I have just been asked something that I get asked frequently, but today I was inspired to answer it in a blog. I was asked this on another blog that I run called Woodfloorguru, in a post about Kahrs Oak Sienna:
"Hi, I have a question about another oak, white oak. We're trying to decide if we should go with hand scraped or sanded due to concerns about heel dents, etc. Solid HW, not engineered. It's a darker, "antiquish" stain but we don't know if we would like to make it even more antique/rustic looking with the hand scraped. We don't want to be overly stressed when we entertain is our primary issue."
The answer to that question is: Either.
When buying a wood floor, hand-scraped is a surface texture effect. The effect is applied by a machine when the floor is being manufactured. It is not an alternative to floor sanding, and any difference it makes to the durability of the wood is unintended and probably marginal.
The hand-scraped effect can not be easily re-done, so when the floor becomes worn it will most probably be a case of sanding and re-finishing anyway.
Therefore, whether to choose hand-scraped or sanded is a matter of personal choice and whatever you think looks/works best in the room.
Here are some things you could consider in order to get a floor capable of withstanding a dance party or two:
Consider laminate flooring. Laminate flooring is basically a photograph of wood planks covered with a sheet of high tensile plastic, therefore it is one of the toughest flooring products around.
If you really want a real wood floor, consider applying a thick coat of lacquer or clear varnish. This will harden the floor without taking away too much from the look of the wood.
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