Wenge v walnut (for stairs and doors)

[ey143]

Saw a joinery firm yesterday who suggested I might be better off with Wenge as my wood type instead of American Walnut for my stairs and doors.

Said that walnut will fade in the sunlight and is not a hardwood and though better than pine, can scratch easily (as it did when I gave him my sample).

I know wenge is marginally more expensive. What do others recommend, does wenge look much nicer and retains its colour better?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Either you have the wrong end if the stick or they are BS merchants

Walnut, American black (juglans nigra) most definitely is a hardwood. It is lower density than wenge, so may be easier to scratch, but it is durable enough for Next to have it in their shops. Comes from North America, mainly sustainably plantation grown

Wenge is millettia laurentii a legume tree native to West Africa (mainly Congo, Gabon and Equitorial Guinea). The species is listed as endangered in the IUCN Red List, due to destruction of its habitat. Terrible stuff to work with - the splinters are septic and the dust is toxic

All dark hardwoods are prone to fading in sunlight over time, but hardwoods can always be restained and refinished.

Personally I wouldn't have wenge on environmental grounds alone.

 

[ey143]

Interesting thanks.

The American walnut doors you get off the shelf from LPD, Todd doors etc, they will all fade but they have a lacquer coating which prevents it or make a very difficult to re varnish or stain again.

Regarding the comment on hardwood, perhaps it was a blase coming for me but essentially he said that it scratches easily and dents easily despite being a hardwood or semi hardwood.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

If you really want dent proof go for solid teak or iroko and stain them. The way hardwood doors were traditionally mechnically protected (at least in Victorian and Edwardian times) was to fit finger plates above the handles and sometimes brass kick plates at the dooor bottoms. How much damage will doors sustain, though? Especially if you treat them with care.

 

[^woody^]

Every single type of wood will fade, but the speed depends on exposure to sunlight and you could be talking about years to notice anything. But you are unlikely to leave this untreated and therefore unprotected from fading. Joi

Walnut is a hard hardwood and excellent for furniture or building components. Any hardwood will scratch and get dings.

The only real issue it's whether you prefer the darker shade of walnut.

 

[ey143]

Every single type of wood will fade, but the speed depends on exposure to sunlight and you could be talking about years to notice anything. But you are unlikely to leave this untreated and therefore unprotected from fading. Joi

Walnut is a hard hardwood and excellent for furniture or building components. Any hardwood will scratch and get dings.

The only real issue it's whether you prefer the darker shade of walnut.

Yes, that's the issue, I do prefer the darker shade of American black walnut and concerned it will fade. Here is an example door we like.
https://www.todd-doors.co.uk/iseo-b4500-walnut-door

 

[^woody^]

I would forget about fading and that firm's comments