Recommendation? What cutting board should I get?

[West Šenkovec]

Hello!

I will be purchasing a fancy japanese kitchen knife and along with that I will be buying a new cutting board.

I found a local guy who makes custom end grain cutting boards. I was thinking about getting a 20"x15"x2" size. One side with a juice groove and other side flat.

Here's an example of his work. It looks pretty good to me. The only thing I'm concerned about is the fact that it's made out of walnut.

I don't know if that's too hard for a thin, high HRC japanese knife. He's also offering other types of wood but I don't know the pricing for those.

I would like a cutting board that will last me a while.
I'm open to your suggestions regarding the wood type, size and everything else.
Thanks!

 

[3fifty7]

I have a half dozen of the thin poly cutting board sheets that I use on raw food and a Boos 24”x18”x2” (it’s almost too big, almost) that I use for cooked food.

I wouldn’t be concerned with end grain walnut with normal use.

 

[mak1277]

I’m willing to sacrifice aesthetic beauty for the ability to throw my cutting board in the dishwasher. I’m all for plastic ones too.

 

[West Šenkovec]

I’m willing to sacrifice aesthetic beauty for the ability to throw my cutting board in the dishwasher. I’m all for plastic ones too.

While I understand what you mean, I'm sick and tired of plastics everywhere.
I was looking at japanese rubber and plastic cutting boards. Some have a wood layer sandwich. They are more expensive than this handmade cutting board while being smaller so I decided to support a local business.

 

[Danke42]

An end grain cutting board/butcher block is going to be the only way to go for expensive knives. It's a buy once cry once deal.

Walnut is fine too. As a rule for something like that going with what the maker suggests is the best plan. If you have another wood preference you can ask.

This one is maple.

 

[JJ_Colt45]

The end grain boards won't dull a knife as quickly as others, especially plastics. They also wont show cut marks as much and are about the longest lasting I've used. Well worth the extra cost IMO.

 

[West Šenkovec]

An end grain cutting board/butcher block is going to be the only way to go for expensive knives. It's a buy once cry once deal.

Yup, that's what I thought. Even if it's busted you can sand it down or even take the top layer off with a planer.

The end grain boards won't dull a knife as quickly as others, especially plastics. They also wont show cut marks as much and are about the longest lasting I've used. Well worth the extra cost IMO.

Yes, that's I mentioned that it's a end grain cutting board.
I've read an article years ago about different types of wood for cutting boards. They vary in hardness, end grain size which is important for bacterial growth, some are toxic, others soak up fluids and so on.
That's the reason I decided to ask here. i though maybe someone has experience with different types of wood and knows what works the best.

 

[Triple_D]

I have a half dozen of the thin poly cutting board sheets that I use on raw food and a Boos 24”x18”x2” (it’s almost too big, almost) that I use for cooked food.

I wouldn’t be concerned with end grain walnut with normal use.

This is what I do. A Boo's 18" x 12" x 1.5" for vegetables, and the like. And some thin, plastic (dishwasher safe) cutting boards for raw chicken/pork/meat, etc. Cross contamination from raw chicken juice is no bueno.

 

[Danke42]

I just get the chicken pre-cut or cook it whole. And if I have to flatten it out I'll just use kitchen shears.

 

[littleknife]

I agree that you should use end grain boards, unless you use the very soft Japanese cypress (hinoki) wood boards, where grain orientation doesn’t matter so much.
My next species choice would be larch, e.g. Canadian made eastern larch a.k. a. tamarack wood end grain board.
A good alternative would be the end grain monkeypod wood board. Monkeypod wood is sold under the trade name “acacia”, wood, but is not a true acacia wood. Acacia species wood are very hard, I would not use them for cutting boards, not only in the case of Japanese knives but for any kind of knife.
Walnut is somewhat softer than hard maple but could be harder than some soft maple species.
For Japanese knives do not use teak, beechwood, olive wood, osage orange, hickory, purpleheart, wenge, African mahogany etc. woods, they are either too hard or contain silica inclusions (like many teak boards).
Bamboo boards may contain silica inclusions and very hard adhesives: both of those will quickly destroy the edge of thinly ground hard Japanese knives.

 

[Ourorboros]

Monkeypod wood is sold under the trade name “acacia”, wood, but is not a true acacia wood. Acacia species wood are very hard,

That was a marketing mistake. I stayed away from acacia cutting boards because my research said it was bad.
They should appreciate a certain percentage of buyers are actually knife people. I'm not saying 50% or even 10%, but a lot of people who buy expensive knives actually care about this stuff.

