Gorgeous cutting board...but who makes it?

[Shimmer]

Anyone have any insight?

 

[Eamon Burke]

Looks to me like a hobbyist or some other variety of woodworker made it as a side project. The different wood types are a little aesthetically overwhelming for someone who makes cutting boards exclusively.

 

[rancho]

is there an option to buy it pre-soaked in animal urine? if so, i would be interested :happy2:

 

[Darkhoek]

is there an option to buy it pre-soaked in animal urine? if so, i would be interested :happy2:

"Can be delivered in a wide range of animal urins and other bodily fluids at the customers discretion" :happy2:

DarkHOeK

 

[Pensacola Tiger]

is there an option to buy it pre-soaked in animal urine? if so, i would be interested :happy2:

Kopi luwak, (coffee beans that have been eaten and excreted by the Asian palm civet), sells for $350 a pound, so you may have something here. Perhaps the urine of the Australian opossum affects the wood of a cutting board giving it extraordinary properties. Have you checked edge retention on your board now?

 

[Lefty]

Now imagine the opossum drank kopi luwak coffee right before pissing on your board?
You could sell the thing for $750 AT LEAST!

 

[goodchef1]

Nice board, I don't know about the animal urine though, maybe would work as mizu on some of the knives on here.:lol2:

 

[Lefty]

I'd like to point out that I'm not knocking the board AT ALL! It really is amazing work!

 

[StephanFowler]

is it just me or does that board look REALLY thin

(color patterns aren't my cup o' tea either)

 

[Lefty]

It does look really thin. Maybe it's just the picture....

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

It does look really thin. Maybe it's just the picture....

It is too thin and likely to warp or crack over time. An optimal thickness for any board should be 2" and up. Also, grain layout and several species of wood used (might have different movement rate) makes this board less than desirable in my book.

 

[Lefty]

I have a multi wood board, but the woods are all within (if I remember correctly) 250 points on the janka scale to reduce the chance of warping.
With the board in this thread in particular, there are mostly straight, end to end seams which make me suspect warping could be an issue, especially when coupled with the apparent thinness of the board.
It's still beautiful!

 

[DWSmith]

Not one of mine. Walnut, cherry, mahogany maple and poplar. Hardwoods, except for the poplar. Obviously a hobbyist using left over scraps.

 

[El Pescador]

Janka scale has no relation to a woods stability. A Janka score is the amount of psi it takes to bury a steel ball w/ a set diameter halfway into a piece of wood. Most boards are end grain so Janka doesn't even factor here.Some woods like hickory are unstable while mosquito is super stable. Both have relative Janka hardness numbers. The only factor that sound be used in determining which woods are suitable are end grain stability ratios.

Sorry, I used to wholesale exotic wood.

Pesky

 

[Lefty]

That's actually really cool info.
Thanks Pesky!

 

[sashae]

I actually picked up a similar board to this off of Etsy from a craft woodworker for my wife to use as a sandwich/fruit slicing board. It won't last forever, but I absolutely loathe plastic cutting boards in general (like we need more plastic in our lives) so it's worth a shot...

 

[mr drinky]

When I was buying a board a while back I looked into hardness and also learned that Janka was testing the side and not the end of the wood, but all over the web they say there is a test for 'end hardness' too, but I could find no charts for end hardness. I did find a site where a bunch of exotic African woods had side versus end hardness comparisons, and the numbers were all over the place. Some end hardness numbers where higher than side hardness and others vice versa. But it was also hard to make heads or tails of the numbers. For example, here is a quote on teak: "The side hardness of teak...is in the range 3730 to 4800 newtons, while the end hardness is in the range 4150 to 4500 newtons." What does that tell me? Not much.

Of course a knife is not a ball bearing, and in the end I just gave up thinking about it and used BoardSmith Dave's FAQs as a reference.

k.

 

[Eamon Burke]

Seriously. I believe the correct course of action in those situations is "defer to the craftsman".

 

[mr drinky]

I actually picked up a similar board to this off of Etsy from a craft woodworker for my wife to use as a sandwich/fruit slicing board. It won't last forever, but I absolutely loathe plastic cutting boards in general (like we need more plastic in our lives) so it's worth a shot...

Etsy is a good place to find hobbyist boards like these.

Btw, I have recently relaxed my board thickness standards and I am now buying a lot of thinner end-grain boards. I know they might not be as stable and have warping or cracking issues, but I am trying to replace my poly and Epicurean boards. At the end of the day, my wife and family don't haul out the big boards and always go for the smaller lighter boards. So instead of having them use my good knives on bad boards, I thought I would just get thinner knife friendly ones -- understanding that they may not last as long or have some problems.

With that said, I bought one board (11x11) that was under and inch thick. It is made of ash and I have had no problems with warping or cracking, and my wife uses it all the time. I just make sure to take care of it well.

k.

 

[Lefty]

Yup! I'm going to trust that my boardmaker and David know their craft well enough to not steer us wrong!

 

[Lefty]

Funny you should mention ash. My boardmaker likes it for boards, while a lot of people think it's too hard. I looked it up and there are so many types of ash and varying hardnesses, I once again trust the experts.
Hard ash is bad, but "soft" ash hits around 1300 on many janka scales I've seen (sorry pesky ), so I'd think it would be a great material.
My wife is the same as yours, Drinky. I have this tiny little edge grain cherry board that she uses almost exclusively. I have to be honest, I often use it if I'm making a salad or sandwich and have only a few small items to prep. A small (thinner) endgrain might be in the cards a bit down the road for these such instances.

 

[mr drinky]

Yeah, with the ash board I just had to take a chance. I asked the guy which type of ash it was and he didn't know exactly, but it doesn't strike me as very hard compared to other boards I have. I also checked which glue he used to make it. I always do this with the hobbyist board makers to make sure the glue is not hard on my knives and is also food safe. In the end, I think it is a pretty nice looking little board and only cost $30.

k.

 

[Lefty]

Damn! Where'd you get it?
By the way, your name and avatar make me laugh every time I see them...I hope that was part of the goal! Ha

 

[mr drinky]

Damn! Where'd you get it?
By the way, your name and avatar make me laugh every time I see them...I hope that was part of the goal! Ha

I got the board on etsy, but can't remember the seller off hand.

And as for the profile image, it is actually of Eugene Hutz the lead singer for Gogol Bordello. I only wish I looked that crazy.

k.

 

[Lefty]

Whoa! Etsy is a cool crap cornucopia!

 

[Eamon Burke]

Heck yes it is!

My wife sells hair accessories on etsy!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/simplymae


It's a great site to find a gift that you can tell your lady is one of a kind.