Wenge vs Walnut Wood – What’s the difference?

Woods have been a major part of furniture construction. Devoted woodworkers from all over the world have produced such fine and classic wood furniture and objects that one cannot oversee their beauty.

There are different kinds of wood ranging from softwood to hardwood and light-colored to dark. Today we will specifically talk about the two popular kinds of wood, wenge and walnut wood.

Wenge and walnut woods are vastly known for their excellent workability and stability. While both are widely preferred woods and have been a source of many high-end structures, let us discuss some distinctions in them to know how different woods provide different services.

Wenge vs Walnut Wood – Difference

Wenge Wood

Wenge wood, also known as Millettia Laurentii, is an attractive high-performing wood originally found in Central and West Africa.

It is an aesthetically pleasing wood with straight grain patterns along with dark tan lines. Wenge wood is very popular for its appearance that has a rich and deep dark chocolate brown color interwoven with black lines. Along with the grain pattern and tan lines, it is a wood worth looking at. It gets even darker a few months after cutting it. Its unique color today is a standardized color known as “wenge”.

When we talk about durability, wenge holds a supreme position. It is an extremely durable wood, and its natural oil content adds to its advantages. Along with durability, it is a tough wood with a considerable amount of strength. Even without any treatment, wenge wood is known all over the world for its strength and durability.

It is also highly resistant to termite attacks which makes it suitable for various construction. Due to such features, wenge wood is widely used for flooring, paneling, furniture, and not to mention, classic musical instruments.

However, it is an endangered wood. The wood-producing tree is going extinct because of its rising demand. Thus, affecting its cost adversely.

Walnut Wood

Walnut wood is another popularly used wood in the furniture industry. It is hardwood with a dense and tight grain pattern. It can sometimes have some unique patterns on the surface, like curls and swirls that provide a clear and fine finish when polished.

It is comparatively light-colored wood to wenge. Its color hues range from creamy, light-brown to dark chocolate brown with a hint of yellow. Natural walnut woods are known to have a lustrous patina. Unlike wenge wood, it grows lighter in color as it starts aging with time. And with oil polishes, its features can get more defined and distinct.

Walnut woods are also known for their hardness and durability that makes them suitable for furniture making. They are stable and not too heavy to handle, which makes them easy to work with. It has comparatively moderate bending qualities and is suitable for carving and turning. It is also shock-resistant, but not as much as wenge.

It is widely used for furniture making, cabinets, wood veneers, etc. It is noticeable that walnut is very close to wenge wood in characteristics. However, it is less costly and more available than wenge. This is why walnut wood is seen more often than wenge.

Thus, we can see both kinds of wood are extremely beneficial and provide outstanding work. However, wenge wood is less to be seen nowadays.