Hardwood - very, very hardwood

How hard is Ipe? Ipe, also known as Brazilian Walnut, is a very hard wood. We found this out the hard (heh) way, by working with it. Ipe is stronger than screws, stronger than many saw blades. Stronger by far than drywall. Much stronger than douglas fir and freakishly like steel compared to redwood.

I decided to look up just how hard it was. I mean, are we just wimps or are our tools not up to the job? Or is this wood unlike most woods? Here is a chart on the Janka ratings (hardness ratings) of over 200 hardwoods, listed by order of hardness. You will need to scroll a long way down to find Ipe.

Common Name Hardness KiloNewtons Hardness Pounds-Force ceiba 1.1 240 cottonwood) balsam poplar 1.3 300 white-cedar, northern 1.4 320 fir, subalpine 1.6 350 buckeye, yellow 1.6 350 cedar, atlantic white 1.6 350 aspen, quaking 1.6 350 cottonwood, black 1.6 350 redcedar, western 1.6 350 okoume 1.7 380 cuangare 1.7 380 pine, sugar 1.7 380 pine, eastern white 1.7 380 spruce, Engelmann 1.7 390 fir, balsam 1.8 400 fir, noble 1.8 410 basswood, American 1.8 410 pine, western white 1.9 420 aspen, bigtooth 1.9 420 redwood, second growth 1.9 420 fir, pacific silver 1.9 430 pine, limber 1.9 430 cottonwood, eastern 1.9 430 obeche 1.9 430 cypress, Mexican 2 460 pine, ponderosa 2 460 (shorea) light red meranti 2 460 incense-cedar 2.1 470 fir, white 2.1 480 spruce, white 2.1 480 pine, lodgepole 2.1 480 redwood, old growth 2.1 480 fir, grand 2.2 490 butternut 2.2 490 spruce, red 2.2 490 limba 2.2 490 fir, California red 2.2 500 pine, Jeffrey 2.2 500 hemlock, eastern 2.2 500 spruce, Sitka 2.3 510 Douglas-fir, interior south 2.3 510 banak 2.3 510 spruce, black 2.3 520 chestnut, American 2.4 540 yellow poplar 2.4 540 hemlock, western 2.4 540 catalpa, southern 2.4 550 catalpa, northern 2.4 550 hura 2.4 550 pine. red 2.5 560 baldcypress 2.3 570 pine, jack 2.5 570 cedar, yellow 2.6 580 cedar, Alaska 2.6 580 alder, red 2.6 590 silverbell, Carolina 2.6 590 tamarack 2.6 590 Spanish-cedar 2.7 600 Douglas-fir, interior north 2.7 600 redcedar, southern 2.7 610 ilomba 2.7 610 pine, pitch 2.8 620 cativo 2.8 630 sassafras 2.8 630 determa 2.9 660 pine, spruce 2.9 660 pine, Table Mountain 2.9 660 Douglas-fir. interior west 2.9 660 primavera 2.9 660 sumac, staghorn 3 680 hemlock, mountain 3 680 pine, shortleaf 3.1 690 pine, loblolly 3.1 690 maple, silver 3.1 700 (magnolia) cucumber tree 3.1 700 Douglas-fir, coast 3.2 710 boxelder 3.2 720 cedar, Port Orford 3.2 720 chinkapin, giant 3.2 730 pine, sand 3.3 730 pine, pond 3.3 740 pine, virginia 3.3 740 pine, Monterey 3.3 750 birch, gray 3.4 760 sycamore, american 3.4 770 (shorea) yellow meranti 3.4 770 parana-pine 3.5 780 (shorea) dark red meranti 3.5 780 mahogany, true 3.6 800 tupelo, black 3.6 810 mahogany, African 3.7 830 larch, western 3.7 830 elm, american 3.7 830 elder, blue 3.7 840 maple, bigleaf 3.8 850 ash, black 3.8 850 sweetgum 3.8 850 pine, pinyon 3.8 860 elm, slippery 3.8 860 pine, longleaf 3.9 870 tomillo 870 hackberry 3.9 880 tupelo. water 3.9 880 sande 4 900 redcedar, eastern 4 900 birch, paper 4 910 pine, ocote 4 910 sourwood 4.2 940 maple, red 4.2 950 cherry, black 4.2 950 robe 4.3 960 ash, pumpkin 4.4 990 teak 4.4 1000 walnut, black 4.5 1010 albarco 4.5 1020 holly, American 4.5 1020 magnolia, southern 4.5 1020 buckthorn, cascara 4.6 1040 oak, southern red 4.7 1060 avodire 4.8 1080 manni 5 1120 andiroba 5 1130 oak, chestnut 5 1130 santa maria 5.1 1150 ash, oregon 5.2 1160 juniper, alligator 5.2 1160 maple, black 5.2 1180 oak, overcup 5.3 1190 oak, water 5.3 1190 ash, green 5.3 1200 oak, laurel 5.4 1210 oak, black 5.4 1210 kapur 5.5 1230 pine, Caribbean 5.5 1240 oak, swamp chestnut 5.5 1240 birch, yellow 5.6 1260 iroko 5.6 1260 keruing 5.6 1270 laurel, California 5.6 1270 mersawa 5.7 1290 angelique 5.7 1290 oak, northern red 5.7 1290 beech, American 5.8 1300 ramin 5.8 1300 ash, white 5.9 1320 elm, cedar 5.9 1320 elm, rock 5.9 1320 oak, white 6 1360 oak, post 6 1360 oak, bur 6.1 1370 coffeetree, Kentucky 6,2 1390 oak, scarlet 6.2 1400 sepetir 6.3 1410 maple, sugar 6.4 1450 madrone, Pacific 6.5 1460 oak, willow 6.5 1460 birch, sweet 6.5 1470 oak, cherrybark 6.6 1480 sapele 6.7 1510 oak, pin 6.7 1510 witch hazel 6.8 1530 elm, winged 6.8 1540 afromosia 7.1 1560 honeylocust 7 1580 peroba de campos 7.1 1600 yew. Pacific 7.1 1600 oak, swamp white 7.2 1620 opepe 7.3 1630 pilon 7.6 1700 locust, black 7.6 1700 kempas 7.6 1710 piquia 7.7 1720 para-angelim 7.7 1720 peroba rosa 7.7 1730 apple 7.7 1730 tree-of-heaven 7.7 1731 angelin 7.8 1750 benge 7.8 1750 hornbeam, American 7.9 1780 shorea 7.9 1780 laurel, mountain 8 1790 serviceberry 8 1800 hickory, pecan 8.1 1820 hophornbeam, eastern 8.3 1860 purpleheart 8.3 1860 jarrah 8.5 1910 degame 8.6 1940 ash, blue 9 2030 wallaba 9.1 2040 karri 9.1 2040 sucupira 9.5 2140 dogwood, flowering 9.6 2150 goncalo alves 9.6 2160 persimmon, common 10.2 2300 mora 10.2 2300 greenheart 10.5 2350 courbaril 10.5 2350 bubinga 12 2690 rosewood, Brazilian 12.1 2720 kaneelhart 12.9 2900 macawood 14.0?? 3150 rosewood, Indian 14.1 3170 bulletwood 14.2 3190 azobe 14.9 3350 manbarklak 15.5 3480 marishballi 15.9 3570 ipe 16.4 3680 lignumvitae 20 4500