You want a wooden lamp for the bedside. The carpenter says sheesham is as good as teak. The furniture shop says teak is the king of wood.
Then you open a listing online. The material line says only “wood”.
Now you have two questions. Is one wood really better? And how do you know which wood you are buying?
Below, you will get the sheesham wood vs teak wood numbers, what those numbers mean for a lamp, and what 19 wooden lamp listings told buyers.
The short answer
On sheesham wood vs teak wood, sheesham is 55% harder and a little heavier. Teak is lighter, and a government timber guide gives it more than 40 years above ground. Bending strength is almost the same: 97.5 against 97.1 MPa, a unit of pressure.
For a lamp, either wood works. A lamp takes few knocks and carries little weight, so the wood’s name matters less than one thing: does the seller name it at all?
Of 19 wooden table lamp listings we read on 3 Nov 2026, 7 said only “wood”.
What sheesham wood vs teak wood means in numbers
By the numbers
- Weight: dry sheesham is about 770 kg per cubic metre, and teak is about 655 kg (The Wood Database).
- Hardness: sheesham scores 1,660 lbf, or pounds of force, on the Janka test, which measures how well wood resists dents. Teak scores 1,070 lbf.
- Shrinkage: both move 5.3% across the grain as they dry from fresh to bone dry.
- India took 97% of world teak log trade by volume in 2022, buying from 43 countries (TEAKNET via ITTO).
- India’s woodware exports were ₹8,524.74 crore in 2024-25 and ₹7,160.96 crore in 2025-26 (EPCH).
- 17 of our 56 table lamps use real wood.
Sheesham, also called Indian rosewood, is the harder wood. Here is the sum: 1,660 − 1,070 = 590, and 590 ÷ 1,070 = 55% harder. A hard wood takes knocks better, so sheesham suits a dining table well.
The sheesham wood vs teak wood choice matters more for a bed than for a lamp. Take a 2-litre block of wood, or 0.002 cubic metres. In sheesham, 0.002 × 770 = 1.54 kg. In teak, 0.002 × 655 = 1.31 kg. The gap is only 230 grams.
Teak’s strong point is long life. The Queensland Government rates teak Class 1 above ground, with a life of more than 40 years, and lists it as termite resistant. Sheesham is also rated durable to very durable, and PROTA, a plant reference, calls dry sheesham very stable.
Dry is the key word. Wood takes in damp from the air and swells, then shrinks again. USDA tests show wood settles at 9.2% moisture at 50% humidity and 16% at 80% humidity. Your monsoon room moves between those numbers.
Sheesham also carries a trade rule. CITES, the world treaty on trade in wild plants, lists it under Appendix II. PIB reported that sheesham exports fell from about ₹1,000 crore a year to ₹500–600 crore a year after the listing. (1,000 − 600) ÷ 1,000 = 40%, and (1,000 − 500) ÷ 1,000 = 50%, so the fall was 40–50%.
In 2022, the treaty meeting agreed that items under 10 kg of timber each can ship without a permit. The rule is about export, so a buyer inside India can still buy sheesham.
Woodware exports show the pressure on Indian wood craft. (8,524.74 − 7,160.96) ÷ 8,524.74 = a fall of 16% in one year. In Saharanpur, one study found 97.10% of artisans carved mainly on sheesham.
How to check it yourself
- Read the material line. If the line says only “wood”, ask the seller to name the wood.
- Do not trust a colour word. “Walnut finish” or “teak colour” can be paint on another wood.
- Look at the colour. Sheesham runs golden brown to darker reddish brown, and teak is golden or medium brown.
- Ask if the wood was dried, and to what moisture. PROTA gives 12%, reached in 12–15 days in a kiln for 2.5 cm boards.
- Ask which metal holds the lamp together. Of our 19 listings, only 1 named a specific metal.
We read 19 wooden table lamp listings on Indian sites on 3 Nov 2026. 12 named a wood, and 7 said only “wood”. 11 gave the bulb holder size, 10 gave a country, 6 gave a warranty period, and 0 mentioned spare parts.
We searched with the words “sheesham” and “teak”, so a wider sample may name the wood even less often.
