What’s the difference between “white” pine and Southern Yellow Pine?

Southern Yellow Pine was extensively distributed throughout the Colonies / United States during the 1700’s and 1800’s. It was favored over “soft” (white) pine and was the material of choice due to its hardness and durability over white pine. According to the National Wood Floor Association and the many wood handbook reference guides, Southern Yellow Pine, in hardness tests comes in at 690-870. White pine comes in at 290. Hardness is measured by the load required to embed a 0.444 inch solid steel ball to one half its diameter into the wood. Know as the JANKA Test, this best measures the ability of the species to withstand denting and normal wear-and-tear. In other words, Southern Yellow Pine is up to three times as hard as white pine.  more