perfect chopping board HI kitchen knives

Well thank you sir! I did not receive those instructions or a handle or anything with mine except a piece of paper with Chinese writing on it. Thanks Bob. Probably too late now but Ill try it anyway.
Ill check my email and see if I might have missed it?
 
I've never heard of lignum vitae and ironwood (ipe) being considered the same thing.

The lignum vitae is used in ship building and propeller shaft bushings and is extremely tough and durable, perhaps even more so than ironwood.

Perhaps something is lost in the translation I suspect.
 
This is all I got from them:
Thank you for shopping at <a ahref="www.wokshop.com">wok shop</a>. If you have any questions, you can email
sales@wokshop.com, or call 1.888.780.7171

You can always find out the current status of your order by going to
https://order.store.yahoo.net/OS/stat?wokshop+54792+39fcxxxxxxxx

Date Tue Mar 3 07:51:36 PST 2015
Ship to Daniel xxxxxx

OK sounds like I need to take it up with them.
Well like I said yall! Theres what not to do with your block:grumpy:
Thanks Bob:thumbup:
 
Since my eyes were opened to these by this thread, I picked up a small board (1" thick) at the local Asian market. It's still wrapped in plastic. I may keep it that way for a bit until we get the curing figured out.
 
I contacted them today and she says:

"We all ironwood block and domestic blocks we include instructions,e tc. on the blocks with the oil. Perhaps you did not see the green sheet. Not to worry. Soak in water overnight, and cracks will close. Forget about oiling now, just soak totally submersed in water. Here is testimonial from a professional cook, TV personality that uses our blocks.

Sam the Cooking Guy:
Here's the thing about the boards. I bought my first board by email
from Tane at the Wok Shop in 2002 and it came in great shape - heavy
as crap, but beautiful. I soaked it for a couple days (totally
submerged) dried it, oiled it - and then started using it. A couple
months later, the board started to crack. So much so, that I called
Tane at the Wok Shop and asked what was up. Tane said what I think
she always says..."that's what they do for a while, it might need
more soaking - but if you want a new one, you can have one." She's a
doll - but I just wanted a non-cracked board. So figuring she had
done this a couple of times, I soaked it some more, maybe 2 or 3
times over the next couple of months and repeated the process every
now and then, but haven't needed to for a very long and the board is
now perfect with no cracks - and has been since then.

This last November I bought a new, slightly larger board from Tane
while in San Francisco for Thanksgiving - and met her finally for the
first time (if you like her on the phone or by email - you'll love
her in person) and guess what? It's starting to crack. So I'll soak
it some more, and oil it some more and know it will be fine at some
point. In fact I was watching Iron Chef (the original Japanese
version) the other day and noticed that a board one of the chef's was
using had a huge crack. That's the nature of these Chinese boards -
they're beautiful, they'll take a ton of use and will last a very
long time.

Other than that - I don't know what else to say. Go soak it. Then
oil it. Then maybe soak it again. Let me know if I can help more. "

I saw the green sheet. It was all Chinese :rolleyes: Time for a bath.
Wow! It sinks! Must really be some dense stuff. We will see.
 
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ndoghouse said:
Here's the thing about the boards. I bought my first board by email
from Tane at the Wok Shop in 2002 and it came in great shape - heavy
as crap, but beautiful. I soaked it for a couple days (totally
submerged) dried it, oiled it - and then started using it. A couple
months later, the board started to crack. So much so, that I called
Tane at the Wok Shop and asked what was up. Tane said what I think
she always says..."that's what they do for a while, it might need
more soaking - but if you want a new one, you can have one." She's a
doll - but I just wanted a non-cracked board. So figuring she had
done this a couple of times, I soaked it some more, maybe 2 or 3
times over the next couple of months and repeated the process every
now and then, but haven't needed to for a very long and the board is
now perfect with no cracks - and has been since then.

This last November I bought a new, slightly larger board from Tane
while in San Francisco for Thanksgiving - and met her finally for the
first time (if you like her on the phone or by email - you'll love
her in person) and guess what? It's starting to crack. So I'll soak
it some more, and oil it some more and know it will be fine at some
point. In fact I was watching Iron Chef (the original Japanese
version) the other day and noticed that a board one of the chef's was
using had a huge crack. That's the nature of these Chinese boards -
they're beautiful, they'll take a ton of use and will last a very
long time.

Other than that - I don't know what else to say. Go soak it. Then
oil it. Then maybe soak it again. Let me know if I can help more. "
Click to expand...

