Material Introduction - Walnut Wood

Black walnut belongs to the Juglandaceae family and is a precious native wood of the United States, primarily grown in the broadleaf hardwood forests of the North Temperate Zone. Its natural color is deep, often brown or chocolate, with beautiful and varied grain patterns that exude artistic charm. The texture is as fine as silk, giving it a highly sophisticated appearance. What's even more remarkable is that black walnut is exceptionally stable, ranking among the least prone to cracking or warping among common hardwoods. Due to its outstanding properties, it is highly favored by designers and is commonly used in luxury pianos, yacht and high-end car interiors, and avant-garde artistic spaces.

Artistic and Varied Grain Patterns Influenced by the significant day-night temperature differences and cold winters of the Appalachian Mountains, black walnut features irregular grain patterns and unique black-gray streaks. It's rare for one type of wood to exhibit multiple grain patterns, but black walnut boasts six: wavy, mountain, straight-line, burl, bird's-eye, and waterdrop.

The high cost of black walnut can be attributed to the following reasons:

Reason 1: Slow Growth The growth cycle of black walnut is long, taking 50-100 years to mature, whereas most trees can be harvested profitably in about 15 years.

Reason 2: Scarcity Due to early overexploitation, American black walnut now accounts for only 1% of all broadleaf forests. To ensure sustainability, it has been classified as a restricted harvest species, further increasing its rarity.

Reason 3: Low Yield Not only is black walnut more expensive than other woods, but its production costs are also high. It has significant waste due to sapwood and knots, with only the heartwood being suitable for furniture, resulting in a yield rate of less than 30%.