I make cutting boards in a mostly traditional way. Some of my choices, though, are often not traditional.
- Cutting Boards that come from the Woodshop are generally for one-sided use … they have non-skid rubber feet so the boards do not move while you use them. I am not a fan of moving targets when you have a knife in your hand.
- When I do make a 2-sided board – like the Carnivore Boards – then the boards come with a non-skid silicon mat. Both the mat and the aforementioned feet hold the boards in place, and, importantly, provide an air gap so the bottom of the boards never just sit in water on the counter. That would be bad.
- All boards are made from quality hardwoods, selected for their beauty and particular characteristics that make them good cutting board woods.
Last week, a pair of large cutting boards I barely remembered making – 6 years ago! – came back to me for refinishing. That is a service I do for free, by the way, but I digress.
The boards were 6 years old but were truly in fabulous condition. They had been well-used (every day, the owners proudly told me), and they had some knife marks as well as a scorch on one of the boards from where some hot pan had been set on the board for too long. I sanded the boards smooth, got the scorch mark as well as about 98% of the knife marks out, and re-oiled the boards. It took about 15 minutes all told, and the owners were thrilled with their like-new boards.
Did I mention they ordered 2 more large boards for gifts? I was pretty thrilled, too.
In preparation for last week’s event, I finished several cutting boards to add to my display. Here is what the really-new boards look like.
