Black walnut wood is dark, hard, dense, and tight-grained. It's prized by woodworkers for its strength, grain, and color. It polishes to a very smooth finish, and the color ranges from creamy white in the sapwood to dark chocolate in the heartwood. Over the years, natural walnut wood develops a lustrous patina. As the only dark-brown domestic wood species, it has a large following of devoted woodworkers and fine furniture aficionados. Walnut is also found in upscale cabinets, natural wood flooring, kitchen accessories, gunstocks, and more.

Although there are many varieties of walnut trees, just a handful are native to North America. Of them, the Eastern Black Walnut, also called the American Black Walnut or American Walnut, is the one typically used for woodworking.