Hickory vs pecan
Pecan is a hickory: the Handbook splits the hickories into the true hickories and the pecan hickories. Shagbark and pecan are within a few percent on hardness; shagbark is heavier and moves more.
- Shagbark hickory is about 3% harder than pecan hickory.
- Shagbark hickory is about 9% heavier than pecan hickory.
- Shagbark hickory has about 30% more movement across a flatsawn board than pecan hickory.
Each column is the species its page leads with: shagbark hickory for hickory, pecan hickory for pecan.
Side by side
| Property | Hickory | Pecan |
|---|---|---|
| Janka hardness, 12% MC | 1,880 lbf | 1,820 lbf |
| Weight, 12% MC | 50.3 lb/ft³ (806 kg/m³) | 46.1 lb/ft³ (739 kg/m³) |
| Specific gravity, 12% MC | 0.72 | 0.66 |
| Tangential shrinkage | 10.5% | 8.9% |
| Radial shrinkage | 7.0% | 4.9% |
| 12 in flatsawn board, 6% → 12% MC | 0.296 in | 0.227 in |
| 12 in quartersawn board, 6% → 12% MC | 0.186 in | 0.122 in |
| Bending strength (MOR), 12% MC | 20,200 psi | 13,700 psi |
| Stiffness (MOE), 12% MC | 2.16 million psi | 1.73 million psi |
| Crushing strength, 12% MC | 9,210 psi | 7,850 psi |
One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, the authority for species properties it measured
Wood Handbook Tables 5-3b, 4-3 and 13-5; weight and movement worked with its Eqs. 4-14 and 13-3. A dash means the Handbook prints no value.
What sets them apart
- Two groups
- The true hickories are shagbark, pignut, shellbark and mockernut; the pecan hickories are bitternut, pecan, water and nutmeg hickory. (Wood Handbook, p. 2-7)
- Character
- The true hickories are exceptionally tough, heavy, hard and strong, and shrink considerably in drying. The pecan hickories are heavy and sometimes have very high shrinkage. (Wood Handbook, p. 2-7)
- Uses
- True hickory goes into tool handles that take shock, ladder rungs, athletic goods and dowels, and its chips into smoking meat. Heavy pecan hickory goes into tool handles and flooring, and better logs into veneer. (Wood Handbook, p. 2-7)
- Grouped movement
- Table 13-5 gives one movement row for the true hickories as a group, so the hickory movement figures are the group’s. (Wood Handbook, p. 13-17)
For any other pair, open each species page from the wood hub; every page uses the same layout and the same sources.