Cutting Board Shenanigans

[josemartinlopez]

I am not too concerned about the weight of the board. Although I am not a big person (5' 2"), I can lift fairly heavy objects unless ... the cutting board weighs something like ... 30 lbs (~13.6 kg). Then yes, that would be very awkward.

You miss the point OP, my 48x28x3 cm hinoki board weighs only 2 kg.

 

[nakiriknaifuwaifu]

First of all, my apologies to you and others if you found my OP, and whatever other posts I made afterwards, so perplexingly offensive. My intention was getting to the bottom of this perplexing and confusing subject so I can make an informed buying decision for my next cutting board.

For what it's worth, English is my second language, so perhaps there's the language barrier that may have contributed to this misunderstanding. But try to see from my point of view. After a few hours of intense search, I am left with piles upon piles of confusing and often contracting info. As many newcomers would in those situations, I was confused, exhausted, and perplexed. And when someone makes advice without sufficiently explaining the reasons behind it, I don't know what to make of it, especially if that advice directly contradicts what I read online. So am I to take every advice offered in this forum and thread as the gospel of truth? Of course not!

Instead of interpreting my response and writing me off as someone arrogant, how about taking the time to patiently explain things in a way I can better understand? I think that will be much more constructive in the long run. I am a curious and inquisitive type after all, but I also do tend to be frustrated easily - one of my many weaknesses.

So ... once again, I apologize to all of you who were offended by my posts for whatever reason. I am simply here to efficiently gather information so I can make informed buy decisions. That's all. I am not trying nor pretending to be someone I am not.

So can we please move along and return to the subject at hand? Are we cool with that?

Pump the brakes mate. The text in red indicates you don't understand why you are causing friction.

The good people above have already taken the time to give you more than enough information to come to your own conclusion about what best fits your needs.

You ask for clarification by challenging others, and your lack of experience makes you unfit for any practical debate, or whatever socratic seminar type stuff you're trying to run. You would do well to try to understand where these knowledgable, well-intentioned members are trying to tell you.

I'm not sure what you expected from this forum, casting down questions from your high horse and expecting members to scramble together to offer you literal theses with citations to convince you to listen to them and that they do know what they're talking about.

By the way, you're not language-challenged. Anyone who says "perhaps there's the language barrier that may have contributed to this misunderstanding" and uses the words "perplexed," "inquisitive,""abundant," etc. is not someone who has difficulty understanding basic English. Your grasp over the english language isn't the problem here...

 

[josemartinlopez]

OP, which country are you actually from?

 

[Oshidashi]

No one board type is best for all purposes.

My $0.02:
Personally I use (at home) a plastic board for raw protein because it can be sanitized in the dishwasher, and I avoid using delicate Japanese knives on that surface. For most prep work I use an edge grain cherry wood board, which is a pleasure to use, but in spite of oiling and cleaning it does retain a slight onion/garlic aroma. Which is why for cutting fruit I pull out my lightweight Shun hinoki board that I douse with water before use. I enjoy the rather soft hinoki quite a bit, but I have found that the heel of my ultrasharp usuba can imbed itself into it. If I were more into sushi prep I'd probably buy one of those rubberized boards for that purpose.

 

[Uncle Mike]

I have a Boos board (end grain Maple) for everything that’s not protein. I have a Oxo plastic board that fits in the dishwasher for that. I’ve never had any problem with either damaging my knives.

 

[ModRQC]

OP what you see as contradictory involves things you might not have thought about thoroughly nor experienced personally.

People asked what kind of steels and what kind of cutting techniques and what kind of produces you will mostly cut. You went on and on with not understanding contradictory information.

Perhaps if you answer these questions many things will not be so contradictory anymore.

Reading multiple sources, some poor some better, will sure be contradictory. Hardness of the material isn’t everything; end grain isn’t necessarily better than edge grain - it sure is friendlier for knife edges, not so much for durability and maintenance. Plastic and many soft materials are even worse - fast wearing. So also money is involved. Scientifically, looking only at the hard logic of surface vs edge, contradictions emanate from the level of understanding, depth of research, a source has. But more largely, opinions contradict because people use these things, they don’t just look at hard facts. It doesn’t mean, especially in a place like KKF, that each opinion isn’t true, for all the reasons mentionned above, and beyond that.

 

[spaceconvoy]

Wood hardness is a measure of how far a steel ball becomes embedded into a piece of wood when a certain force is applied. It can be measured from both the end- and side-grain, and since trees evolved to resist gravity, end-grain hardness is about 1.5 times higher in any given species. A thin knife edge impacts wood differently than a steel ball, and is even more affected by the direction of the wood grain.

Imagine an end-grain board is like a dartboard, with the fibers oriented towards the face of the board. The knife tends to wedge between the wood fibers, which snap back into place somewhat, making an end-grain board virtually self-healing. A side-grain board won't last as long because knife cuts sever the fibers, which is also a tougher direction on the knife edge. So even though end-grain is harder than side-grain, it's paradoxically easier on knives.

In practice most commercially available wooden boards aren't very hard to begin with, even for side-grain boards. So unless it's something super exotic like ebony, there's nothing to worry about... with the exception of bamboo. It naturally contains silica, which provides little resistance to a steel ball but can destroy a knife's edge like sandpaper.

Long story short, hardness ratings aren't really applicable to evaluating cutting boards. Unless you don't want to deal with the heaviness or maintenance, an end-grain hardwood board is ideal for both knife edges and board longevity.

 

[Oshidashi]

This is a nice little video about the Hasegawa soft cutting board, which may be in many respects the ideal board: easy on your fine knives, don't warp, sanitary and dishwasher safe. They are expensive, however, and of course don't have the beauty of wood.

 

[hijackn]

I have both a large end grain board (not sure of the wood) and an old butcher's block table of edge grain maple. I have never noticed a difference between them on the performance of my knives. The end grain board does absorb a ton of liquid when I'm cutting on it and does have some small splits that don't bother me at all. TBH, any wood board is really fine. Go with something you like the look of!

 

[nwshull]

I have both a large end grain board (not sure of the wood) and an old butcher's block table of edge grain maple. I have never noticed a difference between them on the performance of my knives. The end grain board does absorb a ton of liquid when I'm cutting on it and does have some small splits that don't bother me at all. TBH, any wood board is really fine. Go with something you like the look of!

Any of the big North American hardwoods. Acacia is murder on knives!