Hickory – The Under-Appreciated Hardwood

I often think that Hickory plays second fiddle to domestic White Oak.  Due to the strong color variation, Hickory is overlooked and the misconception that Hickory is more rustic in nature.  But Why?  

Hickory is the hardest of Northern domestic hardwoods, it is rated 1,820 on the Janka Hardness Scale while White Oak is rated at 1,360.  Furthermore, there is great value in Hickory.  During the Pandemic coupled with housing trends, White Oak took a first-class seat over all other species for hardwood flooring.  As a result, White Oak raw material increased nearly 100% in the past 24 months.  During White Oak’s sky rocketing pricing, Hickory remained immune to the volatility in the market.  

White Oak does have consistent heartwood tones and this is certainly the preferred look given the serge of more contemporary designs.  However, V3 can be manufactured in Hickory with the same color consistency as White Oak, with the added benefits of a lower price point and the hardness factor.   So how do we do this?  We simply produce the flooring while defecting the strong sapwood tones and defecting the off-color heartwood shades.  Since every order of V3 is made to specification, this special grading rule fits right into our portfolio of products that we offer in V3. 

When V3 is produced in an All-Heartwood Hickory, we can achieve the same appearance with color consistency as in White Oak.  We can manufacture the flooring with minimal sapwood or no sapwood for a more streamlined appearance.  

The artistry of grading is much like painting a portrait using the same color wheel of hues and shades.  Our team is specially trained to decipher the inherit characters found in all Northern domestic hardwoods.  They have the capacity to visually articulate Hickory and all its features, functions and benefits.   

If you are in the market for new flooring, are in the process of building a new home or office space, I challenge you to put Hickory in your list of choices to consider.