Best 'softest' type of cutting board wood for the knife ?

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Dxtreme

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Heya guys,

I am currently looking at larchwood board, but it looks like maple and walnut are softer than larch (according to Janka hardness test https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test ), but I have heard lots of good things about the Larch board. Anybody have any experience or wisdom they can share before I make the purchase ?
 
Larch is actually softer. It's listed twice on that wiki page for some reason. Look at wood-database.com. Well, silver maple is is a hair softer. I wouldn't lose sleep over using any of them.
 
JustinP said:
Larch is actually softer. It's listed twice on that wiki page for some reason. Look at wood-database.com. Well, silver maple is is a hair softer. I wouldn't lose sleep over using any of them.
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That is a great site ! Thank you so much for the link.
 
Hmm, one thing I did notice about Larch on wood database:

Workability: Most hand and machine operations produce good results. However, Western Larch is high in silica content and will blunt cutting edges. Also, because of the disparity between the soft earlywood and the hard latewood, sanding can create dips and uneven surfaces.

That's talking about working the wood vs cutting on it, but curious if that will affect knives in any way. Doubt it, but never used a larch board.
 
That sounds similar to teak, which also has high silica content. It might just make a minor difference for an edge-grain board; for an end-grain board, I suspect it would not be noticeable. After all, you are not using a knife to cut the wood as you would with a saw or a router bit…
 
I have no experience with larch but teak and bamboo, which definately hurts edges, and I would avoid them in a cutting board. So many nice other woods for the purpose.
 
Interesting!

I know bamboo are bad ... a little too hard. We have local woodworkers who love spruiking jarrah cutting boards. Would you believe I couldn’t find a single post searching for jarrah?
 
Jarrah is beautiful and really durable. I wouldn't use it for a cutting board though; it's both heavy and hard. Almost as hard as some of the gum species, such as Spotted Gum and Blue Gum. There are places in Tasmania that make absolutely beautiful cutting boards out of those woods. Except that they are not doing your knives any favours…
 
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Tanalasta said:
At the moment I’m using a smaller camphor wood board.
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Don't you like the camphor laurel board? It's a very pretty wood, medium hardness that should be ideal for knives, and naturally anti-bacterial. Loads of cutting boards are made out of that wood. And it's good to use the wood for something, seeing that the tree is a noxious weed.

The Hasegawa boards are getting lots of positive reviews, so I expect you'd be happy with one of those. But, in terms of looks, they can't compete with real wood, IMO.
 
How do you do your board rotation? I assumed that we need 2x , 1 for raw meat and 1x for produce. Do you need a separate one for carving ? Those juices from a rare steak flowing to the produce board could contaminate it yes??
 
Dxtreme said:
How do you do your board rotation? I assumed that we need 2x , 1 for raw meat and 1x for produce. Do you need a separate one for carving ? Those juices from a rare steak flowing to the produce board could contaminate it yes??
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I use my cutting board island top for produce, and have boards for meat. I'll still use the boards for produce though as long as they are cleaned properly, rinse in sink and clean with hydrogen peroxide after working with meat.
 
RDalman said:
I have no experience with larch but teak and bamboo, which definately hurts edges, and I would avoid them in a cutting board. So many nice other woods for the purpose.
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It's not the hardness in se, it's the silica.
You don't want the softest either, having the edge entering into the wood and chipping if you don't take care. I found end grain European Oak gentle with the edges, both with soft Sabs and crazy hard AS.
 
Yes that was what I was getting at, I would avoid woods with silica
 
Does it have to be wood? For being easy on the edges I really like the Hi-Soft boards. Of course not as aesthetically pleasing as wood but they're great cutting boards.
 
CoteRotie said:
Does it have to be wood? For being easy on the edges I really like the Hi-Soft boards. Of course not as aesthetically pleasing as wood but they're great cutting boards.
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+1 here

One advantage of the Hi-Soft boards, and the like, is that you can be sure that they'll be really flat! I have an end grain board that has some low/high points, and it's very unfriendly to my very flat Gengetsu. I'll probably ask for suggestions re: flattening it in another thread at some point...
 
