Kashmiri walnut wood is famous worldwide for its fine grain patterns, rich color, and durability. This versatile wood has become the number one choice for domestic and restaurant furniture and flooring for its beauty, workability, and impressive shock resistance.
Walnut wood is generally more expensive than any other type of lumber and in this blog, we are going to explore the possible reasons behind it. There are several factors such as scarcity, longevity, craftsmanship, and skills involved in making walnut products that make this wood very valuable.
Following are a few points that make walnut wood so expensive and valuable than its counterparts
- Quality and Scarcity of the Kashmiri Walnut Wood
- Limited Supply and High Demand
- Craftsmanship and Skills Involved in Making Products
- Longevity and Durability
- Hardness of the Kashmiri Walnut Wood
- Price of Walnut Wood
- Kashmiri Walnut Wood Uses
Quality and Scarcity of the Kashmiri Walnut Wood
The main reason why this particular wood is so adored is its quality. Its beauty, strength, rich dark brown hue, and amazing grain patterns impart every item made from this material an elegant and classy appeal.
Walnut wood is among the scarcest woods as well. The walnut tree grows only 12 inches per year which leads to a much longer maturity period. According to some experts, it can take up to 60 years for a walnut tree to mature.
In comparison, other hardwoods like maple or oak can mature within a decade which makes them a cheaper alternative.
Limited Supply and High Demand
To harvest lumber from fully grown Kashmiri walnut trees you have to wait for about 30 to 60 years. This limits the supply of this wood with a continuous increase in demand thus leading to a much higher cost.
The high demand for this wood is due to many factors like color variations depending on the part of the tree the wood is taken from, durability even in harsh outdoor conditions, aesthetics, resistance to decay, and excellent finishes.
Craftsmanship and Skills Involved in Making Products
Creating products from Kashmiri walnut wood is a very lengthy and intricate endeavor. The skilled craftsman put their heart and soul into selecting the right wood and then working it to perfection.
This is why when you buy a product made from walnut wood you find the price to be a little higher. The time, effort, and hard work that goes into the eloquent crafting of walnut wood with intricate patterns leads to greater costs.
Let’s take an example of a simple walnut product i.e., a dining table. These tables are made using traditional joinery approaches that employ dovetail or mortise-and-tenon joints which require high precision and skill to be manipulated properly.
Thus, the need for meticulous craftsmanship and a time-consuming construction process makes the walnut products so expensive.
Longevity and Durability
Walnut wood and the products made from it are guaranteed to last longer. With proper care, Kashmiri walnut wood products can last for about 20 to 25 years. If kept indoors and maintained properly, walnut products like tables, bar tops, and restaurant tops can even stay with you for a lifetime.
Thus, buying this piece of furniture one time will eliminate the need to replace it after every 5 to 10 years. The high resistance to wear tear and decay gives walnut wood a longer life and makes it among the most expensive wood types.
Hardness of the Kashmiri Walnut Wood
Kashmiri walnut wood stands out for its delicate balance of hardness and workability. The walnut wood has a Janka rating of about 1010 lbf. This rating measures the force needed to embed 0.444-inch steel into a material until it reaches a depth of 0.222 inches.
This particular value of hardness of this wood indicates there is an ease of working and machining walnut wood without causing it to break down like other hardwoods.
This striking balance between versatility and durability has made it possible to use walnut wood in a wide range of furniture items.
Price of Walnut Wood
The cost of walnut wood falls in the range of $8 and $12 per board foot. A single board foot measures a lumber piece that is 1” thick, 12” wide, and 12” long.
A bundle of walnut wood measuring 98 inches long, and 48 inches tall and wide is about 1568 board feet. To buy this board piece at $8 and $12 per board foot you will have to pay about $12,544 and $18,816 respectively.
In order to craft a single square foot of a 2-inch table you need about 4-5 board feet which clearly shows why these products end up costing a lot.
Kashmiri Walnut Wood Uses
Following are the main uses of unique carved walnut wood products that make it a highly desirable and expensive choice
- Walnut hardwood is used chiefly in furniture manufacturing to make luxurious tables, elegant chairs, stylish bed frames, and sleek cabinets.
- It is also used in creating specialty items and decorative accents. Walnut wood can be used to prepare custom cutting boards, intricate inlays, ornate carvings, turned bowls, and much more.
- This wood is also a good choice for hardwood flooring and architectural panels.
- Another key use of this wood is in moldings and millwork. It is employed in grand wall paneling, crown moldings, and baseboards to create intricate interior designs and an inviting indoor atmosphere.
Conclusion
Kashmiri walnut wood is a very exotic and elegant type of lumber that people find the most suitable and exquisite choice for their houses, offices, and restaurants. The furniture and other everyday objects made from this wood not only last longer but the work done on them improves the indoor ambiance significantly.
The main reason behind the very high price of this wood is that its demand far outweighs its supply. Some other factors that also contribute to its high cost are its versatility, slow growth, natural beauty, and acceptable bending features.
Visit Kashmers.com today to buy a wide range of home and living products made from walnut wood to spice up your interiors.