Home / Species / Lignum Vitae
Other

Lignum Vitae

Guaiacum officinale

Janka Hardness
1100
lbf
Janka (metric)
4893
N
Hardness Class
Hard
Density
1.05
g/cm³
Green MC
35
%
Fiber Saturation
23
%
Radial Shrink
4
%
Tangential Shrink
6.5
%
T/R Ratio
1.62
Stability
Excellent

About Lignum Vitae

Lignum Vitae (Guaiacum officinale) is a hard, wear-resistant wood, with a Janka hardness of 1100 lbf (4893 N) and a density of about 1.05 g/cm³. It originates from other.

With radial shrinkage of 4% and tangential shrinkage of 6.5% (a T/R ratio of 1.62), it is very stable in service, with low risk of cupping or distortion. Its fiber saturation point is around 23%, below which the wood begins to shrink and move as it dries.

These figures feed directly into the Vriksai calculators below — select Lignum Vitae in any of them to get species-specific results for weight, moisture, shrinkage and hardness.

Tools that use this species