Unlike cherry, maple, and oak (which all darken in color as they age),
Of the primary woods Chilton offers, walnut is the most different in its aging process. Rather than darkening over time, walnut begins as a beautiful, rich dark brown color and over time will gradually lighten, taking on notes of honey throughout.
New walnut has a consistent dark-brown color but as it gets older, two changes occur. 1: Unlike maple and cherry, it gets lighter. 2: A rich honey color starts to come through the grain.
The kernel of a young, only torn walnut has a light color, after lying for several days, the kernel it darkens a little. This is a natural and normal process. After drying, the kernel takes on its permanent color.
As walnut wood ages, it can get lighter! A rich honey color can come through. The change in color is not as pronounced as the patina that develops in cherry wood.
For example, the elements frequently darken pale wood and brighten dark wood, so years of sun exposure will typically lighten walnut wood furniture. While some people stain walnut wood to preserve the darker hue in perpetuity, it is commonly clear-coated or oiled.
Exposure to warm temperatures for long periods of time will cause the fat in walnuts to change and turn rancid. You can tell walnuts are turning old if they are rubbery or shriveled. They have turned rancid if they have a strange odor similar to paint thinner.
If walnut is not steamed, the sapwood is usually custom stained in finishing to develop uniform color. Such "stained" wood may not be suitable in all cases. As the walnut color darkens slowly over the years, this stained sapwood area does not darken as much.
Over time, however, the natural dark color of walnut wood can lighten and fade due to exposure to sunlight and other environmental factors. This fading can result in the wood taking on a lighter, more yellowish-brown color.
The skin of the walnut kernels can get dark during the pre- and post-harvest stages of the production. Dark kernels are less palatable for most consumers but are still edible and maybe preferable, especially in the ground form, for industrial use.
Walnut wood can change color depending on the way it's dried or its age. The heartwood usually is a dark brown color and the sapwood is a light yellow color.
Walnut wood offers rich, brown colors that range from light to dark brown. The sapwood (outer part of the tree log) is pale yellow to white and the heartwood (center of the tree log) has brown shades that vary from light brown to dark chocolate brown with some dark brown streaks.
Both beautiful woods, walnut and brown maple make stunning wood furniture. Walnut has some darker colors, but still looks beautiful au natural with an oiled finish.
Oak has a light to middle brown colour with some reddish hues, complimented by a straight and tight grain pattern. Walnut can range anywhere from a light brown to a deep, dark chocolate hue. Though its grain is very open and more coarse than maple, walnut still has a beautiful, uniform surface.
Special Walnut by Minwax (also available here!) is a lighter, brown walnut color. I found it to be similar to Early American but with more muted brown tones and no red tones. I've seen it used on flooring and it's another very versatile stain color.
Walnut is a fantastic choice for a lot of reasons… first, it's gorgeous but because it has a slight purple undertone to it — walnut can work best with both warm or cool undertones.
Ebony is considered a dark stain, but it is still lighter than dark walnut.
“Walnut has a warm undertone; it deepens and becomes richer and darker within the first year,” notes Laura. Walnut is becoming a top choice for several reasons. “So many people love the modern look but don't want it to appear cold.
Walnut oil is a favourite among spoon carvers and green wood workers. It is pale and will not change the colour of your piece.
Reminiscent of dark cocoa and coffee beans, Dark Walnut embraces the shadowy hues of black and brown. Woodgrain appears etched with charcoal, creating a sultry dance where light and dark meet.
Many, probably most, store-bought stains are made with both dye and pigment. If wood stained with these stains is exposed to sunlight or fluorescent light for a while, the dye color will fade away, but the pigment color will remain. The effect is that the stained wood changes color.
Walnuts ripen in the fall. As the fruit matures, the hull softens and changes from solid green to a yellowish color. The fruits are mature and ready for harvest as soon as the hull can be dented with your thumb.
Harvest begins in the first weeks of September and comes to an end at the beginning of November each year. Farmers know it's time to harvest when they see the walnuts' outer green hulls drying and starting to split, allowing them to remove the walnuts from inside.
If your walnuts smell like paint thinner, you know they're rancid. And if they're rancid, you should throw them away!