JustinP said:
Hmm, one thing I did notice about Larch on wood database:

Workability: Most hand and machine operations produce good results. However, Western Larch is high in silica content and will blunt cutting edges. Also, because of the disparity between the soft earlywood and the hard latewood, sanding can create dips and uneven surfaces.

That's talking about working the wood vs cutting on it, but curious if that will affect knives in any way. Doubt it, but never used a larch board.
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Good catch !! I bet it will catch as well, although it might be softer due to it being end grain and not edge grain. I wonder what what type of cutting board wood they use the most in Europe ?
 
Dxtreme said:
How do you do your board rotation? I assumed that we need 2x , 1 for raw meat and 1x for produce. Do you need a separate one for carving ? Those juices from a rare steak flowing to the produce board could contaminate it yes??
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Apparently I'm nuts, but I use one end grain walnut board for everything. Wipe down with warm water and washing up liquid if I've cut raw meat on it before cutting anything else on it. That's what my mum always did so I just picked it up from her. Didn't realise multiple boards was a 'thing' people did at home til I read this site really. Never had food poisoning in my life.
 
Migraine said:
Wipe down with warm water and washing up liquid if I've cut raw meat on it before cutting anything else on it. That's what my mum always did so I just picked it up from her.
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You should at least cut all your vegetables before cutting raw protein...
 
Migraine said:
Apparently I'm nuts, but I use one end grain walnut board for everything. Wipe down with warm water and washing up liquid if I've cut raw meat on it before cutting anything else on it. That's what my mum always did so I just picked it up from her. Didn't realise multiple boards was a 'thing' people did at home til I read this site really. Never had food poisoning in my life.
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Yes, food poisoning and salmonella = @$#@$#$#^!$@@#%. 2 boards also help in prepping food faster as you can separate the vegetables and meat. If you use the same knife make sure you sanitize it clean as well.
 
I mean 27 years and counting, I'm not gonna stress about changing my ways tbh. If I get campylobacter I'll let you guys know so you can give me the I told you so.

It's almost always all being cooked anyway; can't see that there's any reason cooking the meat would kill the bugs but cooking the veggies wouldn't kill any that might have transferred.
 
I keep a container of bleach on the counter. I just put a glug of it on the cutting board after I do the meat. I wipe it with a paper towel, wait a couple seconds, and then I'm set for veggies!

Edit: I do not actually do this. Please practice safe bleaching.
 
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Maple, Walnut, and Cherry are all good for cutting boards, especially if end grain, and fairly common at kitchenware stores. Hinoki (Japanese Cypress) is even softer.

If you decide on a rubber cutting board, Sani-Tuf is another brand to consider.
 
Think I'm going to go with classic old maple end grain. I was excited about larch for a bit due to its unique textures but the silica content bothers me. Plus there are probably good reasons why most boards are made of walnut, cherry and maple.
 
Also, instead of buying the manufacturer expensive xxxxx formula oil, would regular mineral good grade oil and some of the shelf beeswax be good enough to condition new boards? I wonder if manufacturer would vid the warranty if did not use their $$$$$ proprietary oil and conditioner formula.... ?
 
Dxtreme said:
Also, instead of buying the manufacturer expensive xxxxx formula oil, would regular mineral good grade oil and some of the shelf beeswax be good enough to condition new boards? I wonder if manufacturer would vid the warranty if did not use their $$$$$ proprietary oil and conditioner formula.... ?
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Good choice on the maple, can't go wrong. Just use mineral oil from the pharmacy which is sold as a laxative for oiling. For sealing, make a mix of mineral oil and beeswax, I do a 4 to 1 ratio. Melt it together in a double boiler. No need to buy expensive pre made conditioners.
 
JustinP said:
Good choice on the maple, can't go wrong. Just use mineral oil from the pharmacy which is sold as a laxative for oiling. For sealing, make a mix of mineral oil and beeswax, I do a 4 to 1 ratio. Melt it together in a double boiler. No need to buy expensive pre made conditioners.
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Thanks for the ratio mix formula. It also helps that it's easier to find good discounts on Maple boards. Although, I like cherry and walnut too but they are more pricy than Maple o_O
 
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