Question regarding oiling

[Konig9402]

I've heard Japanese Hinoki boards do not benefit or need mineral oil. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[John Loftis]

I've heard Japanese Hinoki boards do not benefit or need mineral oil. Can anyone confirm this?

The Boardsmith does not make or sell hinoki cutting boards. We're drifting astray on this thread a bit. (Hinoki is cypress wood. It is extremely soft, and has the principal benefit of smelling quite nice. It is generally 'lubricated' with copious amounts of water.)

To respond to a couple other, earlier comments:

- I've been 'The Boardsmith' for almost 6 years now. The business is still direct to consumer. We have grown quite a bit in the last two years after being 'discovered' by America's Test Kitchen, Serious Eats, etc. My wife still runs the accounting and shipping. I run the shop. I haven't had the time or bandwidth to take on many other commissions (or even post on this sub-forum much) recently.

- Dave 'baptized' the boards, giving them a quick dunk before letting them dry, buffing them with board butter and shipping. He and I disagreed on oiling strategies... it's one of the only things we disagreed on. I oil them for an hour or two; he dunked them for a few seconds. Neither of us ever left them in an oil tank for a week. He and I had a discussion once about over-oiling, and he commented that one customer had oiled their block so much it came out the bottom of the board. To which, I said, "Great! no downside to that." I think he viewed that as wasteful, somehow. In my experience, customers are far more likely to under-oil than they are to 'over-oil.' (And...there's no such thing as 'over-oiling.')

- It is extremely rare for a wood product to be left completely raw/unfinished. Almost all products made from wood are protected in some way. The greater the wear and tear, the more important that the wood be protected. Fences get sealed, cabinets get conversion varnish and/or paint, furniture gets lacquer (or similar), cutting boards get mineral oil. It's just the way of the material.

- Many other manufacturers either ship the boards dry or just wipe on a token amount of oil. A bone dry butcher block sitting in a warehouse for a couple years (or on a store shelf) is a recipe for bad things happening. One of the reasons we ship direct to consumers is it helps me stay in control of inventory and ensures that our butcher blocks are in good shape when they get to you.

- Oiling a cutting board is just not that big a deal. You buy a bottle, pour it on, let it soak a bit, and re-apply as needed. Yes, end grain wood can hold more oil than edge grain wood. And yes, an end grain board performs better than an edge grain cutting board (or a plastic board, or a....insert other cutting board here). There's been enough discussion on the thread that potential buyers of end grain cutting boards could shy away for fear of onerous maintenance... and that's simply not the case.