Yep I agree (I said that already about 3 times across the forums) but if you can post a more comprehensive list then lets see it.

Forget about whether the list is right or not. Just note the no. of Oz woods on the so-called "hardest" list. I don't think the numbers will worsen if ever corrected. Fortunate we are IMHO.

Originally Posted by jefferson

Forget about whether the list is right or not. Just note the no. of Oz woods on the so-called "hardest" list. I don't think the numbers will worsen if ever corrected. Fortunate we are IMHO.

Fortunate we are I agree but I also think we employ perhaps more botanists and hopefully take care of our flora perhaps a touch more than the other two southern hemisphere continents. So while we still have a lot to learn we probably know a little more technically about our environment that they do. I am convinced there are probably more undiscovered/untested species of hardwood in SAmerica and Africa that are also not on that list.

But we are still very fortunate.