Is Hickory a Hardwood or a Softwood? (& Is It Strong?)

Is Hickory a Hardwood or a Softwood? (& Is It Strong?)

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If you are looking for a specific type of wood to use around your house, then hickory is always a good option to consider. This wood is hard, dense, and very resilient to a variety of types of damage.

That said, today we are here to answer some important questions. We want to figure out if hickory is a hardwood or a softwood, how strong it is, and more. There are a variety of factors that we will be looking at today to determine whether or not this material is strong.

Is Hickory a Hardwood or Softwood?

The hickory tree is an angiosperm and flowering tree, which means that it loses its leaves during the winter. It is a deciduous tree, which means that it is also a type of hardwood. In fact, hickory is one of the hardest, densest, and most durable types of hardwood that can be found in North America.

It’s generally considered to be one of the most durable domestic North American hardwoods out there. Let’s take a closer look at all of the different types of hickory to see just how they stack up against other types of wood.

Hickory Wood Strength: All You Need to Know

We are going to be evaluating hickory wood based on five main factors that determine the overall strength of any wood species. These factors include compressive strength, bending strength, stiffness, hardness, and density. We are also going to be taking a look at all six major types of hickory tree, including shagbark hickory, shellbark hickory, water hickory, mockernut hickory, nutmeg hickory, and pignut hickory.

Compressive Strength

Let’s take a look at the compressive strength of the various types of hickory:

  • Shagbark Hickory – 9,210 lbf per square inch (63.5 MPa)
  • Shellbark Hickory – 8,000 lbf per square inch (55.2 MPa)
  • Water Hickory – 8,600 lbf per square inch (59.3 MPa)
  • Mockernut Hickory – 8,940 lbf per square inch (61.7 MPa)
  • Nutmeg Hickory – 6,910 lbf per square inch (47.7 MPa)
  • Pignut Hickory – 9,190 lbf per square inch (63.4 MPa)

The type of hickory with the highest compressive strength is shagbark hickory, followed by pignut. When compared to other types of wood, it has a higher compressive strength than virtually all types of softwood, including hemlock, pine, Douglas fir, and spruce.

It also has a higher compressive strength than most types of domestic hardwood that can be found in North America. This includes maple, oak, cedar, and mahogany. There are types of wood that are harder than hickory, but they really aren’t native to this continent.

The compressive strength of wood is also known as the crushing strength, and this refers to how much weight a piece of wood can take parallel to the grain. For a visual reference, picture a vertical table leg. Now, start piling stuff on top of that table leg. How much weight can it take before it snaps in half?

Bending Strength

Let’s take a look at the bending strength for the various types of hickory:

  • Shagbark Hickory – 20,200 lbf per square inch (139.3 MPa)
  • Shellbark Hickory – 18,100 lbf per square inch (124.8 MPa)
  • Water Hickory – 17,800 lbf per square inch (122.8 MPa)
  • Mockernut Hickory – 19,200 lbf per square inch (132.4 MPa)
  • Nutmeg Hickory – 16,600 lbf per square inch (114.5 MPa)
  • Pignut Hickory – 20,100 lbf per square inch (138.6 MPa)

As you can see, shagbark has the highest bending strength, closely followed by pignut hickory. In terms of other types of trees found in North America, it features a higher bending strength than pine, spruce, hemlock, Douglas fir, and all other types of softwood. It also has a higher bending strength than most North American domestic hardwoods, including cedar, oak, maple, and mahogany.

In terms of the bending strength, this may also be called the modulus of rupture. This refers to how much weight a piece of wood can handle perpendicular to its grain, unlike compressive strength, which is about how much weight a piece of wood could take parallel to the grain. For example, picture a piece of wood hanging horizontally off of the wall. How much weight could you hang on the end of that piece of wood before it snaps?

Stiffness

Let’s take a look at the stiffness of the various types of hickory:

  • Shagbark Hickory – 2,160,000 lbf per square inch (14.9 GPa)
  • Shellbark Hickory – 1,890,000 lbf per square inch (13.03 GPa)
  • Water Hickory – 2,020,000 lbf per square inch (13.93 GPa)
  • Mockernut Hickory – 2,220,000 lbf per square inch (15.31 GPa)
  • Nutmeg Hickory – 1,700,000 lbf per square inch (11.72 GPa)
  • Pignut Hickory – 2,260,000 lbf per square inch (15.59 GPa)

As you can see, pignut hickory is the stiffest of all types of hickory, followed by mockernut, and then shagbark. This wood is also much stiffer than any North American type of softwood, and it’s also stiffer than virtually all types of domestic hardwoods that can be found in North America.

The stiffness of wood may also be referred to as the modulus of elasticity. This refers to how much weight a piece of wood can hold before it begins to sag or bend in the middle. For instance, simply imagine a board being supported on either side by bricks. How much would you have to weigh to make that board bend if you stood on the middle of it?

Hardness

Let’s take a look at the hardness of the various types of hickory:

  • Shagbark Hickory – 1,880 lbf
  • Shellbark Hickory – 1,810 lbf
  • Water Hickory – 1,560 lbf
  • Mockernut Hickory – 1,970 lbf
  • Nutmeg Hickory – 1,290 lbf
  • Pignut Hickory – 2,140 lbf

As you can see, pignut hickory is by far the hardest type, followed by mockernut, and then shagbark hickory. In terms of other types of wood found in North America, this is much harder than all types of softwood, including hemlock, pine, Douglas fir, and spruce. Again, it’s also harder than most domestic North American hardwoods, including oak, maple, mahogany, and cedar.

The hardness of wood simply refers to how hard the surface of it is, specifically in terms of its resilience towards physical damage such as denting and scratching. This is usually measured on the Janka hardness scale.

Density

Let’s take a look at the density of the various types of hickory:

  • Shagbark Hickory – 50 lbs per cubic foot (800 kg per cubic meter)
  • Shellbark Hickory – 48 lbs per cubic foot (770 kg per cubic meter)
  • Water Hickory – 43 lbs per cubic foot (690 kg per cubic meter)
  • Mockernut Hickory – 51 lbs per cubic foot (815 kg per cubic meter)
  • Nutmeg Hickory – 42 lbs per cubic foot (675 kg per cubic meter)
  • Pignut Hickory – 52 lbs per cubic foot (835 kg per cubic meter)

The densest type of hickory is pignut, followed by mockernut and shagbark. In terms of a comparison to other North American woods, it is much denser than virtually all types of softwood and domestic hardwoods.

The density of wood refers to how heavy it is based on a specific size or area, which is usually measured in pounds per cubic foot or kilograms per cubic meter. The density of wood is important to know because it does determine its durability, as well as how easy it is to work with.

Is Hickory Strong?

When it comes down to it, hickory is one of the strongest types of wood that you can find in North America, and this goes for both softwoods and hardwoods. This is also the case for all five of those comparison points that we took a look at above. It’s just one of the hardest, most durable, stiffest, and most resilient types of wood you can find in North America.

Summary

As you can see, if you need something that is structurally sound, resilient to damage, and can handle a whole lot of weight before it begins to bend or sag, all types of hickory are ideal. Even the weakest type of hickory is still stronger than most other types of wood that can be found in North America.