How terrible is an edge grain beech wood for my knife?

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gourmedonian

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Hey everyone, as my title says, at home I have an edge grain beech wood cutting board. Recently I have bought my first Japanese knife, Takamura VG-10 gyuto 210. Now I am a bit concerned, how bad it would be if I used that until I get my hands on a nice Hasegawa?

I am not concerned about my cutting technique because I am very gentle and patient when it comes to it. I use only push cut motion without any lateral force on the knife (or so it seems to me). I also don't intend to cut any frozen produce, bones or stuff that you are not supposed to cut with it.

Just solely concerned about the wood and how much damage can it make with a reasonable use.

Thank you!
 
From my understanding beech is a quite good inexpensive option for end grain boards. Been meaning to pick one up myself actually as a second board. Brief search of threads, John Loftis who runs boardsmith talks about it here: Brazilian Cherry Wood for Cutting Board

Some other discussions here: End Grain Boards

Most of this should apply to an edge grain board too. Some more discussion of end vs edge grain here in the same thread: Brazilian Cherry Wood for Cutting Board
 
I have been cooking professionally for longer than I care to admit. 99% of that time on hard poly boards. I use edge grain at home, mostly maple, which is pretty hard. I've never had an urge to use any of the soft rubber boards or get an end grain board. Tried them a few times at various gigs and friends houses and whatever but never really saw the need to divert potential knife funds to upgrading cutting surfaces.
 
Beech is great; it doesn't get a lot of talk here because in America other woods get preference, but it's one of the best affordable options in Europe.
I prefer the cutting feel of end-grain beech, but both versions are fine and still feel way better than cheap plastic.

The only reason I'd remotely consider upgrading to something like hasegawa is dishwashability (although admittedly - I never tried one....
stringer said:
I have been cooking professionally for longer than I care to admit. 99% of that time on hard poly boards. I use edge grain at home, mostly maple, which is pretty hard. I've never had an urge to use any of the soft rubber boards or get an end grain board. Tried them a few times at various gigs and friends houses and whatever but never really saw the need to divert potential knife funds to upgrading cutting surfaces.
Click to expand...
Yes but you're a weirdo who also doesn't mind handle-less knives. I bet you also don't mind riding a bicycle without a saddle... ;)
 
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Mine is beech end grain too, and I love it!
 
esoo said:
Edge grain beech is fine. Had one at one point from Ikea. My only complaint about the board was that it wasn't sanded very flat.
Click to expand...
The last bunch I bought at Ikea (proppmätt) were perfectly flat... but very roughly finished. Like they almost weren't sanded at all. Can't really complain too much at the 8 bucks I paid for a 38x27 cm. The wood is fine.
Sadly you can no longer get the awesome deals you could get in the past. About 15 years ago you could still get solid beechwood countertops for 40 bucks. I just cut one in half for 2 giant cutting boards for a ridiculous bargain price.
 
Our favorite cutting board is beechwood, which was a ridiculously cheap $20 in march 2020. My favorite thing about it is that it's twice as long as it is wide (30x60cm?). Most US-made boards tend to be only about 50% longer than they are wide.

I have not noticed any problems with my knives from this board, but I'm only a home cook.

It also holds up really well to our aggressive serrated breadknife, which caused most of these scars.
View attachment IMG_0263.jpeg
IMG_0264.jpeg
IMG_0265.jpeg
 
Jovidah said:
Perfect example of why I have a seperate cheap board for cutting my breads... The serrated knives really chew up anything you use them on.
Click to expand...
yes, exactly. At the same time, I'd prefer they cut bread on my beechwood board than on even the cheap plastic boards. I can resurface the beechwood.

I only once caught a family member attempting to cut bread on the Hasegawa, but I think I've made myself clear now…

the other problem with the edge grain is it's difficult to oil the ends. I forgot to keep up with oiling it for a couple months and the ends separated a bit. Oh well, it's a consumable.
 
mix some beeswax into the oil (slight heating is needed), that'll make the oil last much longer
 
sanmateo said:
yes, exactly. At the same time, I'd prefer they cut bread on my beechwood board than on even the cheap plastic boards. I can resurface the beechwood.

I only once caught a family member attempting to cut bread on the Hasegawa, but I think I've made myself clear now…

the other problem with the edge grain is it's difficult to oil the ends. I forgot to keep up with oiling it for a couple months and the ends separated a bit. Oh well, it's a consumable.
Click to expand...
My family found out what I paid for my Hasegawa and is scared to touch it. My GF and kiddo only use cheap poly boards
 
Jovidah said:
Beech is great; it doesn't get a lot of talk here because in America other woods get preference, but it's one of the best affordable options in Europe.
Click to expand...
Exactly this. In the US, Beech are often old ornamental stately trees. They're also pretty regional. So, beech never became a commonly commercially available wood like maple here.
I bought a Beech cutting board years ago and like it a lot. It can be a very pretty wood (in a simple way) depending on the lumber/cut, with rays and several shades of pink.
It's in the ballpark of maple and should be fine for your knives.
 
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BillHanna said:
Compare it to the price of a nice walnut board. Y’know. Ask for a pony, then get what you actually want.
Click to expand...
I rather ask for the thoroughbred, in order to end up where I want to be ;-)
 
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