Softer is kinder on edges but the board will show more score marks more quickly and will probably have a shorter life.I asked Jon about this a while back. He believes that even with end-grain wood, you should pick something with a Janka hardness below 1500 or so. I find end grain walnut a bit too soft for my taste, and maple is just ugly and stains quickly. I've been very happy with my custom end-grain sapele board
Nothing ugly about my Maple board and no problems with staining....and maple is just ugly and stains quickly...
On the positive side, they're easy on the knives, easy to touch up any marks by sanding, and very lightweight for carrying over to the sink for washing. They dry fast too.
I asked Jon about this a while back. He believes that even with end-grain wood, you should pick something with a Janka hardness below 1500 or so. I find end grain walnut a bit too soft for my taste, and maple is just ugly and stains quickly. I've been very happy with my custom end-grain sapele board
Of course! It's actually not purple, more like a reddish brown. The other wood is zebra wood which is a wee bit higher on the Janka scale. I find mine quite scratch resistant, definitely much more compared to my endgrain walnut boards. However it seems to dry out faster, so I need to remember to keep sanding, applying wax, and oiling it more.Can I see the sapele board? I think that purple color is great! Is it resistant vs scratches?
Thanks a lot.Of course! It's actually not purple, more like a reddish brown. The other wood is zebra wood which is a wee bit higher on the Janka scale. I find mine quite scratch resistant, definitely much more compared to my endgrain walnut boards. However it seems to dry out faster, so I need to remember to keep sanding, applying wax, and oiling it more.
My Gengetsu, Watanabe and Toyama do dig into it if I'm pushing hard so I think the wood is still soft enough for these carbon knives. No microchipping yet either.
It took me way too long to decide on a cutting board, tbh. I don't think many woodmaking hobbyists are knife enthusiasts, so they make these people cutting boards on Etsy using crazy hard woods like bubinga, purpleheart, padauk and tigerwood. There really isn't much information on if end grain boards made from high Janka woods are safe for delicate Japanese knives either, so I'm glad I asked Jon before ordering. I hope this helps!
Thanks a lot.
Watch do you think of a board made of zebra, sapele, walnut, maple as oak. Is a mix with great look
P.s
Oak is a widely used wood also, but my advice is to stay away from it, due to its open grain structure and high level of acid.
Does the grain structure matter if you're using an end grain board anyway?
Also @childermass that sounds really interesting. Where did you get it?
@childermass oh wow, that looks really nice!
Found the link to the manufacturer: https://www.schreiner-loeffler.de/hirnholzbretter.html
On the online shop page they have a table comparing the different woods also in respect as how gentle they are on the knife and it seems like cherry and walnut are the clear winners here (you will have to scroll down a bit): https://www.schreiner-loeffler.de/gx/info/Hirnholzbretter.html
I've yet to try something in the hi-soft family, but my guess is something purpose-built for a sushi bar is probably going to give you a positive experience if you treat it right.
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