End Grain Cutting Boards

First thing to know about end grain cutting boards is how they’re constructed. On a normal piece of wood (2x4, 1x3, etc) there are three sides to the board: the face grain, the edge grain, and the end grain. The face grain is the side of the board you see the most. If you’ve seen any of my other serving boards before, those are all face grain boards. The edge is the grain runs along the side of the face grain. The edge grain, however, is the smallest side on either end of the long piece of wood. End grain boards are made by making many cuts parallel to the end grain face so that you’re left with more end grain pieces. Then, you stand all the pieces on the end and glue them together creating a new board with a face that is made of up all end grain pieces.

Now for the benefits! What makes up wood’s structure are millions of fibers that run along horizontally along the face and edge of a piece of wood. This is how water and nutrients move throughout the tree. With end grain however, those fibers are stacked vertically. This makes it ideal for cutting surfaces because the blade of the knife moves through the wood fibers instead of across the wood fibers. This causes the wood fibers to be pushed aside while cutting instead of being severed. Because of this, not only do end grain cutting boards keep your knife blades sharper longer, it also maximizes the longevity of your cutting board keeping it looking nicer for a lot longer. When taken care of, a good end grain cutting board can last decades! When cutting on face or edge grain cutting boards or plastic cutting boards, knifes dull much more quickly and knife marks are shown much more quickly.

Lastly, cleanliness. While wooden cutting boards cannot go in the dishwasher, it is as simple as washing with warm soap and water and letting them dry. I read an article recently stating that wooden cutting surfaces are more hygienic surfaces because any remaining microbes from food and pulled into the fibers where they die when the board dries. With plastic cutting boards, microbes that hide in the knife grooves can easily be transferred to other food if the board is not properly sanitized.

If you’re interested in putting one of these beauties in your home, please let me know and we can work to design and create something that is truly unique and special to you!