Wait....you bought it from the owner of the "Wok Shop" in SF Chinatown? I know the owner since I was in kindergarten, and probably before then, but can't remember. If you bought it from them, and they say "no worries", just soak it, I would do it. They know their stuff when it comes to the Chinese kitchen stuff. If it doesn't work, call them and they'll make good on it, if they don't, PM me, I can probably help you in that regard.
 
OK. I unwrapped mine and into the bathtub it went.

Mine came with absolutely no instructions, just one in a stack at the Chinese market.

I'll keep this at a location where we will use it frequently, and soak it frequently for the first several months at least.
 
Yes Cul. From Tane Chan. Cool thanks man! Shes been very helpful.
Sounds like your doing the right thing Howard:thumbup:

Heres more inf she sent me:

Dear Danny:
Great...just keep soaking and let me know. There is no handle with this heavy large block, only the smaller ones have a handle that is nailed into the side of the block..but not on yours. Thank you. Here are instructions which should have been in the box. Sorry about that. Maybe in between all that Chinese newspaper used for cushioning, not instructions, or recipes...just recycled newspaper. Thank you. Tane Chan
Chinese Ironwood Chopping Block (common names: lignum vitae, guajacum,
guaiac)

Please observe the very important seasoning instructions for the ironwood block from China.
(lignum vitae tree)This wood is one of the hardest; has several fats and resins that makes
it self lubricating and almost impervious to water. (used in shipbuilding)
Upon receipt and when you remove the wrapping, immediately soak totally
immersed in hot water. Leave in water for a couple of days ( if you
think of it, drain cold water and soak again in hot water). (I don't think two days is
necessary, but that is what we are told my the factory and the employees in the store from
China. However, I just wiped mine down with a damp cloth and oiled it and it is so
beautiful..So this will be up to y ou. When removed from its soaking, let
drip dry on its side. While board is still damp, add oil generously
and that should prevent it from cracking, splitting , etc.
By using the block, you will be keeping it damp (wiping it with a damp
cloth and oiled when you cut up meats, chicken etc (natually oiled). Store on
its side or hang it with the hook. If on its side on the counter, the hook acts as a
stopper and the block will not roll away. Thank you.


ALL WOOD BOARDS ARE SAFE TO USE

Wood boards have been used for thousands of years. They are kind to
knives and provide a safe, hygienic surface when treated with reasonable
care. Recent research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has shown
that wooden surfaces are capable of
decontaminating themselves without the aid of bleach or harsh kitchen
cleaning solutions. Working with nine different types of wood, four
plastics and an old rubber chopping board, the results were always the
same. When the scientists spread salmonella, listeria and escherichiia
coli bacteria over the various samples and left them there for three
minutes, the level of bacteria on the plastic and rubber remained
unchanged while the level on the wood plummeted, often as much as
99.9%! Left overnight at room temperature, the bacteria on the plastic
multiplied, while the wooden surfaces cleaned themselves so thoroughly
that the researchers could not recover anything from them at all. It is
not entirely clear how wood's defense mechanism works, but seemingly the
bacteria is sucked into the porous surface and "strangled" by the
anti-microbial enzymes with which living trees protect themselves.

CARE OF YOUR WOODEN CHOPPING BLOCK The
domestic pine wood round chopping block or the ironwood block from China
has NOT been sealed with a protective coating to either enhance the
appearance or to help prevent the absorption of water . Natural oils
from poultry, meats, fish will season the wood. An occasional wipe with
wood preserver or mineral oil or block oil does much to prolong the life
of the board and keeps wood from cracking, splitting, drying or
absorbing food odors. To clean, simply rinse under hot water using
detergent and dry with clean paper towels . Store block on its side.
If block should split or crack, soak overnight in water and Voila!
cracks disappear.
THE WOK SHOP , 718 Grant Aveue, SF, CA 94108 www.wokshop.com
 
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I wouldn't worry about the cracks. They'll be here today, gone next tuesday and back again next month. It's just the nature of the wood.
 
Well i figured there would be cracks. I have tried many times to cut slabs like that and they always split up. I have a bunch of Red Cedar slabbed up like that and same story... Hmmm. I think just for the hell of it ill throw one of them in the bath tub with this one and see if the cracks go away. What the heck? It was just happening so fast i figured i must be doing something wrong. Im not familiar with ironwood and its so beautiful i hated to see it in three or four pieces. Maybe in the end I will have learned something:thumbup: Ill report back tomorrow. Im confident it will be fine now that I have been assured by the pros.
 
