Hickory/Pecan

Handloggers’ Opinion
“What’s with the name?” you might ask. Hickory and pecan are related species and are combined by wood brokers. This floor has become virtually the workhorse of the flooring industry. It is available in wide plank and long lengths and is very hard and stable. Our customers have had good experiences staining this wood. It accepts a stain very uniformly and looks great in any brown to walnut tone. It does not respond well to the cherry colors because there is a good amount of green undertone in the untreated wood. Hickory/pecan is a versatile wood that can be made to suit almost any décor.
Appearance
Color: Pecan heartwood is reddish brown with dark brown stripes; sapwood is white or creamy white with pinkish tones. Hickory heartwood is tan or reddish; sapwood is white to cream, with fine brown lines.
Grain: Pecan is open, occasionally wavy or irregular.
Hickory is closed, with moderate definition; somewhat rough-textured.
Variations within species and grades: In both hickory and pecan, there are often pronounced differentiations in color between spring wood and summer wood. In pecan, sapwood is usually graded higher than darker heartwood. Pecan and hickory are traditionally mixed by flooring mills.
Properties
Hardness/Janka: 1820; 41% harder than Northern red oak. Pecan is slightly softer than true hickories.
Dimensional Stability: Pecan, average (change coefficient .00315; 15% more stable than red oak). Hickory, below average (change coefficient .00411; 11% less stable than red oak).
Durability: Combination of strength, hardness, toughness and stiffness found in no other commercial wood; exceedingly high in shock resistance.
Workability
Sawing/Machining: Hickory species’ density makes it difficult to season, machine and work with hand tools.
Sanding: Difficult to sand because of density, and because light color makes sander marks show more than on darker woods.
Nailing: Good holding ability; prone to splitting.
Finishing: No known problems.

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"Wood Species Used in Wood Flooring, publication A200, ©1994" provided with permission and courtesy of the National Wood Flooring Association.

**Hickory/Pecan is a wood that is susceptible to the powder post beetle. A very small percentage of Hickory/Pecan floors have had powder post beetles present in a limited number of boards. This material has been kiln dried which is a preventive measure against this occurrence; however, this flooring is not warranted against powder post beetles. In the unlikely event that powder-post beetles emerge, the National Wood Flooring Association offers guidelines for addressing the issue.