Numbered-pin throwing games are simple objects, so the material question sounds simple too. It is not. Two sets that look identical in a photograph can differ by a factor of three in how long the pins survive, and the difference is not “hardwood versus softwood”. It is moisture content, grain direction and diameter tolerance.
This is what the pins and batons are actually made from, which species you will be offered, and the four specifications that decide whether a set lasts one season or ten.
The Short Answer
The pins are almost always birch, beech or rubberwood, turned from kiln-dried stock. The batons are usually ash or a dense hardwood, because they take repeated impact. Pine appears in budget sets and is honest at that price point, with a shorter life. Bamboo is marketed as the sustainable option and is a poor choice for the pins, for reasons covered below.
A note on naming, because it causes real confusion in sourcing. “Number Kubb” is used loosely across suppliers to describe any numbered-pin throwing game, of which the best known is the Finnish game with twelve numbered pins. The materials and manufacturing are the same whichever name your market uses. The rules are not, so confirm which game the artwork and the rule sheet describe before the print run.
Why Species Choice Matters More Than “Hardwood vs Softwood”
The hardwood and softwood split is botanical, not mechanical. Birch is a hardwood and is softer than several softwoods. What actually matters for a thrown pin is four properties:
- Density. Determines how the pin behaves when hit and how much it weighs in the hand.
- Impact resistance. Determines whether a pin dents, splits or shatters.
- Dimensional stability. Determines whether the diameter stays constant through a season of humidity.
- Machinability. Determines whether the pin can be turned straight and finished cleanly at volume.
No species wins all four. Every set is a compromise, and knowing which compromise you are buying is the point.
The Species You Will Actually Be Offered
| Species | Density (kg/m3, dry) | Behaviour | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birch | 600 to 660 | Turns beautifully, takes paint and print, moderate impact resistance, moves with humidity | The default for numbered pins |
| Beech | 680 to 730 | Harder and tougher than birch, excellent impact resistance, more movement and more prone to checking | Premium pins, batons, competition sets |
| Rubberwood | 560 to 640 | Consistent and cheap, machines well, but needs preservative treatment and dents more easily | Volume retail, entry price points |
| Pine | 450 to 520 | Light, cheap, dents and compresses at the impact face, holds paint poorly on the end grain | Budget sets only |
| Ash | 650 to 700 | Outstanding shock resistance because of its ring structure, stringy to machine | Batons, not pins |
| Eucalyptus | 650 to 750 | Dense and hard, variable between boards, needs careful drying | Alternative to beech where supply allows |
Two honest notes. First, “hardwood” on a spec sheet tells you almost nothing, because rubberwood and ebony are both hardwoods. Ask for the species name, and ask for the density range. Second, mixed species inside one set is a real practice in the low-cost end of the market, and it is detectable: weigh the pins. A set with pins from 120 to 160 grams is a set assembled from whatever was on the floor.
Moisture Content Is the Spec That Gets Ignored
If you only tighten one number on your purchase order, make it this one.
Wood is dimensionally stable only when its moisture content matches the environment it lives in. A pin turned at 16 percent moisture content and shipped to a temperate market will dry to 9 percent over its first winter. Across a 60 mm diameter that is roughly 1.5 mm of shrinkage, which is enough to open a check along the grain and enough to make the printed number misalign.
What to specify: 8 to 12 percent at machining, measured on a sample from the batch rather than on a single reference piece. Ask for the kiln record. A supplier who cannot produce a moisture reading is not measuring it.
The second-order effect is the one that surprises people. Pins that dry out after printing lose paint adhesion at the end grain first, because end grain moves most. If the number is printed before the wood has stabilised, it will flake within a season regardless of how good the ink is.
Grain, Knots and Diameter Tolerance
Three manufacturing details that separate a set that lasts from one that does not.
Grain run-out. A turned pin is only as strong as its straightest grain. If the grain runs diagonally through the pin, the pin has a built-in fracture line and will snap at the impact point rather than dent. Specify straight grain, and reject pins where the grain exits the side within the playing length.
Knots. A knot is denser than the surrounding wood and does not turn cleanly. On a pin, a knot means a hard spot that wears a flat, plus a weak point right where the baton lands. Knot-free stock is a real cost and it is worth paying for on the pins that take the most hits.
Diameter tolerance. Pins that vary by 1 mm change how the set falls, because a thicker pin stands more stably and topples differently. Specify plus or minus 0.5 mm, and specify that all pins in a set come from the same turning batch. As with tumbling towers, batch consistency matters more than absolute accuracy.
Finishing and Numbering
The finish on a thrown pin is a functional decision, not a cosmetic one.
