A quick discussion on cutting boards.

It is absolutely true that you can go to Walmart, or Target, or a host of other stores, and buy a cutting board for a fraction of what it costs to purchase a new handcrafted board. However, there are a few reasons why that is the case.

Cutting boards at big box stores are regarded as low quality boards. Cheaper cutting boards are usually made from bamboo, acacia, teak, or even compressed paper. All of these materials are hailed for their natural water resistance, but both bamboo and teak have high silica content that can be tough on knives, while compressed paper boards are the hardest material of them all. Acacia’s hardness can vary depending on where it was grown, giving it an inconsistent hardness.

For the short term this may not mean anything to you but these boards are mass produced by machines in factories overseas with cheap, and sometimes child, labor. These imported boards are usually thin, made with low quality wood and they lack a refined finish which is why they don’t tend to last.

With a poor economy and high inflation, cost may be the single most important factor for you, however, cheap, low quality boards have a hidden cost, and that is the fact that even light use dulls your knives, requiring regular upkeep and maintenance. Because these boards are generally not treated with any finish they absorb moisture which can cause them to warp or crack. The thinness of these boards often contribute to warping, bowing and cracking. They generally have nothing to raise them from the surface meaning they sit on the counter, tend to slip around and they sit in any liquid on the counter. The juice grooves are often very shallow causing meat juices to overflow onto your counter surface.

However, on the other end, high end cutting boards are handcrafted from start to finish we use the best quality woods, including walnut, maple, elm, ash, pecan, Mesquite just to name a few. This wood is much more expensive than teak or bamboo and often purchased in slabs, requiring that the maker mill the wood down to size, spend hours sanding, making sure the glue ups are precise, and even then often require more milling, the boards are often thicker, stronger, easier on knives, and often come with special features such as a deeper, wider juice groove, rubber non slip feet and a custom finish that takes three days to complete.

If the cost of the board is your major concern then makers like me cannot compete with big box store prices. However, if longevity, durability and a custom fine end finishing is important then you need a custom high end board.