Bamboo end grain?

[Jpox]

Hi all.

I know bamboo is not the best choice for cutting boards. But what about end grain bamboo boards?
I know bamboo is a kind of grass so could the end grain of bamboo be considered as easy on the knives as wood?

Thanks in advance for any input.
Cheers

 

[Bobblybook]

From what I understand, the bamboo itself isn't the problem. It's the amount of glue needed, and the glue itself is very hard. So unless an end grain bamboo board requires less glue to make, I'm not sure it would be a whole lot better. The hard glue is still the biggest issue

 

[Keith Sinclair]

The width of bamboo endgrain is narrow, which would mean even more glue. Think the negativity concerning bamboo boards is a little overblown. Had a side grain made of fairly wide strips, lasted years even with cleavers. A lot of people esp. in the east use bamboo boards, don't think they worry much about the glue making their knives dull.

 

[Jpox]

Hmm,so if its mostly about the glue,any (end grain) board with lots if pieces should cause a problem then. I did raise the issue with a woodworking friend of mine and his major concern about making a board was also with the glueissue.
I just made a small board out of two pieces of oak I glued together and the joint is so thin and barely visible that I really can't see it can pose a problem. So maybe the trick is to get (or make) a board of the few pieces as possible with a wood that is not to dense.
Our knives don't seem to bother to much with the bamboo tough,I sharpen when there is a need but it seems that its the regular use when cutting and not the board itself that wears the knives - we never have chipping when chopping or any other 'misuse symptoms'.
But now I have introduced a rosewood,end grain teak and oak board - so now I can see how the knives behave.

 

[knyfeknerd]

IIRC, the silica content in the bamboo is what makes it so hard on knives, not the glue.

 

[Jpox]

Is that not the same hard particles found in teak? I know teak is hard on woodworking tools so I imagine it could be hard on the knives as well?
If the bamboo has the hard silica particles the end grain bamboo would suffer the same problem as regular side grain bamboo...
Thanks for the replies so far

 

[CompE]

My understanding is that it is all of the above. Bamboo is harder on the Janka scale than ideal so it will cause rolling or chipping, it is high in silica which will abrade knife edges and the small pieces means that there is a lot of glue which can cause more problems depending on the type of glue used.