If you are looking to buy some furniture, you may find that furniture made out of Cherry wood is more expensive than other woods. Cherry wood is considered to be a prime wood for furniture.
Cherrywood is a wood found to be harvested in America and Europe. There are many reasons why Cherrywood is expensive when used on furniture pieces, but the price will also depend upon what kind of wood is used. There are two types of Cherrywood: the black cherry and the sweet cherry. Even though the woods have similarities, they also have some differences. Many fine pieces of furniture are produced from American black cherry wood.
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What Is Cherry Wood?
The Cherry tree is one of the most loved trees and hardwoods in the United States. The Cherry tree grows mainly on the East Coast of the United States, though some can also be found in the Midwest and Mexico.
The best Cherry wood trees in the United States are in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York State. America has the best cherry wood trees in the world.
Cherry wood is ideal and matures less than other American hardwoods. But despite this, Cherry wood is more expensive than other hardwoods.
Why Is Cherry Wood Furniture Expensive?
There are many reasons why Cherry wood furniture is usually more expensive than many other types of furniture. Here are some of the reasons:
- High-Quality Cherry Wood Is Harvested In The United States – High-quality cherry wood is harvested in the United States and grown in US forests. It is the 4th most harvested lumber in the United States after Oak, Poplar, and Ash.
- Cherry Wood Is A Supreme Hardwood – Cherry wood is a supreme hardwood.
- Black Cherry Wood Is Sought After – Black cherry wood is a wood that is highly sought after. Some of the best wood comes from the Allegheny Plateau area of the United States.
- Cherry Wood Has A Smooth Close Grain – Cherry wood has a smooth close grain pattern that makes it beautiful when made into furniture products.
- Imported Wood For Asian Manufacturers – Asian manufacturers who make Cherry Wood furniture need to import US Cherry wood, making it more expensive than any local Asian wood they can purchase.
It will be expensive if the furniture you want to buy is made from natural American cherry wood. Many kinds of faux or other Cherry wood species are not natural American Black Cherry wood.
Black Cherry Wood Vs. Sweet Cherry Wood
Two types of Cherry wood are listed for the US market – Black Cherry and Sweet Cherry. Even though Black Cherry and Sweet Cherry are Cherry woods, they should not be confused with each other as they are different types of Cherry wood.
Black Cherry Wood Explained
Black Cherry wood is the type of cherry wood that many Americans think about when they are looking at high-quality Cherry wood furniture. The black cherry is a wood that is native to America and is an American hardwood.
Here are some ways you can recognize the Black Cherry Hardwood:
- When freshly cut from the tree, the Black Cherry heartwood is a light pinkish brown. The color will darken to a medium reddish brown over time and when exposed to light.
- Often the Black Cherry boards will also contain some sapwood which is a pale yellowish color.
- The Black Cherry grain is usually straight except for some curly grain patterns.
- The Black Cherry wood has excellent rot resistance properties.
- Black Cherry is known to be one of the best all-around woods for its workability because it is a staple wood that will machine well. The biggest challenge is in the staining, so in staining the wood, the manufacturers need to understand the wood.
- The wood is not endangered or listed on the CITES list of endangered woods.
- Wood is commonly used for fine furniture, cabinetry, flooring, house interior millwork, and other small objects.
Here are some technical aspects of Black Cherry wood:
- Common Name is Black Cherry or American Cherry.
- Scientific name is Prunus serotina
- It is found in the Eastern United States.
- Trees will grow from 500 to 100 feet tall (15 to 30 meters)
- The average truck size of the wood is 3 to 5 feet in diameter or 1 to 1.5 meters.
- The average weight of the wood when dried is 35 pounds per square foot.
- Janka Hardness is 950 pounds or 4,230 N.
Listen To Our Podcast Understanding What You Are Buying – Cherry Wood As An Example below or by clicking here.
Sweet Cherry Wood Explained
Sweet Cherry wood is usually available from Europe or Cherry Orchards. The wood is not the same as the Black Cherry wood.
Here are some ways you can tell if the wood is Sweet Cherry Wood:
- Sweet cherry wood is a lightish pink, brown color when freshly cut. It will begin to darken into a deeper golden brown upon exposure to light.
- The Sweet cherry grain is usually fine to medium texture with close grains. The sweet cherry grain is generally straight or could’ve slight waves or curves.
- Sweet cherry wood is easy to work with for machine and hand tools. The main difficulty arises when the wood is stained because it can sometimes give a blotchy result if the manufacturer does not know how to stain it.
- The wood is not on the endangered species list.
- Sweet cherry wood is usually used for veneer, furniture, cabinetry, musical instruments, carvings, and small objects.
Sweet cherry wood is the Old World counterpart to black cherry, found in North America. Sweet cherry exhibits a bit more color contrast than black cherry. Sweet cherry trees tend to be smaller than American Black Cherry trees, meaning Black cherry is the preferred higher-quality wood for furniture production.
Here are some technical aspects of Sweet Cherry Wood:
- The common names are Sweet Cherry, Wild Cherry, and European Cherry.
- The scientific name is Prunus avium.
- The Sweet cherry trees are found mainly in Europe and Asia.
- The trees will grow 32 to 62 feet tall or 10 to 20 meters tall.
- The trunk diameter is 1 to 2 feet or 0.3 to 0.6 meters.
- The average weight when dried is 39 pounds per square foot.
- Janka Hardness is 1,150 pounds or 5,120 N.
Both black, cherry, and sweet cherry are considered premier woods for producing all kinds of furniture. But for many, the preferred word for fine furniture is the American black cherry wood.
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