The walnut I am working with is steamed walnut, which means that it has been steamed to darken the sapwood to make it the same color as the heartwood. This is because the sapwood is considered a defect so after the steaming the entire board is considered a defect-less piece (unless there are knots or other conventional defects), and the board can be sold at a higher rate. The cost of this is considerable however, as the heartwood that before had many complex colors and variations is turned a gray-brown color. For this reason most furniture makers prefer unsteamed walnut. While I was aware of the costs and benefits of steamed walnut I didn't know much more than that. After doing a little searching I found a site that offers advice on how steamed walnut's color can be invigorated. While I will probably will not do everything they suggest, I do plan on doing some expirementation on how to get the best color out of the wood I am using. I also learned that walnut naturally lightens with age as opposed to other woods that naturally darken with age, including cherry (my primary project for this project).
Put the life back in steamed walnut
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