How to Tell the Type of Wood by the Grain


Pinpointing exactly what kind of wood you’re working with can be difficult. However, its grain pattern can still give you a good hint if you learn how to read it. Although telling the wood species just by having a single look still requires ample knowledge and experience. . That is why in this article we have compiled information on how to tell the type of wood by the grain. 

The way to tell the type of wood by the grain is to check how big the pores are and if the grain is flowing straight, is curled, or is wild. Woods with straight grain and open pores are often hardwoods and have characteristics similar to oak, ash, and hickory. While woods with closed pores and curled grain patterns are usually from the fruitwoods – which include woods like cherry, walnut, and pecan. Finally, we have woods with a wild grain pattern like Bubinga, Ziricote, and Bocote.

With that said, some woods have varying differences even though they belong to deciduous or evergreen trees. Wood from evergreen trees is softwood while woods belonging to deciduous trees are hardwood. 

Differences in the Grain of Different Woods

The few things you can do when you want to find out what kind of wood it is by the look of it is to look at the end grain. The end grain of the wood gives you an idea about its pores, whether the wood is ring-porous or diffuse-porous. Now ring-porous woods are almost always going to be hardwoods, and most ring-porous woods are either from the oak, ash, or hickory family.

When it comes to diffuse-porous, these will be either softwoods or fruitwoods like Cherry, Walnut, or Pecan. The way you can tell is that the pores are very narrow, they are so narrow that you cannot see the pores with the naked eye and they are diffused throughout the grain pattern. Softwoods are usually non-porous, which means they should not have similar pores as the hardwoods. 

You cannot judge a wood by its color because as it ages the color deepens and the wood surface becomes dark. But when you saw it off and sand it, you will find the color to be much lighter.

Another thing that can identify a hardwood from softwood is that softwoods grow much faster. Thus they have very few annual growth rings on them, meanwhile, hardwood has a lot of annual growth rings. By checking the end grain of the wood you can tell if it’s hardwood or softwood with ease.

Lastly, we have the grain pattern, most hardwoods like oak, which are ring-porous are mostly straight to wavy grain patterned woods. While fruit woods like cherry and walnut are mostly curled with some variation that might be straight-grained.

Exotic woods like Bubinga on the other hand are completely different when it comes to their grain pattern. It is a wild grain pattern with straight, curly, wavy, and swirly all together. So it is usually hard to miss, also such woods are mostly diffuse-porous.

Straight Grain Ring Porous Woods

Oakwood has a very distinct look, the pores on the wood are pretty big and you can visually tell the difference in it. When it comes to looks, woods have a lot of discrepancies when it comes to grain patterns. As some woods which usually have straight grain might have lumber that has a wavy pattern. 

But the pores that make a wood open or closed grain do not have such visual differences. If the grain pattern of the oak is slightly wavy, just check if the wood is open grain or closed to know its true identity. If you don’t know how to identify open grain or closed grain wood, check out our brief guide on open grain Wood vs closed grain wood.

Or another way to check is to see whether only that piece is different or the whole stack has a different grain pattern. Ashwood looks similar to oak when it comes to grain pattern and looks. The difference is that while white oak has a more pale colour while ash has a deeper yellow colour to it. Hickory is also similar to these woods as it is ring-porous with big open pores but has a milder colour than oak.

Curly Grain with Diffuse Porous Wood

Then we have diffuse-porous woods like cherry that have curled grain patterns. Usually, these have closed-grain with a curled pattern, so you can tell that they belong to fruitwoods. While most softwoods are also non-porous or closed-grain woods, they have little to no grain pattern. Hardwoods have a much more visually attractive grain pattern, which is highlighted without the need of applying a finish.

Along with Cherry we also have Walnut which has a deep dark colour, and it becomes deeper as time goes by. Pecan is also a similar fruitwood having the same properties and visual characteristics as Cherry and Walnut do.

If the visual cues of wood do not help you identify at first, try to look at the end grain. It will give you a pretty good idea of the type of wood you are working with. As we said, softwoods are non-porous and you can tell that by taking a look at the end grain. If the end grain has big pores in a ring, then it will be hardwood.

Exotic Wild Grain Patterned Diffuse Porous Wood

Lastly, we have some exotic woods with a wild grain pattern that have circles in them along with waves and curls. These exotic woods are usually hard to come by and are expensive. Bubinga is a great example of such wood that has a wild grain pattern. Bubinga or African Rosewood is an exotic wood that people use for making either instruments or some decorations.

Thanks to its visually unique look it is a very sought-after wood. Bubinga, Ziricote, and Bocote are all diffuse-porous, so looking at their end-grain and unique swirly grain pattern gives you an idea of what you are looking at.

If the visual cues of wood do not help you identify at first, try to look at the end grain. It will give you a pretty good idea of the type of wood you are working with. As we said, softwoods are non-porous and you can tell that by taking a look at the end grain. If the end grain has big pores in a ring, then it will be hardwood.

Identifying Hardwood vs. Softwood

Even in hardwoods, we have porous and non-porous wood. Meanwhile, softwoods are almost always non-porous. Not to mention softwoods can be harder on the Janka scale than some hardwoods so the hardness of wood does not give you an idea of what type it is. This is why some people have to rely on visual cues to understand what wood they are dealing with. 

Visually, woods have a lot of discrepancies when it comes to grain patterns, as some woods which usually have straight grain might have lumber that has a wavy pattern. But the pores that make a wood open or closed grain do not have such visual differences. 

If the grain pattern of the oak is slightly wavy, just check if the wood is open grain or closed to know its true identity. Another way to check is to see whether only that piece is different or the whole stack has a different grain pattern.

Final Thoughts

If you keep a few visual cues in mind, you can tell which wood you are working with. But with time, as you work with wood, the smell, and their workability will also give you hints as to which wood is it that you have in front of you. In the end, experiences will give you the upper hand, but with the above-mentioned information, you will have more edge on how to tell wood by the grain.

Martin Swizz

Hi! This is Martin, I like to research, experiment, and learn new things related to wood carving and other kinds of woodworking.

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