Acacia wood is commonly used for furniture making, wood carving, and construction purposes. It is known as one of the strongest woods on the planet.
Because of its beautiful grain, Acacia wood is popular for decorative purposes as well.
When I was first started to work with this awesome wood, I was always wondered, How hard is Acacia wood?
I looked into it and here’s what I discovered:
Acacia wood has a hardness of 2300 lbf (10230 N). Acacia wood is harder than many hardwoods such as Oak, Hickory, Maple, Beech, and many more. It is incredibly strong and durable. Because of being hard, Acacia wood is resistant to dents, scratches, and fungus attacks. Acacia wood is one of the best and hardwood for any woodworking project.
But that’s a quick snapshot.
From this article we’re going to deeply talk about how hard is Acacia wood, is Acacia wood hardwood or softwood by considering its characteristics.
Furthermore, we are going to discuss the uses of Acacia wood in terms of its hardness and how strong it is. Finally, we are going to answer frequently asked questions about the hardness of Acacia wood.
So, just keep reading!
Did you know Acacia hardwood has a hardness of 1750 psi!! #Acacia #hardwood pic.twitter.com/bSLWOridM4
— Fred’s Carpets Plus (@FredsCarpets) November 10, 2016
Is Acacia Wood Hardwood?
Yes, Acacia wood is hardwood. It is incredibly strong and durable with a higher hardness rating of 2,300 lbf (10,230 N).
Acacia wood is harder than most other woods. When we look at the structural properties of Acacia wood, it has a less porous structure than most other woods.
This is why Acacia has high density as well as high hardness value. Because of having a less porous structure, the number of fiber per unit area is high and that increases its density.
Because of being hardwood with outstanding hardness, Acacia is used to making cutting boards that can easily withstand knife edges.
The straight or wavy wood grain of Acacia wood increases its hardness and strength.
So, let’s have a look at the hardness scale of Acacia wood according to the Janka hardness value.
Tip: Janka hardness test is the best measure measurement to identify the hardness of a particular wood. it measures the resistance of wood to dent and wear.
Acacia wood has a hardness rating of 2,300 lbf (10,230 N). hereby I have listed the hardness of popular woods according to the Janka hardness test to get an idea about how hard Acacia wood is.
| Wood species | Hardness value |
| Brazilian Walnut | 3,684 lbf (16,390 N) |
| Red Mahogany, Turpentine | 2,697 lbf (12,000 N) |
| Brazilian Cherry, Jatoba | 2,350 lbf (10,500 N) |
| Golden Teak | 2,330 lbf (10,400 N) |
| Acacia wood | 2,300 lbf (10,230 N) |
| Hickory, Pecan, Satinwood | 1,820 lbf (8,100 N) |
| Rosewood | 1,780 lbf (7,900 N) |
| African Padauk | 1,725 lbf (7,670 N) |
| Wenge, Red Pine, Hornbeam | 1,630 lbf (7,300 N) |
| Hard Maple, Sugar Maple | 1,450 lbf (6,400 N) |
| Australian Cypress | 1,375 lbf (6,120 N) |
| White Oak | 1,360 lbf (6,000 N) |
| Ash (White) | 1,320 lbf (5,900 N) |
| American Beech | 1,300 lbf (5,800 N) |
| Red Oak (Northern) | 1,290 lbf (5,700 N) |
| Yellow Birch / Baltic birch | 1,260 lbf (5,600 N) |
| Heart pine | 1,225 lbf (5,450 N) |
| Teak | 1,155 lbf (5,140 N) |
| Black Walnut, North American Walnut | 1,010 lbf (4,500 N) |
| Cherry | 995 lbf (4,430 N) |
| Black Cherry, Imbuia | 950 lbf (4,200 N) |
| Red Maple | 950 lbf (4,200 N) |
| Silver Maple | 700 lbf (3,100 N) |
| Southern Yellow Pine (Loblolly and Shortleaf) | 690 lbf (3,100 N) |
| Douglas Fir | 660 lbf (2,900 N) |
As you can see Acacia wood is one of the hardest woods.
Acacia wood is 23% harder than Hickory, 55% harder than white Oak. The density of Acacia wood is 760 kgm-3 which is also pretty much higher than any softwood and most of the hardwoods as well.
So, let’s have a look at the characteristics of Acacia wood to get a clear idea about its hardness and strength.
Acacia Wood Characteristics
Acacia wood has a medium to dark brown color range which turns into a reddish tone over time. Woodgrain is straight or wavy.
Acacia wood has good durability with good resistance to dents, scratches, and insect attacks. Therefore, Acacia wood is popular for making both interior and exterior furniture, columns, and many more.
With proper finishing, Acacia wood furniture can easily get protected from environmental elements.
Because of being hardwood, Acacia wood is harder and denser than many other wood types.
Acacia wood has very little porous structure and this makes it a bit difficult to take stain and paint well. When we apply paint coatings, the pigments will penetrate through the pores of the wood to absorb the paint.
But in Acacia wood, because of has a less porous structure, it is so much hard to absorb the coatings well. Therefore, in terms of finishing, Acacia wood is a difficult wood to paint or stain.
Surprisingly, Acacia wood is incredibly lightweight. Most of the time, woods with high density and less porosity are heavy.
But Acacia wood is lightweight, hard, and strong wood. Therefore, Acacias wood has high workability.
Sawing, brushing, gluing, and is easy, but knockouts are needed for nailing and screwing because of being a hardwood.
