Kahrs Linnea – Grading

Q: I am interested in ordering Kahr’s Linnea 2 strip life – Maple. I’m wondering whether this is city or country grade?
R.K.
A: When you say “City” grade I’m curious if you mean select, select and better or clear grades. City is not a common grading term I personally am familiar with; however, to my knowledge the veneer layer of Kahrs’ linea is a more uniform appearance common in clear or select and better graded maple. My guess is this is what you mean by a city grade, where you see less character and grain variation that is visible in common and country grades.
Keep in mind that this is a wood veneer, meaning the species layer of the flooring is close to paper thin. In this case, this is closer to a laminate for the considerations of refinishing as it can not be refinished.
Follow-Up: If you visit Kahrs’ website they label 3 grades for Linnea: City, Town and Country. City/Town/Country looks to be simply the naming convention Kahrs is using to make it simple and easy for branding purposes. My guess without doing several phone calls is that Kahrs’ “city” grade is mostly clear grade Maple. Clear grade (this is from the National Maple Flooring Manufacturer’s Association standards) is the most monochromatic and uniform grade of flooring.