Board finish: food safe hardwax or mineral oil/beeswax?

[chiffonodd]

I'm trying to decide how to finish a new board:

I have the traditional mineral oil and mineral oil/beeswax blend. So the tried and true option is to do a few coats of the mineral oil, and then a few additional coats of the mineral oil/beeswax blend over the course of a week or so.

The other option is a food safe hardwax oil like this: https://www.amazon.com/Osmo-TopOil-Clear-Satin-Liter/dp/B07D5LDVFJ

I had a brief discussion about this as an aside in a previous thread, but I'd like to open this up to a more general discussion about the pros and cons of the mineral oil/beeswax versus the food safe hardwax oil.

Any strong feelings one way or the other? Experiences to share?

Thanks gents.

 

[Ikonaka]

I made my cutting board a couple of years ago and went the mineral oil route. No issues with it since with regular maintenance and reapplication of the beeswax topcoat every couple of months.

I have since made several more boards for friends and family and for those I tried this stuff https://www.realmilkpaint.com/shop/oils/half-and-half/
The tung oil is a curing/drying oil so it's theoretically more stable than the mineral oil. I'm hoping that it'll work better for people I can't trust to do the proper maintenance, but it hasn't been long enough to report back.

Edit: The board in this pic, for reference. It's a little over 2 X 21 X 21 in

 

[captaincaed]

From the construction perspective I like a lot of mineral oil right away. Get as much liquid oil in as deep into the fibers as possible as early as possible. Later, you can maintain the surface with oil/wax mix on the soft side. Maybe 5:1 or more oil:wax.

The more wax you put on the surface, the harder it is to get oil in later on.

 

[Gshep91]

I use a mineral oil/beeswax coating like once a month and let it sit overnight and wipe off the excess in the morning.

The one that @OwlWoodworks sends with his board has been my favorite blend so far. It seems to absorb better and leave less of a greasy feeling then the stuff I got on Amazon

Edit - also pretty sure Luke soaks his boards in mineral oil until it’s fully saturated before he even ships them so they should be pretty much good to go and require basic maintenance after.

 

[gentiscid]

Already answered in the other thread but leaving these pics here in case others search for this topic.

 

[chiffonodd]

Already answered in the other thread but leaving these pics here in case others search for this topic.

I've got the same Howards stuff

 

[gentiscid]

This thread reminded me to spa my boards. They thirsty af! LL

 

[Corradobrit1]

Food grade mineral oil from CVS or Walgreens. A bottle will last for years. Slather it on both sides overnight and repeat until the wood remains wet after an hour or so. Wipe off excess and you're good to go. Top up when it looks a little dry.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Mineral oil by itself, if you really slather the board and let the oil soak in, will last a long time. I like a light coating of mineral oil/beeswax on top. It will keep the board oiled longer and when the combo coating wears off and the board starts looking dry, it's time to repeat the process.

 

[Jovidah]

My rule of fist is that if I wouldn't want to eat it / drink it, why put it on my board. Also not a huge fan of how easily mineral oil washes out.
Hence why I've been using grapeseed oil for the last couple of years...

I'm not necessarily a big fan of sealing it up, if anything it'll make it harder to oil it properly. That's also one of the disadvantages of wax in my experience, it keeps oil out just as well as it keeps it in.

If you're patient you could also go with tung oil, but the curing times are really long, and since you'll be cutting on it the finish won't necessarily last either. But there's at least several cutting board makers who swear by the stuff, since its finish is more long-lasting.