The great qualities of Acacia wood are,
- Hardwood
- Lightweight
- High durability
- Rot-resistant
- Beautiful wood grain
- Scratch-resistant
- High workability
- Low maintenance
- High sustainability
As a summary, the main characteristics of Acacia wood can be displayed as follows.
| Color | Medium to dark brown color |
| Density | 760 kgm-3 |
| Hardness | 2,300 lbf (10,230 N) |
| Stiffness | 1,476 ksi |
| Applications | Indoor and outdoor furniture, flooring, constructions |
In Acacia we trust!🥄 @jmedecor
— Brandless (@brandless) December 16, 2020
(*Because Acacia wood is water & bacteria-resistant, making it great for kitchen use 😊 ) pic.twitter.com/O65FaElale
So, let’s have a look at the uses of Acacia wood to get an idea about the importance of being harder than most other woods.
Uses of Acacia Hardwood
Because of having great qualities, Acacia wood is used for almost any kind of woodworking project. Such as,
- Flooring
- Decorative items
- Support beams
- Cabinets
- Kitchen utensils
- Wood carving projects
- Making handicrafts
- Tools and other equipment
As you can see, Acacia wood is widely spread in any field without any issue.
It has great hardness, strength, durability which makes it perfect for any woodworking project.
The water resistivity of Acacia wood is also higher than many other kinds of wood.
Therefore, Acacia wood is popular among woodworkers.
The only drawback of Acacia wood is it does not take stain or paint well and needs to pay more attention when finishing to get the smooth botchy-free surface we need than other woods.
Apart from that Acacia wood is highly recommended for both beginners and experienced woodworkers to get experience with.
How Strong is Acacia Wood?
Acacia wood is known as one of the strongest wood types on the planet.
In terms of strength, Acacia wood has, Compressive strength of 10,142 psi. and Bending strength of 18,263 psi. which is so much higher than any hardwood we know.
This is the reason for the incredible strength of Acacia wood. because of having high strength Acacia wood is durable and even can use for more than 30 years without applying a single coating.
But I highly recommend you apply proper finishing to get the best results.
The dimensional stability of Acacia wood is also high due to its high strength. Therefore, it is commonly used as support beams to bear and handle any load without losing its stability.
The perfect luxe storage solution, the Bari Sideboard is made using Acacia wood with very smart black Indian marble tops with white veining – this gives the collection the sense of strength and quality that only natural marbles can achieve. #luxe #blackmarble #acacia #SS20 pic.twitter.com/WQgiNweXdy
— Gallery Direct (@GalleryDirectUK) May 19, 2020
Acacia Wood Flooring
Because of being harder and denser wood with a Janka hardness rating of 2,300 lbf (10,230 N) Acacia wood is a popular selection in flooring.
It has great resistance for dents and scratches and also has good water resistivity which can easily handle foot traffic with very little maintenance.
Acacia wood is beautiful and unique hardwood with nice color variations. Once it ages it turns into reddish color which gives a rich aesthetic look to your floor.
Acacia Wood Flooring Pros and Cons
Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages you’ll take by applying Acacia wood as a hardwood flooring material in terms of its hardness.
| Pros | Cons |
| Hardwood (Harder than many kinds of wood) | Painting and staining is difficult |
| High durability | Expensive |
| Need less maintenance | Irregular wood grain |
| Lightweight | Slow drying time |
| Scratch and dent resistant | Sizes of planks are limited |
| Water-resistant | Buckle under high humidity levels |
| Strong | |
| High workability | |
| Rot-resistant | |
| Weather-resistant |
As you can see, the number of advantages of using Acacia wood as hardwood flooring is always higher than its drawbacks.
This is why it is one of the popular wood when it comes to flooring.
So, let’s answer some of the frequently asked questions about how hard is Acacia wood when it is compared to other wood types.
Is Acacia Wood Harder Than Oak?
Acacia wood is so much harder than Oakwood. According to the Janka hardness test, it shows higher values than Oak in terms of hardness.
| Wood Type | Hardness |
| Acacia wood | 2,300 lb. |
| Red Oak | 1,290 lb. |
| White Oak | 1,360 lb. |
If you’re looking for wood somewhat stronger, harder, denser than Oakwood, Acacia wood is one of the best you can easily go with.
Is Acacia Wood Harder Than Maple?
Acacia wood is harder than both hard Maple and Soft Maple. According to the Janka hardness test, it shows higher values than Maple in terms of hardness.
| Wood Type | Hardness |
| Acacia wood | 2,300 lb. |
| Hard Maple | 1,450 lb. |
| Soft Maple | 950 lb. |
In a conclusion, Acacia wood is harder than many popular types of wood. It is
- 23% harder than Hickory
- 55% harder than White Oak
- 90% harder than softwoods
These values can be changed due to the quality and age of the wood. However, Acacia wood is a clear winner in terms of its hardness.
Did I cover all you wanted to know about: How Hard Is Acacia Wood?
In this article, we have deeply described how hard is Acacia wood with its characteristics, uses many other factors.
As an experienced woodworker, I highly recommend Acacia wood for any kind of woodworking project because of its great hardness, strength, and durability. But make sure to apply proper finishing before the use.
Furthermore, we have talked about Acacia wood flooring with its pros and cons and finally, I have answered frequently asked questions regarding the topic, how hard is Acacia wood when compared to other popular wood types.
So, let’s start your next big woodworking project with Acacia wood with the help of this article. Have fun!
