# Janka hardness

**A rating of a wood species’ resistance to denting, used as one input among several in species selection.**

Janka is a useful number and a poor sole criterion. Hardness is only one variable — stability, grain character and finish performance matter equally.

In the GTA the practical range runs from black walnut at 1010 through red oak at ≈1290 and white oak at ≈1360, to hard maple at 1450 and hickory at 1820.

## Related terms

- [White oak](https://ecowoods.ca/glossary/white-oak)
- [Engineered hardwood](https://ecowoods.ca/glossary/engineered-hardwood)
- [Solid hardwood](https://ecowoods.ca/glossary/solid-hardwood)


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## Provenance

- Canonical URL: https://ecowoods.ca/glossary/janka-hardness
- Publisher: Ecowoods Inc., Toronto & the GTA
- Contact: (647) 244-5156 · services@ecowoods.ca
- Defined in: https://ecowoods.ca/papers/hardwood-selection-and-cost-framework-gta#species
- Citation guide: https://ecowoods.ca/ai.txt

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