Sounds like Tane Chan might be the Wok Shop's Auntie Yangdu, the person that makes sure customers are "done right" by but also makes sure you know what you are supposed to be doing on your side too. Sounds like a great place to buy Chinese kitchen items, think I will go check them out as Hubby could use a new chopping block. I hope to hear that soaking resolves all the issues NDog, might take a cycle of a couple soaks ect before you "catch up" with where you are already oiled to :D
 
Yea, Mrs T is very nice, and helpful. She used to babysit me with her other kids (one was my classmate) whenever my parents, or grandparents went shopping in Chinatown (which was pretty darn often), the'd just drop me off at the shop.

Of course, all us kids knew each other in Chinatown, and a lot of our friends had parents that had shops as well. There was a lot of places we were always being "dropped off" at while the adults went shopping. Let's see there was the Wok Shop, barber Shop, fortune cookie shop, butcher shop, various stores, various offices, various restaurants, the bank, there was even the bars, and the occasional illegal gambling dens with the really nice old ladies...lol. My male buddies (the guys) loved our taxi business garage, because we had tools everywhere, and my father and uncles were always working on their "muscle cars". Maybe that's why we are all "gearheads", but don't look like one now. One is a asthma/allergist specialist, a pharmacist, an engineer, business owner, and CPA; my how things have changed over the years...
 
Thats great cul! Im glad I can do my part to help the family out. Ill definitely recommend her store to my friends. I did soak it all night and like she said the cracks closed up. The two big ones are still open a bit but most are completely sealed. Pretty amazing stuff eh? I just refreshed the cold water with some more hot water and Ill leave it another day and see what happens.

e56aa5e431a9d79907c97cbbf33c5c0c

All the little cracks are gone completely after one day soak:thumbup:

abcfd13d57922238a0c0c757a8505fff


Before you could stick a silver dollar in the crack. Now I can just barely get my fingernail in. Compare these to the earlier photos and you can see what i mean. I was skeptical it would close up that much. I thought i was going to have to use it for knife scales or something? Whew! Its usable now as far as Im concerned:p

Your right Shavru. Its people like this that I just love to do business with. Just like HI. Nowadays im very picky about where my money goes. People making an honest living selling quality products (not quantity products) is where my money goes. You hear a lot of "buy local" nowadays. Bunch of BS in my opinion. Id rather give a Kami far away my money than give some local guy my money for a piece of crap that wont last a month. If you make a quality product and support it it will sell anywhere.
 
Glad it worked Ndog. The bigger ones will probably close up after 1-3 more soakings. Like Mrs. T said, use hot water!
 
blue lander said:
Do they look like ironwood? I'd like to get another cutting board if it was a different kind of wood.
Click to expand...

Not sure. I didn't see ironwood on the label when I looked, but it was pretty heavy. I can take a look again and let you know.
 
Check this out dudes! Like Ms T said I put it in a bath of hot water and this is what it looked like after one day in the tub.

e56aa5e431a9d79907c97cbbf33c5c0c


All the smaller cracks are gone. You could tell where they were because they had squeezed out the emulsified oil I had been oiling it with. I put hot water in the tub once then just let it stay for 24hrs. You can still see the larger cracks so back in the tub for another hot bath.

6e2b709aba9feebdc291b14744fbd950


Theres after two days in the tub. I did change out the water and add hot water again during the second bath. You can tell where the crack was but its completely closed off now.

6dc5dd00dc9ee8e9afbeae1732103acd


This is the largest crack. Im going to do it one more day just because. Man I stink! Thats it. I need the bathtub tomorrow:D This is going to be an awesome block! Thanks Ms T! oh...thats another forum. :rolleyes: Ill write her back and thank her.

No worries Howard! You know what to do now. I guess thats why they wrap them sealed in plastic wrap for shipping and storage. Otherwise they would have to ship them like avocados and sell them in a few days because I doubt people would buy them all cracked up. Mine had a tear in the wrap and it was double wrapped at the factory.
 
That's pretty amazing huh? Same principal with hammer and axe handles, when they get a little loose, toss em in a bucket of water for awhile and they are good as new.
 
I figured they would close off some but being such a dense wood i wouldnt think they would have closed off that much.

btw: Time to empty your mailbox!
 
ndoghouse said:
I figured they would close off some but being such a dense wood i wouldnt think they would have closed off that much.

btw: Time to empty your mailbox!
Click to expand...

If you raise moisture content to that of the living tree all cracks are closed! whether timbers light or dense.

Heres some Nepali butchers ones I saw in Nepal 10 years ago...

O bugger forgot Ill have to link them on photo bucket.. Our actually I can use IkRHs to host the pics,

Ill do it later tonight or tomorrow...
 
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