Species playbook
Choose the wood before you choose the slab.
Botanical context, mechanical properties, working notes, drying behaviour, and live KORENA stock, grouped by species so you can plan a build before reserving a piece.
KORENA lists 19 verified hardwood slabs, each photographed and measured before listing, with confirmed species, dimensions, and provenance, shipped from EU partner yards.
Samanea saman
Saman
Metre wide single piece slabs that stay flat, because it moves less than half as much as oak. The one tropical species KORENA lists.
- Density
- 600 kg/m³
- Janka
- 4,010 N
Pinus sylvestris
Scots Pine
The most widely distributed pine on earth and the most forgiving wood in this catalogue to build with. Soft, knotty, and it ambers into something far better than it starts as.
- Density
- 550 kg/m³
- Janka
- 2,420 N
Quercus petraea
Sessile Oak
The other European oak. Sold beside Quercus robur without distinction, straighter grown, and slightly the better board for long clean lengths.
- Density
- 710 kg/m³
- Janka
- 4,990 N
Betula pendula
Silver Birch
Harder than oak and stiffer than anything else KORENA lists, hiding behind a plain pale face. The best turning wood here.
- Density
- 640 kg/m³
- Janka
- 5,360 N
Abies alba
Silver Fir
Spruce without the resin. The softest species in the KORENA catalogue, and the best softwood here for a painted finish.
- Density
- 415 kg/m³
- Janka
- 1,420 N
Tilia cordata
Small-leaved Lime
The carving wood of Europe since the Gothic period. Uniform to the point of having no character at all, which is exactly the point.
- Density
- 535 kg/m³
- Janka
- 3,100 N
Castanea sativa
Sweet Chestnut
A lighter, softer cousin of oak. Tannin-rich heartwood gives it real durability outdoors, but those same tannins react with iron, so fixings need to be stainless or brass.
- Density
- 590 kg/m³
- Janka
- 3,010 N
Pinus cembra
Swiss Stone Pine
Alpine Zirbe. Chosen for its scent and its dense scatter of small dark knots rather than for any number on a strength table.
- Density
- Not listed
- Janka
- Not listed
Acer pseudoplatanus
Sycamore Maple
Pale, lustrous European hardwood with a creamy near-white surface. Often quartersawn to bring out ray fleck, and prized in curly form for violin and cello backs.
- Density
- 615 kg/m³
- Janka
- 4,680 N
Quercus cerris
Turkey Oak
Harder than European oak and considerably cheaper, for one reason: it is difficult to dry. Buy it already stable and it is a bargain.
- Density
- 720 kg/m³
- Janka
- 5,340 N
Quercus alba
White Oak
American white oak (Quercus alba) is a closed-pore hardwood with straight grain, coarse texture, and one of the best steam-bending records of any commercial species.
- Density
- 750 kg/m³
- Janka
- 6,049 N
Sorbus torminalis
Wild Service Tree
Probably the hardest wood in this catalogue, and certainly the rarest. Known in France as alisier and treated there as a fine fruitwood.
- Density
- 770 kg/m³
- Janka
- 7,520 N