Side by side
| What you care about | JagMag table lamps | 19 listings we read |
|---|---|---|
| Wood named | Teak on 1 of 17 wooden lamps; 16 say real or solid wood | A wood named on 12 of 19 |
| Metal named | 304 stainless steel, every metal part | Specific metal on 1 of 19 |
| Country stated | India, all 56 table lamps | 10 of 19 |
| Spare parts | Stated on 55 of 56 pages, any time | 0 of 19 |
| Warranty | Lifetime on steel rust only | 12 to 36 months on 6 of 19 |
Where the other side is better
On naming the wood, the listings beat us. 12 of 19 named a wood. Only 1 of our 17 wooden table lamps names teak on its spec, and the other 16 say real wood or solid wood. Please ask us which wood before you buy.
Sheesham beats teak on hardness by 55%, and we do not make lamps in sheesham today. 4 of the 19 listings we read name sheesham.
2 of the 19 listings give a 36-month warranty on the lamp. Our rust warranty covers only the steel parts, not the wood.
What we do at JagMag
JagMag Lights is an Indian decorative lighting manufacturer with its own factory, making lights since 2015. Our product pages name teak, walnut and oak, and every metal part we make is 304-grade stainless steel. You can see our teak and walnut pieces among our decorative lamps.
Take our tripod table lamp. Our craftsman turns the teak body and distresses it by hand, so the grain rises and no 2 bodies match.
The lamp stands 67 cm tall, with a raw silk shade 50.8 cm wide and a stand in 304 stainless steel, the same grade as a good kitchen sink. The lamp weighs about 2.8 kg and takes one E27 bulb, not included; fit a 3000K warm-white LED.
Teak grows for decades before it reaches our bench. Wood and warm light also sit well with Vastu thinking, which values natural materials in a calm room.
A different wood tone or shade colour takes 15–20 working days. You can buy the shade, stand or holder on its own, even years from now. Read the warranty text in our Legal Policies.
Want more on wood? Read how to tell real wood from wood-look and real rattan vs plastic rattan.
FAQs
Sheesham wood vs teak wood: which is better?
Sheesham is better for hard use, at 1,660 lbf against 1,070 lbf on the Janka test, and teak is better for long life and lighter weight. For a lamp, both work well once the wood is properly dried.
Is sheesham wood harder than teak?
Yes, sheesham wood is 55% harder than teak on the Janka test. Their bending strength is almost equal, at 97.5 and 97.1 MPa.
Can sheesham wood be used outdoors?
Sheesham is rated durable to very durable, but teak is the safer outdoor wood, with more than 40 years above ground. Keep any wooden lamp indoors unless the maker rates it for outdoor use.
Is sheesham wood banned?
No, sheesham is not banned in India. CITES lists it under Appendix II, a trade control on export, and items under 10 kg of timber each can ship without a permit since 2022.
How can I tell which wood a lamp is made of?
Ask the seller to name the wood in writing, because 7 of the 19 listings we read on 3 Nov 2026 said only “wood”. Then compare the colour and read the invoice.
Nature gives the material. Human hands give it meaning. Light brings it to life. That is JagMag.
See our wooden table lamps. Not sure which suits your room? Video-call us.
Sources
- The Wood Database: sissoo (sheesham), density, hardness, CITES note
- The Wood Database: teak, density, hardness
- Queensland Government: teak timber properties (durability class, termites)
- PROTA: Dalbergia sissoo (drying and stability)
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory: Wood Handbook, chapter 4 (moisture)
- PIB, 21 Nov 2022: CITES CoP19 and Dalbergia sissoo, 10 kg rule, export figures
- Sandeep and Kollert, TEAKNET via ITTO: global teak trade 2022
- EPCH: handicraft and woodware export data
- Indian Forester, July 2023: Saharanpur wood carving artisans
- North American Stainless: 304 stainless steel
- Pepperfry listing 1 (read 3 Nov 2026)
- Pepperfry listing 2 (read 3 Nov 2026)
- Pepperfry listing 3 (read 3 Nov 2026)
- Flipkart listing (read 3 Nov 2026)
- ExclusiveLane listing 1 (read 3 Nov 2026)
- ExclusiveLane listing 2 (read 3 Nov 2026)
- The Decor Kart listing (read 3 Nov 2026)
- Sonchidiya listing (read 3 Nov 2026)
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- Whispering Homes listing (read 3 Nov 2026)
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- Ellementry listing 2 (read 3 Nov 2026)
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- GlobalLinker listing (read 3 Nov 2026)
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