 

[JJ_Colt45]

Yup, that's what I thought. Even if it's busted you can sand it down or even take the top layer off with a planer.

Yes, that's I mentioned that it's a end grain cutting board.
I've read an article years ago about different types of wood for cutting boards. They vary in hardness, end grain size which is important for bacterial growth, some are toxic, others soak up fluids and so on.
That's the reason I decided to ask here. i though maybe someone has experience with different types of wood and knows what works the best.

My favorite is Maple. Walnut makes a good choice as well. Cherry, Beech, and Oak are said to be good also, but I have no personal experience with those.

 

[littleknife]

That was a marketing mistake. I stayed away from acacia cutting boards because my research said it was bad.
They should appreciate a certain percentage of buyers are actually knife people. I'm not saying 50% or even 10%, but a lot of people who buy expensive knives actually care about this stuff.

I actually have several “acacia “ wood (i.e. monkeypod wood) cutting boards. They are quite soft, unless you have well defined knots in some face grain boards. Being soft mean they will be marked easily but they are easy on the hard edges.

Knife technique is important too: do not chop from a big height with great force. That is OK with traditional Chinese cleaver knives and French or German chef knives, but not with hard Japanese ones. Those require a finer chopping technique and preferably a slicing motion.
People who are used to dull and soft steel knives learn a terrible “technique” which will quickly destroy the edge of the thinly ground hard Japanese knives.

 

[NWFRS]

We have a Burlington Coat Factory in town that carries random junk that was overstocked or whatever. They always have a few bamboo cutting boards for super cheap. I just grab a few new ones from them when ours go wonky or break in half. I start running them through the dishwasher when they reach a certain point.

 

[littleknife]

We have a Burlington Coat Factory in town that carries random junk that was overstocked or whatever. They always have a few bamboo cutting boards for super cheap. I just grab a few new ones from them when ours go wonky or break in half. I start running them through the dishwasher when they reach a certain point.

Bamboo os a terrible choice for cutting boards if you have quality knives.
It may contain silica and the large amount of glue used to hold together the bamboo strips is an edge killer too.

 

[NWFRS]

Bamboo os a terrible choice for cutting boards if you have quality knives.
It may contain silica and the large amount of glue used to hold together the bamboo strips is an edge killer too.

Huh! I didn’t know!

We use Wusthof classics. I only hone them a few times each month. They seem plenty sharp for meats and veggies. We don’t ever cut on plates. I’m probably not at the level where I’d notice to be honest. We do have a few other, thicker boards that aren’t bamboo, but I have no idea if they’re walnut, acacia, beech, birch, maple, etc.

 

[Geoff]

Larch Wood Canada

Larch Wood is a small Canadian company specialising in wooden end-grain kitchen cutting boards, countertops, flooring and more.

www.larchwoodcanada.com

 

[Mike H765]

I’ve made 100’s of end grain cutting boards over the years. My favorite woods are cherry and walnut. Also use maple and mesquite. Here’s a couple I just made with cherry and walnut. Cherry is beautiful and gets darker and prettier with age. It should be less expensive than walnut(at least it is in my area).

 

[Olumin]

I’ve heard a few times that with wood, you aren’t supposed to mix meat & vegetables, due to hygiene reasons. Personally I use walnut cutting boards, and use two separate boards for meat & vegetables. But I’ve never had an endgrain board, so I can’t share any experiences regarding them.

I wouldn’t use plastic any more. They are unhygienic & unhealthy, due to the amount of micro (& macro) plastics they deposit in your food. I try to avoid plastic coming into contact with my food as much as possible these days, especially with any liquids.

 

[Fixall]

I have had a Sonder Los Angeles end cut, walnut cutting board for over three years now and it looks just as good (if not better) than the day my wife bought it for me.

It is used every single day, and treated with mineral oil less often than I should, and it’s held up incredibly well.

I spent ten years in the restaurant industry. I’ve always been told that wood cutting boards are considerably more hygienic than a plastic cutting board. The reason being that wood cutting boards have a wicking action that draws bacteria into the wood, preventing them reproducing, and thus killing them…. While knife scarred plastic is nearly impossible to manually clean. Not to mention that many species of wood (like walnut) have antimicrobial compounds naturally occurring in them.