Film finishes, whether lacquer or polyurethane, chip at the impact face. Once chipped, water gets under the film and the damage accelerates. A penetrating oil, linseed or tung, does not chip but darkens the wood and needs occasional renewal. A thin water-based clear coat is the usual commercial compromise: enough to seal the surface against a damp lawn, thin enough that it does not shatter on impact.
For the numbers, there are three methods and they are not equivalent:
| Method | Durability | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen print | Fair | Low | Wears at the impact face first; fine for indoor or light use |
| Heat transfer | Fair to good | Low to medium | Better adhesion than print, still surface-level |
| Laser engraving | Excellent | Medium | Cuts into the wood, cannot flake, but the burned area darkens with oil |
| Branding iron | Excellent | Medium | Traditional look, slower, best on flat faces rather than curved |
Engraving costs more per unit and is the only method that survives a decade of outdoor play. If the set is sold as a premium garden product, it is the right answer. If it is a promotional item, print is defensible, provided the brief says so.
Bamboo: Why It Is Rarely the Right Answer for Pins
Bamboo is genuinely sustainable. It is a grass, it grows to harvestable size in three to five years, and it does not require replanting. Those are real advantages and they are why it appears in so much eco-marketing.
It is also a hollow tube with a fibrous, silica-rich outer wall and almost no strength across the grain. A bamboo pin either has to be a thick-walled section, which limits the available diameter, or a laminated block, which is no longer really bamboo in the sense the customer imagines. Under repeated impact from a thrown baton, bamboo splits along its fibres rather than denting, and it splits fast.
Where bamboo does work: boards, scoreboards, packaging, and non-impact components. Where it does not: the pins. If a supplier offers you bamboo pins, the useful question is how many throws they tested to. In our experience the answer is none.
Certifications That Apply
Which documents you need depends on how the product is age-graded, not on what it is made of.
- FSC or PEFC chain of custody covers the timber supply chain. It says nothing about the finish, the glue or the factory.
- EN 71-1, -2, -3 apply if the product is a toy for the European market. Part 1 covers physical and mechanical hazards, part 2 flammability, part 3 migration of elements from coatings and materials.
- ASTM F963 plus a CPC apply if the product is a children’s product in the United States. The certificate is issued by the importer, not the factory, which is a distinction that catches out first-time importers.
- TSCA Title VI / CARB Phase 2 apply only if engineered wood, plywood or MDF is used anywhere in the product or its packaging. Solid turned pins are out of scope, which is one of the few regulatory advantages of solid wood.
- ISPM 15 applies to the pallet, not the product. It is the shipper’s obligation and it is checked at the port.
If the set contains a paper rule sheet and a cotton bag, those have their own requirements, and the bag is the item that most often gets missed.
What We Do Not Make
Being clear about this saves both sides a meeting.
- No bamboo pins. The failure mode is predictable and we are not willing to warrant it.
- No MDF or particleboard cores hidden under a veneer. It fails in the first rain and it makes the whole product uncertifiable in several markets.
- No mixed-species sets sold as a single species. If a cost target requires mixing, we will say so and price it as what it is.
- No claims about biodegradability in a home compost. A finished, oiled hardwood pin is not compostable in any realistic timeframe, and saying otherwise is a claim we would have to defend.
FAQs
What wood are the pins usually made from?
Birch is the most common, beech for premium sets, rubberwood for volume. All three are turned from kiln-dried stock at 8 to 12 percent moisture content.
Why not bamboo?
It is hollow, splits along the fibre under impact, and cannot be turned to a consistent diameter at pin scale. It works for boards and packaging, not for the pieces that get hit.
How do I check quality before ordering?
Ask for the moisture reading, the species and density, the diameter tolerance, and the grain direction on a sample. Then weigh the pins in the sample: variation above about 5 percent means the set is assembled from mixed stock.
What is the minimum order?
500 sets, with volume tiers at 500, 1,000 and 5,000.
Sampling and lead time?
Samples 5 to 10 days after the specification is agreed. Bulk production 30 to 45 days. Quotation within 24 hours of a clear brief.
Sourcing Wooden Garden Games in Bulk?
Kangjie is the direct manufacturer behind these games — no trading company, no middleman margin. We supply Kubb, Croquet, Molkky, Ring Toss, Tumble Tower, Cornhole and more to importers, retailers and brand owners worldwide.
- Factory-direct pricing with transparent volume tiers (500 / 1,000 / 5,000 units)
- OEM & ODM: logo, packaging, size and finish built to your specification
- EN71 & ASTM F963 compliant; FSC-certified timber
- Bulk lead time 30–45 days, quotation within 24 hours
