"Em" wrote in message
om...
And hardwoods are definitely harder than softwoods. Just cut any
hardwood
with a handsaw and you'll see it takes longer than cutting any softwood.
The truth I have discovered is that softwoods grow faster and less dense
and hardwoods grow slower and denser, and thus the hardness and softness.
-BAM

Better study up on just what a hardwood and softwood are Em. There are
plenty of softwoods that are harder than hardwoods and vice versa. Take
Southern Yellow Pine for instance....softwood but is pretty darned hard.
Likewise, balsa wood is a hardwood....hmmm, that's pretty easy to cut
actually. The distinction has nothing to do with the wood's actual
hardness but as the OP quoted, with the way the tree grows (conifer,
deciduous, etc...).
Cheers,
cc