There is also (juglans cinera) which we call Butternut in my neck of the woods. It can be difficult to tell the forest trees from Black Walnut, but Butternut usually has a terminal leaflet and Black Walnut not.
It's wood is softer than Black Walnut and easily worked. It can have very pretty and interesting grain. I have never heard of it being used for gunstocks, mostly furniture. Perhaps Gary or others have worked with it before? I have not.
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some awesome pics folks, and some great examples of English walnut and american. this one i have letters with English walnut, the English walnut appears to be a lighter wood with very distinct dark thick grain.
Clarification: There are really only two species of walnut. Black walnut (juglans nigra) and thin shelled walnut (juglans regia). Thin shell walnut, think the kind of walnuts you crack at Christmas time. Thin shell walnut is called a bunch of different names, pretty much harking to where in the world it's harvested, but it's the same species. Claro is, as Jeff said, of black walnut root stock with thin shell walnut cuttings grafted on.
Black walnut: generally softer and with larger more open pores than thin shell. Figured black walnut (fiddleback, crotch, etc.) has a charm all it's own, and is my personal favorite.
Thin shell walnut: generally harder, with smaller tighter pores than black walnut. One reason it's favored is because of its ability to take and hold checkering better.
You can't differentiate based on color. The color range is pretty identical across the board.
One way to muck up the beauty of any walnut is to use a straight oil finish. Straight linseed oil has the tendency to darken with age. Another way to foil the beauty of walnut is to stain it with an oil-based stain.
Thanks, this does a lot to clarify the subject for me.
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So I have to follow up on my earlier comment. I prefer black walnut on rifles unless we're talking flintlocks. Then its curly maple all the way. For anyone interested, here's a good video on gunstock wood:
A very good source of information regarding walnut is a book written by Michael MacIntosh titled "Shotguns and Shooting. "English" walnut is a misnomer as it doesn't come from England at all. Two world wars in Europe has been detrimental to what was once a huge never ending supply. English has a few clear advantages over the others...it has a little spring to it so it will move a little before it will crack. English checkers way better than the rest, black walnut is harder and will crack, but you can get a decent checker on it. Claro, Bastogne, etc., all fuzz up when you checker it. It certainly can be checkered, just not as easy or as perfectly as English.
Edit: sorry guys, I should clarify that the book mentioned above, "Shotguns and Shooting" is out of print, but you can still find it used on ebay or Amazon reasonable. Also, he wrote like four in the series. The first one is the best and has the most info on gun woods.
“The Savage 99 Pocket Reference”. All models and variations of 1895’s, 1899’s and 99’s covered. Also dates, checkering, engraving.. Find at www.savagelevers.com
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