Carving woods
24 carving woods. Woods for whittling, relief, spoon and figure carving, with hardness, grain character and what each is used for. Click a name for its full record.
24 of 24 carving woods
| Wood | Janka hardness (lbf) | Grain | Used for | Ease of carving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basswood | 410 | fine, even, almost no figure | whittling, relief, chip, figures | easiest |
| Butternut | 490 | straight, coarse, visible growth rings | relief, figures, spoons | easy |
| Aspen | 350 | fine, even, pale | whittling, figures | easy |
| Eastern White Pine | 380 | straight, soft, resinous late wood | whittling, figures, signs | easy |
| Sugar Pine | 380 | straight, even, wide clear boards | relief, patterns, signs | easy |
| Yellow Poplar | 540 | straight, fine, green-tinted | relief, signs, practice | easy |
| Eastern Cottonwood | 430 | fine, soft, interlocked bark | bark carving, figures | easy |
| Water Tupelo | 880 | fine, interlocked, no grain direction to speak of | birds, decoys, power carving | moderate |
| Jelutong | 390 | fine, even, pale, occasional latex pockets | patterns, relief, figures | easiest |
| European Lime (linden) | 700 | fine, even, pale | relief, letter carving, figures | easy |
| Red Alder | 590 | fine, even, reddish | spoons, bowls, figures | easy |
| Yellow Birch | 1,260 | fine, even, pale | spoons, bowls, kuksa | moderate |
| Black Cherry | 950 | fine, straight, warm colour | spoons, bowls, relief, letter carving | moderate |
| Black Walnut | 1,010 | straight to wavy, open pores | relief, figures, spoons | moderate |
| Honduran Mahogany | 900 | straight to interlocked, open pores | relief, ornament, furniture carving | moderate |
| White Oak | 1,350 | coarse, straight, prominent rays | architectural carving, letter carving | hard |
| Hard Maple | 1,450 | fine, even, dense | spoons, bowls, netsuke-style detail | hard |
| American Holly | 1,020 | very fine, ivory white | detail carving, inlay, chess pieces | moderate |
| Boxwood | 2,840 | extremely fine, dense, pale yellow | netsuke, miniatures, tool handles | hard |
| Apple | 1,730 | fine, dense, pinkish | spoons, small bowls, handles | hard |
| Sycamore | 770 | interlocked, ray fleck | spoons, bowls, kitchen ware | moderate |
| Willow | 570 | fine, light, slightly fuzzy | whittling, figures, cricket bats | easy |
| Western Red Cedar | 350 | straight, soft, aromatic | totems, masks, paddles, relief | easy |
| Pear | 1,660 | extremely fine, even, pinkish | letter carving, printing blocks, figures | hard |
Janka hardness: Side hardness as published by The Wood Database.Updated 2 Oct 2026